Harry A. Romm Movies
Over his long career, talent agent Harry Romm discovered and significantly furthered the careers of some of the biggest film, music, and sports figures in America. His clients included such luminaries as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Jerry Lewis, Dinah Shore, Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Babe Ruth, and Lou Gehrig. He also helped the Three Stooges get together and was their manager for more than two decades. In 1959, he produced their film Have Rocket, Will Travel. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 1962
Two love-struck American teens embark upon a transatlantic cruise so that they might married and end up having a variety of tuneful misadventures in this romantic musical comedy that features "Twist" sensations Joey Dee and the Starlighters. The lover's travails begin when each is tempted by the fruit of others. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joey Dee, Gary Crosby, (more)
- 1961
Set within New York's Peppermint Lounge, and starring the once popular Joey Dee and the Starliters, this lively musical seeks to cash in on their hit "The Peppermint Twist. " The story centers on two brothers who originally opened the sweet hangout to give teens a place to bop and boogie. It used to be open to anyone, but after it became popular, they decide to only allow rich kids in. The kids don't like this and so begin boycotting the joint until the brothers decide to allow everybody in. Look closely for a young Joe Pesci playing guitar with the Starliters; it is his feature film debut. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joey Dee, Teddy Randazzo, (more)
- 1960
Enjoying a career renaissance in 1959 when their old Columbia two-reelers were released to television, The Three Stooges capitalized on their comeback with an enjoyable low-budget feature film, Have Rocket, Will Travel (1959). Response to this modest mirthmaker was so positive that Columbia decided to rush a second Stooges feature into production-without rehiring the Stooges! Stop! Look! And Laugh! is a pastiche of scenes lifted from the best Stooges shorts of the 1930s and 1940s, all featuring the immortal Curly Howard as the third Stooge. To provide a semblance of continuity, ventriloquist Paul Winchell and his dummies Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smif carry the film's "plot", which consists of Winchell attempting to get through the day despite constant interference by the Stooges. Also featured in two irrelevant sequences are the Marquis Chimps, who went on to star in their own TV series for Columbia's Screen Gems division, The Hathaways (1961). Veteran Stooge director Jules White produced, directed and cowrote the new footage. Among the vintage Three Stooges comedies represented via stock footage are Men in Black (1934), Goofs and Saddles (1937), Violent is the Word for Curly (1938), Calling All Curs (1939), Oily to Bed, Oily to Rise (1939), A-Plumbing We Will Go (1940), How High Is Up? (1940), Sock-a-Bye Baby (1942), Higher Than a Kite (1943), Micro Phonies (1945) and Half-Wits Holiday (1947). Stop! Look! And Laugh! was coproduced by the Three Stooges' agent Harry Romm, who quickly became their ex-agent when Moe Howard sued for unauthorized reproduction of the Stooges' likenesses. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1959
Joe De Rita makes his debut as the third Stooge in this rollicking slapstick comedy that has the three bunglers accidentally locking themselves into a rocket ship and blasting off to Venus. Once on the second planet they find fantastic life forms, including a verbose unicorn. They also find themselves called heroes and this of course leads to all kinds of comical chaos. Though made with a minimal budget, it revived the flagging career of the trio, who had just been re-discovered via television. Thanks to this film's success, the Stooges made five more feature films. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1959
Meant primarily as TV fare, this standard, song-filled romantic drama stars Louis Prima as himself, and his real-life wife Keely Smith as Dorothy Spencer, a devout woman with a good singing voice. Dorothy is active in her local parish which like all parishes, is constantly thinking of ways to raise funds. One of the needy projects is a boys' camp, so when Dorothy is approached by Louis Prima to sing with his band she agrees only on one condition -- that he perform a concert benefit for the parish church and boys' camp. The interactions between Dorothy and Prima lead toward romance and a happy ending, as well as a popular album with the same title song featured in this film. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Louis Prima, Keely Smith, (more)
- 1958
Senior Prom is another of those musical salads of the 1950s, heavy on the guest stars but very light on plot. The story concerns the romance between pretty high-schooler Gay Sherridan (Jill Corey) and wealthy BMOC Carter Breed III (portrayed by future "Billy Jack" star-auteur Tom Laughlin). Actually, the right boy for Gay is poor-but-likeable Tom Harper (Paul Hampton), so guess who winds up taking Gay to the senior prom? Well, nobody really cares, not with such topnotch musical talents on hand as Louis Prima & Keely Smith, Sam Butera & The Witnesses, Connee Boswell, Bob Crosby, Toni Arden, Jose Melis, Freddy Martin & His Orchestra, Les Elgart, and even Mitch Miller. And, oh yes, Ed Sullivan shows up too. Senior Prom was produced by Harry Romm and directed by David Lowell Rich, the same team responsible for the Three Stooges' comeback feature Have Rocket Will Travel; in fact, this musical's associate producer was Moe Howard! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jill Corey, Paul Hampton, (more)
- 1949
In her second film appearance, Marilyn Monroe stars as Peggy Martin, a second-generation showgirl who begins a romance with a rich young man (Randy Brooks), an action that strains her relationship with her mother (Adele Jurgens). ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
In this musical, a struggling young singer falls in love with a nightclub owner whose father mistakes her for someone else and tries to convince her to serve a summons at the club. Fortunately, the love between the youngsters prevails. Music and happiness ensues. Songs include: Stormy Weather" (Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler) and "Just a Little Fond Affection" (Elton Box, Desmond Cox, Lewis Ilda), Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five with "Don't Worry About the Mule" (William Davis, Duke Groner, Charles Stewart), "A Tender Word Will Mend It All" (Doris Fisher, Allan Roberts) "On the Sunny Side of the Street" (Dorothy Fields, Jimmy McHugh), "Oh, Brother" (Matt Melneck, Allie Wrubel), "After All This Time" (Paul DeFur, Ken Thompson), and "Caledonia" (Fleecie Moore). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
