To say that this movie is good would be overstating things a bit. It is, however, an entertaining example of the rock n' roll films of the 1950s and 60s. Plot takes a ride in the backseat as we spend the night in a live-music teen hangout where the Blockbusters are playing and young Julie (Abby Dalton) displays her vocal skills to a less-than-enthusisastic Shorty (Dick Miller). Arguments over her singing talent are cut short when a group of misfits take the place hostage, killing a customer in the process. All of this serves as a kind of time-filler between rock n' roll segments that are really the film's main appeal. It opens with a two-song set by the Platters before we get to the main dive and are treated to several performances by the Blockbusters (whom I've never heard of before but are pretty decent), sometimes accompanied by a struggling Julie (until the last number that is). Comic relief is offered by a jive-talking has-been (Mel Welles) with plans to manage Julie's career, his dialogue coming off as extremely corny, even by hepcat standards. The music is cut a little short, however, as the last 20min of the movie focuses on the hostage-taking fiasco (and at 60min total running time, it's noticeable). Failing as a memorable crime flick, Rock All Night succeeds in reflecting Corman's love for rock n' roll. While more famous for his low-budget horror work, Corman was also attuned to youth culture and, like in his later-produced Ramones-starring Rock n Roll High School (1979), used music to offer teens something different they could relate to.
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