Rock, Rock, Rock!
About Rock, Rock, Rock!
Dori Graham wants a strapless prom gown priced at $30. Her father has closed her store accounts. He will put in $15 if she raises the other $15. She borrows from her friend Arabella and tries to run the money like a bank, which goes wrong and strains the friendship. Her boyfriend Tommy Rogers, a singer, wins a spot on Alan Freed's television show and gets Freed to bring the show to the prom. A new girl, Gloria Barker, already has a strapless dress and is after Tommy. The prom goes ahead with Freed and the acts. Dori's singing voice on the track is Connie Francis, not Tuesday Weld.
Cast & crew
More about Rock, Rock, Rock!
Will Price directed. Milton Subotsky conceived, co-wrote, and co-produced it with Max Rosenberg. Distributors Corporation of America released it on December 7, 1956. It runs 85 minutes. The budget was $75,000, plus $25,000 in deferments. Tuesday Weld, then 13, plays Dori. Connie Francis, then 17, had auditioned for the role and instead dubbed Dori's songs.
Themes
Making
Almost everyone in the musical cast was signed to a record label, and the label was billed with the name. The performances were lip-synced.
Music
Connie Francis sings Dori's songs, including 'I Never Had a Sweetheart' and 'Little Blue Wren'. The stage numbers are by Chuck Berry, LaVern Baker, Teddy Randazzo, the Moonglows, the Flamingos, and Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers.
Preservation
The film entered the U.S. public domain in 1984 because the copyright was not renewed. Copies are on the Internet Archive and Wikimedia Commons.
Notes
- Fran Manfred plays Arabella. Teddy Randazzo plays Tommy Rogers. Jacqueline Kerr plays Gloria Barker. Jack Collins plays Mr. Graham.
- Acts on screen include Chuck Berry, LaVern Baker, the Moonglows, the Flamingos, and Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers. David Winters dances. Alan Freed plays himself.
- It is Weld's first substantial film role, Lymon and the Teenagers' film debut, and a brief first appearance by Valerie Harper, seated at a table.
- Randazzo was 21 while Weld turned 13 during the shoot.
- A soundtrack album was issued. The film's Wikipedia page calls it the first soundtrack album for a rock-and-roll movie. Francis's 'I Never Had a Sweetheart' and 'Little Blue Wren' were also an MGM single in 1956.
- The copyright was not renewed, and the picture entered the U.S. public domain in 1984. The songs may have been registered separately.
Scenes
- Mr. Graham offers $15 toward the gown if Dori finds the rest.
- Dori's banking scheme with Arabella's money comes apart.
- Alan Freed's show plays the prom.
Also available
- Internet Archive (rock_rock_rock)
- Wikimedia Commons (Rock Rock Rock! (1956) by Will Price.webm)