Howard Miller Movies
- 1958
Shipped out on a double bill with Summer Love, Universal's The Big Beat is another of those "rock & roll salads" so popular in the late 1950s. What plot there is concerns the efforts by record executive John Randall (William Reynolds) to sign up several top R&R acts. John also wants to prove his mettle to his old-fashioned exec father Joseph (Bill Goodwin), whose tastes are strictly squaresville. Aiding and abetting Randall is his faithful secretary Nikki (Andrea Martin), who of course worships the shag rug her boss walks on. Comic relief is provided by the one-time-only teaming of Rose Marie and Hans Conried. (This alone is worth the admission price!) The musical highlights in The Big Beat are provided by such luminaries as Gogi Grant, Fats Domino ("I'm Walking"), and the Diamonds. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Reynolds, Andra Martin, (more)
Jamboree adheres to the usual formula of late-1950s rock&roll films: A plethora of musical numbers linked together by the wispiest of plotlines. Kay Medford heads the cast as manipulative showbiz agent Grace Shaw. Hoping to land pop singer Pete Porter (Paul Carr), Grace connives to break up Pete's romance with female vocalist Honey Wynn (Freda Holloway). But who cares? The audience came to see such musical faves as Fats Domino, Count Basie, Jerry Lee Lewis, Jodie Sands, Ron Coby, Slim Whitman, Carl Perkins, Frankie Avalon, Charlie Gracie and the Four Coins. As a promotional tie-in, Jamboree also features appearances by 21 of North America's top rock-and-roll deejays. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
