LET'S ROCK (1958) ¢ ¢ 1/2
D: Harry Foster
Julius La Rosa, Phyllis Newman, Conrad Janis,
Joy Harmon, Harold Gary, Fred Kareman
Does anybody remember Julius La Rosa? For those who don't, Julius La Rosa was a moderately successful 1950s crooner and a protege of Arthur Godfrey, who had a television show on which La Rosa frequently appeared. In this 1950s movie, La Rosa plays a crooner who hits a career crisis when he finds he's being edged off the charts by this new thing called rock-&-roll. La Rosa's not much of an actor, affable and a little bland, but he has a couple of nice scenes with Phyllis Newman that look partly improvised, shot on location in New York. He sings three ballads in his smooth crooner's voice, before caving to Phyllis and trying a rock number. Others in the musical lineup include Della Reese, Paul Anka and the late Wink Martindale. Apparently, this film marks the only screen appearance of both The Royal Teens ("Short Shorts") and Danny and the Juniors ("At the Hop"). It's worth watching just for that.
Wink Martindale
(1933-2025)
