SHAKE, RATTLE & ROCK

Holloway, Dumbrille, Dumont and Helton

SHAKE, RATTLE & ROCK (1956). Director: Edward L. Cahn.

"Rock 'n' Roll is destroying the youth of our nation."

DJ Gary Nelson (Mike "Touch" Connors) is the host of a teen rock and roll program which inspires the ire of a group of old fogies who are offended by its alleged vulgarity. They form the Society for the Prevention of Rock and Roll and the Corruption of American Youth or SPRACAY. The most interesting thing about the movie is that the members of this group include no less than Margaret Dumont [Little Giant], Douglass Dumbrille, and Percy Helton [The Crooked Way], all of whom are marvelous (Dumbrille is especially wonderful in his comic portrayal, but the others score as well). Unfortunately, while these veterans are aware that they are in a comedy, the same cannot be said for Mike Connors and Lisa Gaye as his girlfriend, who display little skill at humor. As Connor's good right hand, Sterling Holloway [Wild Boys of the Road] is pure camp as an early "Maynard G. Krebs" type. Shake, Rattle & Roll tries to have it both ways by trying to be "serious" at times, but it certainly doesn't work in this picture. The movie displays its own prejudices when it introduces a lisping nerd as the voice of classical music (although even he ends up "rockin'" at the end). Some rock and "swing" movies (from an earlier decade) respected classical and operatic music while celebrating the new type of sounds, while others got defensive and put down classical stuff the same way others derided rock 'n' roll; this is in the latter category. Raymond Hatton is fun as Dumont's hen-pecked but eventually liberated husband, Clarence Kolb plays a judge, and Fats Domino sings a couple of numbers. Much more screen time should have been given to Dumont, who can be very, very funny.

Verdict: Very amusing at times, but the fun eventually peters out and a lot of opportunities for great comedy are muffed. **1/2.

DAY THE WORLD ENDED

"You're dimestore, Ruby, you're cheap!" Adele Jergens and "Touch" Connors

DAY THE WORLD ENDED (1955). Produced and directed by Roger Corman.

"He's a mutation, Rick, a freak of this new atomic world of ours."

After nuclear holocaust, a taciturn fellow named Maddison (Paul Birch) holes up in his valley home with his daughter, Louise (Lori Nelson), whose fiance is missing and presumed dead. Unwelcome visitors looking for food and shelter include hoodlum Tony (Mike Connors, billed as "Touch"), his moll and former striptease "artist" Ruby (Adele Jergens), old prospector Pete (Raymond Hatton of The Three Musketeers) and his mule; and the radioactive, supposedly dying Radek (Paul Dubov of Girls' Town), who is developing a taste for raw meat. A more welcome addition is geologist Rick (Richard Denning), who is able to handle Tony and has a mutual attraction for Louise. Meanwhile a strange mutated creature (Paul Blaisdell) roams the grounds as the others wonder if the threatening rainfall will wipe them all out with radiation sickness. Day the World Ended may use some of the same settings as Attack of the Crab Monsters, but it doesn't have that film's cleverness, imaginative touches, and creepy atmosphere. Jergens offers the zestiest performance as the ill-fated Ruby. Like many films of the period, it suggests that a person can't be decent unless he or she is religious. There's a vague twist ending involving the "dead" fiance, but nothing much comes of this. Filmed in widescreen "Superscope."

Verdict: Even mutations can only do so much. **.

JUNGLE JIM (1936)

LEFT TO RIGHT: Rhodes, Brandon, Hatton and Withers

JUNGLE JIM (/12 chapter Universal serial/1937). Directors: Ford Beebe; Clifford Smith.

"I could send you to the whipping post, too." -- The Cobra.

"That's a mistake you would make only once!" -- Shanghai Lil. 

Jungle Jim (Grant Withers), who arrives on the scene warbling a tune (with dubbed voice), is importuned to go into the African jungle to find a missing heiress, one Joan Redmond (Betty Jane Rhodes). There are two things Jim doesn't know: Joan was raised by an evil brother and sister duo known as the Cobra (Henry Brandon) and Shanghai Lil (Evelyn Brent), and is herself known as the Lion Goddess to the natives; and one of her relatives, Bruce Redmond (Bryant Washburn) is also trying to find her so he can kill her off and acquire her inheritance. The Cobra operates out of a castle in the jungle, and aside from manipulating the natives via Joan, his motives and plans seem rather shadowy, but there's not much love lost between him and his sister. Joan's parents were killed during a ship wreck which is depicted in the first chapter, and features the startling sight of a tiger in the state room. [The serial is full of lively shots of beautiful lions, tigers and leopards, and the stock footage is generally well-integrated.] There's a nifty bit with a rope "bridge" -- actually just a cord of rope over a high chasm -- as well as a rock slide following a volcanic eruption, and neat footage of a tiger battling a gator. The acting from the leads is serviceable, but the serial seems full of missed opportunities. Brandon and Brent make an interesting pair of villains, but they really aren't given that much to do, and while this is fairly entertaining at times, it's not really one of the better Columbia chapterplays. Not to be confused with the full-length feature Jungle Jim, with Johnny Weissmuller playing the same role. Based on the Alex Raymond comic strip. Brent made more of an impression in Holt of the Secret Service four years later.

Verdict: If you've seen one jungle ... **1/2.

THE THREE MUSKETEERS (1933)

THE THREE MUSKETEERS (1933). 12 chapter Mascot serial. Directed by Armand Schaefer and Colbert Clark.

Described as an “updated” version of the story by Alexander Dumas, this is an entertaining cliffhanger with John Wayne taking center stage and the “musketeers” pushed into a subordinate position. In a battle between members of the Foreign Legion and gunrunners, all but three members of the legion forces are wiped out. The last three are saved by the timely intervention of Lt. Tom Wayne (John Wayne) in his plane. This first scene is a little weird, as the “heroes” have absolutely no reaction to the sudden deaths of their colleagues (one who "steals" a cigarette from a fallen comrade is shot and killed himself a moment later) and indeed remain jaunty and insouciant as they stand there afterward with the bodies of fellow legionnaires presumably lying all around them. Smiling in the face of death and remaining cool and philosophical about warfare is all well and good, but these musketeers come off as callous idiots. In contrast, John Wayne shows genuine emotion and concern when his buddy Stubbs (Noah Beery Jr.) is shot in front of him. Lon Chaney Jr., billed as Creighton Chaney, appears briefly as a friend of Wayne's who is murdered, with Wayne becoming the chief suspect. The real culprit is the villain El Shaitan (The Devil), who is plotting an Arab rebellion against the Legion. Wayne's girlfriend, Chaney's sister Elaine (Ruth Hall), has a letter which will clear Wayne of murder charges, and naturally there's a lot of running after this letter as well as many shots of men fairly leaping onto horses. The Musketeers are played by Francis X. Bushman, Raymond Hatton, and Jack [The Clutching Hand] Mulhall.

Verdict: Fairly entertaining, with a generally fast pace and some exciting moments. **1/2.