The Treniers Movies
- 1959
A European princess and her aunt come to New York to buy clothes for the royal coronation, Riff Manson (Jack Jones) is employed by unknown clothier and former junkman Brodine (Hans Conried) to sway the royals to purchase his designs. Broadway revue rehearsals and parties provide the backdrop for the musical selection. George Jessel plays himself and sings "Spring Is The Time For Remembering". The princess (Jo Morrow) sings "Let's Fall In Love". Jones sings the title tune. Other songs are performed by the Earl Grant Trio, The Treniers and The Nitwits, while Johnny Otis renders the classic rock & roll anthem "Willie And The Hand Jive". ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jo Morrow, Jack Jones, (more)
- 1957
This lively musical was made to capitalize on the popularity of calypso music and features some excellent production numbers. It all begins when a jukebox magnate tries to force his way into a record company. They succeed and this angers the labels biggest star, who doesn't want to change his style. He disappears and so does all of the company's profits. Musical chaos reigns for awhile, but eventually everything is set to rights and happiness ensues. Look for distinguished poet Maya Angelou singing "Run Joe" and actor Alan Arkin's performance with the folk group the Tarriers. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Desmond, Merry Anders, (more)
- 1956
Coming off of a hit New York gig, successful rock & roll crooner Arnie Haines (Alan Dale) realizes he and his bandmates are weary from the grind of two years of steady gigs. They tell their manager (DJ Alan Freed, playing himself) they're taking a break and return to the small town where they started, Mellonville (state unspecified, but it looks like central Pennsylvania). Upon arriving, however, Haines finds himself denounced by the mayor (Pierre Watkin) as a bad influence on the teenagers and banned from any public performances. That would suit him fine -- he and the boys wanted the summer off -- but their local teenage fans can't abide the repressive atmosphere, and then nationally syndicated columnist Arlene MacLaine (Fay Baker), visiting Mellonville, attacks Haines and rock & roll in her column, threatening the whole music business. Arlene's comely daughter, Francine (Patricia Hardy), urges Arnie to fight back and convince her mother that rock & roll is harmless fun. Toward that end, with help from the sympathetic mayor (George Cisar) of the next town, Arnie and Freed organize an all-star show that includes Little Richard, the Treniers, and Bill Haley & His Comets. Everything goes according to plan until one petty, jealous girl (Jana Lund) nearly starts a riot when Arnie rejects her advances. Then it's up to Francine and her acting troupe friends to help Arnie and Alan Freed make one last pitch for rock & roll. Though Don't Knock the Rock has more plot and characters than most movies of this type, and it did reflect an actual serious controversy that was growing at the time (and not just in the South), it is really just lighthearted fun. Its real appeal lay in the singing and dancing, not only by some top rock & roll talent of the day (Bill Haley is great, Little Richard and his band are amazing, and the Treniers are dazzling), but also by the dancers portraying ordinary teenagers having fun. Photographer Ben Kline gets all of his camera angles spot on, so that the movie, though no classic, is a visual and musical delight a half century later. And just to show where the film's heart really lies, producer Sam Katzman and director Fred Sears (who were old enough to be "squares") replace "The End" at the final frame with a more nonchalant (and topical) "Dig You Later." ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Haley, Alan Dale, (more)
- 1956
The inimitable writer-director Frank Tashlin once more aims his satiric barbs at modern culture (modern 1950s culture, that is) in The Girl Can't Help It. Much of the film is dominated by Edmond O'Brien as mob boss Murdock, who while serving a term in federal prison becomes a singing sensation with his hit tune "Rock Around the Rock Pile." Once he's sprung, Murdock hires impoverished agent Tom Miller (Tom Ewell), not to promote his own career, but to turn his curvaceous lady friend Jerri Jordan (Jayne Mansfield) into a star. Alas, Jerri has no singing or acting talent whatsoever, a fact that she's eager and willing to admit. A domestic type at heart, all Jerri really wants out of life is to marry Murdock, so that she can clean his house, cook his meals and raise his children. When Murdock refuses to grant her wishes, Jerri falls in love with Tom instead.
Every so often, director Tashlin takes time out from the plot to poke fun at such technical marvels as CinemaScope and Technicolor, and to lampoon the American male's fixation on female bosoms and bottoms (at one point, Jayne Mansfield leans towards the camera, her cleavage exposed as far as the censors will allow, and plaintively asks Tom Ewell if he believes that she's equipped for motherhood). While much of the humor in the film is dated, The Girl Can't Help It is an invaluable record of the pop-music scene of the 1950s, featuring such guest artists as Julie London (playing Tom Ewell's dream girl), Ray Anthony, Fats Domino, The Platters, Little Richard and his Band, Gene Vincent and his Blue Caps, the Treniers, Eddie Fontaine, Abbey Lincoln and Eddie Cochran. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Every so often, director Tashlin takes time out from the plot to poke fun at such technical marvels as CinemaScope and Technicolor, and to lampoon the American male's fixation on female bosoms and bottoms (at one point, Jayne Mansfield leans towards the camera, her cleavage exposed as far as the censors will allow, and plaintively asks Tom Ewell if he believes that she's equipped for motherhood). While much of the humor in the film is dated, The Girl Can't Help It is an invaluable record of the pop-music scene of the 1950s, featuring such guest artists as Julie London (playing Tom Ewell's dream girl), Ray Anthony, Fats Domino, The Platters, Little Richard and his Band, Gene Vincent and his Blue Caps, the Treniers, Eddie Fontaine, Abbey Lincoln and Eddie Cochran. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Ewell, Jayne Mansfield, (more)
