Jamboree

In New York City, Pete Porter and Honey Wynn are fresh-faced performers eager for their big break. Managers start pushing them onto the radio and they become the hot new sweetheart duo.

This would have been interesting if Connie Francis actually play the part of Honey Wynn. I don't know if she's any good as an actress but at least, that would have been historically interesting. At the end of the day, non of the written story is that compelling. Pete and Honey are very white bread. They just about have as much heat... next to non. What is more interesting are the real world music performers and a few familiar faces. I wonder if those local DJs were actually famous. Dick Clark is so young and in the same year, he's going nation-wide with American Bandstand. This is a piece of music history although it's not much of a film.

Elvis Presley didn't make the cut here. But just about every other act from those early days of rock and roll made it into Jamboree. It's like one long version of the old Ed Sullivan show with a plot tossed in between the acts.

The story such as it is involves Paul Carr and Freda Holloway two aspiring singers who are teamed together by their managers Kay Medford and Robert Pastene respectively who are busy playing their own oneupsmanship games.

But you bought a ticket to see and rock and roll show and in 1957 that's what you got here.

So if you are fan of the music of the era, this is your movie.

Pitiful plot and sorry as a movie. But the real stars performing makes for good viewing. A young couple played by Freda Holloway and Paul Carr want to be famous singers. Kay Medford plays the agitating manager that manipulates the two songbirds,that don't even come near professionalism; let alone sing good rock 'n' roll. Although the singing voice of Holloway is that of singer Connie Francis.

Also in the cast are disc jockey Dick Clark and songwriter Aaron Schroder. Schroder in the real world wrote many hit songs; the best were for Elvis Presley and Gene Pitney.

Some of the real stars of this film, doing their thing for the camera are: Jerry Lee Lewis, Frankie Avalon, Fats Domino, Charlie Gracie, Buddy Knox, Count Basie, Slim Whitman and Carl Perkins.

The plot is a flop and the music is hip. Turn the lights on low and GO! Daddyo! GO!

The non musical stuff'll give the fast forward finger on your remote a real workout and some of the acts are on the forgettable side (i.e. Was Frankie Avalon really THAT bad?) but there are a few gems like Lyman And The Teens, Carl Perkins and, of course, Fats.

This is the story of a duo two managers (there's no such a thing since Nelson Eddy and Janette MacDonald,so why not them?) pair in order to make money (Pete and Honey= bank and money).The managers have their own ambitions for their respective protégés and after a big hit ,they urge both of them to go single .Then the heartache begins.

Pete and Honey's songs are rather syrupy and bland but their story takes barely 50 % of the time and the rest is given over to the guests :some of them are exciting indeed:Jerry lee Lewis and his fiery "great balls of fire" Carl Perkins ' "glad all over" and doowop whizz kid Frankie Lymon's "your last chance" are gems .Plus Count Basie and Slim Whitman for jazz and C& W fans.