User Reviews

Rockabilly, Doo Wop and early Rock 'N' Roll bring the energy to this quirky flick filmed in Dallas, Texas. Very lacking in script, but its the music that is the premise of ROCK BABY - ROCK IT. At times good for a little laugh, but it is the music and dancing circa 1957 that redeems the use of film. Young people at a rockabilly club are about to lose the building where they meet to rock out. In order to get enough money to keep a small-time crime element from taking the location, the young people decide to put together a show featuring local talent.

Some of the music featured: Ben Coats and the Bon-Aires with "Stop The World" and "China Star"; The Five Stars singing "Juanita" and "Polly Molly". The Belew Twins harmonize, Everly Brothers style, "Lonesome". Preacher Smith and the Deacons do "Eat Your Heart Out"; Roscoe Gordon and the Red Tops' "Bopp It" and "Chicken In The Rough" and then there is the only artist in the film to actually make a splash in the music world...Johnny Carroll and his Hot Rocks doing "Crazy Crazy Loving" and "Wild Wild Women" in his best attempt honoring the two men who influenced him...Gene Vincent and Elvis Presley. Also in the cast: Gayla Graves, Mike Biggs, George Russell and Kay Wheeler. Remember the time is 1957 and this was some of the best talent in Dallas they could get together for this 84 minute black and white lower than B flick. Rockin', boppin' and dancin'! ROCK BABY - ROCK IT.

What seems like an hour long television drama with rock and roll thrown in is actually a cheaply made theatrical movie that seems to have had a budget in cents, not dollars. It concerns the illegal goings on in a famous Texas rock and roll hangout and the discovery by some teens of what's going on. The first half is mostly music with occasional interruptions for plot development, but very little of the later. Even towards the end when the plot begins to heat up and at least provide a little interest, it once again returns to the big beats of the music, which at least makes it flow by pretty fast. However, unlike other rock and roll musicals of the mid-late 1950's, this one seems to have utilized mostly third rate rock groups who have some talent but not enough to be memorable. Acting abilities by the few people who speak lines is marginal at best, and technically, this is way below average. I would recommend this for rock and roll historians only; For those looking for a good story with songs and some fast dancing will be majorly disappointed.

Undoubtedly one of the chintziest and hence most authentically grubby of the numerous cheap rocksploitation churned out in mass volume in the 50's, this Dallas, Texas marvel thrillingly captures the sweetly ingenuous bring-the-house-down rumbling excitement rock possessed when it first came into being. Technically, it's a ratty shambles, with ragged editing, scroungy photography, primitive fade-outs, lovably dated hep-cat lingo ("You're the most"), and hopelessly stiff acting. However, the sincerity and eagerness evident throughout make the pic's shoddiness both forgivable and ultimately strangely endearing. In fact, the rough ramshackle quality of the film-making actually lends a certain grungy quasi-documentary verisimilitude to the divinely naive and dippy proceedings.

As usual, the story is really threadbare, a faint whiff of a plot that solely exists as a flimsy excuse to show off plenty of hot local rock'n'roll acts. This time a bunch of ugly, tubby, nefarious middle-aged square mobsters threaten to take over a hoppin' Lone Star state teen nightspot, so the smart and resourceful kids hold an impromptu charity rock benefit concert to raise enough bread to save their beloved hangout from the greasy gangsters' vile clutches. And, boy oh boy, does said concert deliver the tasty and eclectic a little bit of everything multi-genre music goods. The Cellblock Seven sweep up the floor with a few just swell and stirring bebop jazz swing tunes. The exquisitely dulcet Belew Twins vault straight for the heavens with their sharp, keen, downright otherworldly harmonizing. The Five Stars display lots of style and charm with their delicious serving of right-on doo-wop nirvana. Preacher Smith and the Deacans lay down some slow, funky-stompin' boogie woogie barn burners. Don Coats and the Bon-Aires set hearts aflutter with their gorgeously dreamy, swooning and romantic white guy pop crooning. Roscoe Gordon and the Red Tops rock it up something nice with their supremely wailin', yet still beautifully forlorn and lonesome blues moping. All these bands seriously smoke, but the cat who clearly makes off with the whole stupendously hip'n'happening show is 19-year-old rockabilly firecracker Ron "Hot Rocks" Carroll, a dynamic spark-plug whose wild gyrations and scorching stage presence damn nearly make Elvis seem like small potatoes. And speaking of the Big E, Kay Wheeler, the founder and president of the Elvis Presley fan club, puts in a simply dazzling cameo appearance, energetically cuttin' it up on stage like nobody's business. All in all, this crudely slapped together item sizes up as the lively, exuberant, rockin' all through the night delightful living end, daddy-o!