TEENAGE MILLIONAIRE

TEENAGE MILLIONAIRE (1961). Director: Lawrence Doheny.

Bobby (Jimmy Clanton) is a nice boy with a pleasant singing voice who only wants to have fun, go to parties, do a little singing, swing with the chicks, y'know? Unfortunately Bobby is a rich kid and his aunt (Zasu Pitts) doesn't want him doing much of anything for fear he might come to harm or be kidnapped. She hires Rocky (Rocky Graziano) to be Bobby's bodyguard. That's about all the plot there is in this musical which consists mostly of acts by Chubby Checker, Jackie Wilson, Dion, and others. Oh yes, Bobby gets a girlfriend at one point -- they fight, but make up. The movie is in black and white; the musical numbers are sepia. Clanton has a pleasant personality; he only made one other movie, two years previously, Go, Johnny, Go! Zasu Pitts is her usual dithery self. Graziano is no actor, but he's likable. Also with pretty Diane Jergens.

Verdict: You can sleep through this and not miss a thing. *.

HIGH SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL

HIGH SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL (1958). Director: Jack Arnold.

Russ Tamblyn plays a new student at the local high school who gets involved with the gang known as the Wheelers and Dealers, a girl named Joanie (Diane Jergens), a teacher named Arlene (Jan Sterling), all the while fending off the advances of his trampy Aunt Gwen (Mamie Van Doren). Is Tamblyn bad news for everyone, or does he have a secret having to do with the drug trade and the evil weed that's destroying so many young lives? At first the film is fun -- especially sexy Van Doren -- but it isn't long before tedium sets in. John Drew Barrymore, son of John and father of Drew, co-stars as "J.I.," the leader of the Wheelers and Dealers. As usual, most of the high school students look as if they've been out of college for a couple of years. A far cry from director Jack Arnold's sci fi classic The Incredible Shrinking Man and others. Jerry Lee Lewis guest stars and sings the title tune. You can miss it.

Verdict: Not as much fun as you might imagine. *1/2.