Date Bait

I disagree with the other comment on here. I really enjoyed this film. There are hot car chase scenes, heroin junkies, cute guys (Logan!), crazy gangster power struggles, dumb older brothers, cool music and the greatest awkward wedding night scene I've ever seen in a movie. Perhaps I'm easy to captivate, but I was into the movie the whole time, not bored once! The acting and characters were interesting, too. I loved Frida, who was always playing jokes on her lanky, tolerant boyfriend. Danny Logan just keeps getting crapped on even though he seems to do everything right, and you can't help but cheer him on the whole time. The gangsters are laughably dumb and the heroin junkie Freddy is very entertaining with his obsessive face-covering. I thought it was well directed film and well thought out plot. If you think '50s teen movies are lame, then don't watch this one because it's pretty classic in my book.

I accidentally stumbled on this rarely seen movie and it was pleasant surprise. Almost like finding a hidden gem. The story was rather silly and naive but still interesting enough to engage you to screen. A girl from wealthy family is in love to lower class boy and there are many obstacles standing on their way. Girl's parents aren't much supportive and then there is obsessive drug addict who is desperately in love of the girl. And mix into a pair of brutal but funny gangsters and you get quite intriguing little movie. Nice mixture of classical love story and crime film.

The acting wasn't cheesy. Another reason to be pleasantly surprised. Specially I liked Richard Gering as drug addictive Brad. Don't wait anything Oscar worthy though but I already know you won't.

Date Bait is nice small JD film and I was personally more entertained than watching Transformers. But it's just me. I am a sucker for old movies.

Date Bait (1960)

* (out of 4)

Romeo and Juliet type story of a rich girl who falls for a poor kid. Her father is against them dating as is her ex-boyfriend who just happens to be crazy and has a gangster for an older brother. Bad acting, bad direction and a bad script make for a pretty bad film that feels five times longer than it actually is. The title song is a real hoot however.

High School Caesar (1960)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

A bully fixes a vote so that he can be elected Class President where he then plans on stealing even more money from students. Here's another drive-in era teen flick that tries to tell a message but even at just over 60-minutes this thing drags along. No camp value whatsoever and not bad enough to get any laughs. Just plain dull.

High School Big Shot (1959)

** (out of 4)

Drive-in era drama about a nerdy teen who gets his shot at the big time when he hears about a million dollar drop off. If you're a fan of these teenage "B" films of the 50s then this here is certainly one of the better ones but we're certainly a long way off from Rebel Without a Cause. The film runs out of steam around the fifty minute mark but the bad acting leads to some nice laughs.

"Danny Logan" (Gary Clarke) and "Sue Randall" (Marla Ryan) have been going steady for a while and have fallen deeply in love. Unfortunately, another young man who Sue dated once or twice named "Brad Martinelli" (Dick Gering) has returned after an extended illness and wants Sue back in his life. Not long afterward Brad tries to muscle his way back into Sue's life at a local dance which results in a scuffle between him and Danny. Yet even though Danny manages to hold his own during the fight what he doesn't count on is the fact that Brad has an older brother who is more than willing to do whatever it takes to protect him. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this film turned out to be an okay grade-B drama from a particular time notable for films appealing to teenage audiences and young adults. It's not a bad movie but the main problem with it is that it condenses too much material in a very limited time (only 72 minutes) which causes it to look a bit shallow. Along with that the ending was also a little corny. Be that as it may, the story was still somewhat interesting and Marla Ryan was quite cute as well. Accordingly, I rate this film as about average.

As the 1950's was Closing and the "Teenage" Icons of "Ozzie and Harriet", Leave it to Beaver", and the Rest, were Fading Fast.

The Teen-Angst Shown in this Surprising Entry was Totally Absent in the Teens of the TV Sit-Com.

Also, on the Way to "No-Where-Ville" was the Juvenile-Delinquent, or "JD" Movies,

that Lit Up the Dark Back-Seats of the Drive-In, and the Balcony at the Main-Street Movie-Palace.

This is One of the Last in the Wild Wave of No-Budget, No-Star, Quickies.

That Capitalized on the Youth Market with "Forbidden" Come-Ons like Rock n' Roll, Hot-Rods, Hot-Chicks, and Parental Defiant Behavior of All Sorts.

Most of the Genre was Typically a Lot More Sizzle than Steak.

With Maybe a Scene or Two that Cut the Edge of "Respectability".

"Date Bate", Odd Title Aside, goes the Extra-Mile by Including Dope-Addicts (actually showing Needles and Usage.

A Teen Romance Eloping to Vegas, and We get to See the "Wedding Night" Jitters at the Motel in Close-Up.

A First-Act Hot-Rod Car-Chase that Betrays the Low-Budget that is Effectively Shot and quite the Ride.

Razor and Fist-Fights Galore, Smack-Peddlers Preying on a Disfigured Junkie, and its All Backed with Rockabilly Beat.

More Sensational Stuff than Expected in This Type.

An Under the Radar Treat that is...

Worth a Watch.