Mister Rock and Roll
Cast & Crew
Charles Dubin
Alan Freed
Teddy Randazzo
Lois O'brien
Rocky Graziano
Jay Barney
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
At New York City's Paramount Theatre, noted disc jockey Alan Freed hosts a summer roll and roll stage show. After being harassed backstage by struggling songwriters Al Fisher and Lou Marks, teenage heartthrob Teddy Randazzo is asked by Freed to give an interview to novice reporter Carole Hendricks. The two go to a nearby diner, and Teddy tells Carole how he was born in New York but moved to Cleveland, where he was discovered by Freed while working as a hotel bellhop. Meanwhile, Freed does his radio show on WINS 101, playing rock and roll music by such notables as Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, Clyde McPhatter, The Moonglows and Chuck Berry. Later, at World magazine, Carole is told by her editor, Joe Prentiss, that he sees rock and roll music as an attack on American moral values and expects her to report as such in her article. When she refuses, Prentiss writes a blistering diatribe on the musical genre, calling it music by and for juvenile delinquents. Later, Carole meets Teddy backstage at the Paramount and tries to apologize to him for her boss's story, but, feeling betrayed, he rebuffs her. Teddy is then visited by his old friend, former boxing champion Rocky Graziano, who asks for the singer's advice on romance, but Teddy warns him that he would be of little help. After seeing the heartbroken Teddy, Freed goes on his radio show and attacks Prentiss, arguing that rather than being a profiteer, as depicted by Prentiss, he was merely one of the discoverers of the new musical genre, having witnessed teenagers like Teddy listening to rhythm and blues recordings in a Cleveland record store. He then began hosting a local radio program dedicated to such music, re-christening it "rock and roll." Finally, Freed contends that rock and roll music is simply the expression of teenagers, and its great success is a credit to them, not him. He then calls upon his listeners to contribute to Prentiss' favorite charity, the heart fund, to prove that "rock and rollers" are not the delinquents that the editor depicts them to be. Freed's charity drive is a great success, raising thousands of dollars, including a $500 donation by the repentant Prentiss, and Teddy and Carole are reunited.
Director
Charles Dubin
Cast
Alan Freed
Teddy Randazzo
Lois O'brien
Rocky Graziano
Jay Barney
Fisher And Marks
Leo Wirtz
Ralph Stantly
Lionel Hampton And His Band
Ferlin Husky
Frankie Lymon And The Teenagers
Little Richard
Chuck Berry
The Moonglows
Clyde Mcphatter
Lavern Baker
Shaye Cogan
Brook Benton
Crew
Brook Benton
Chuck Berry
Tommy Bland
James Blumgarten
Henry Boye
Lou Capone
Cirino Colacrai
Albert Collins
Vincent Corso
Oramay Diamond
Roye Dodge
Dave Dreyer
Sherman Edwards
Gene Fiocca
Jack Grossberg
Gladys Hampton
Lionel Hampton
Lionel Hampton
Locksley Wellington Hampton
Maurice Hartzband
Belford Hendricks
Ferlin Husky
Otis Jennings
George Justin
Howard B. Kreitsek
Bill Mays
Jerry Morton
Billy Myles
Clyde Otis
Clyde Otis
Richard Penniman
Teddy Randazzo
Robert Rolontz
Angelo Ross
Ralph B. Serpe
Joe Sherman
Noel Sherman
Earl Shuman
Jean Steinberg
Richard Sylbert
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The order of the ending cast credits differs slightly from that of the opening credits. In Mister Rock and Roll, the songs introduced by disc jockey Alan Freed on his radio show are then performed on stage by the musical entertainers. For more information on Freed's career, see the entry below for Rock Around the Clock. According to the file on the film in the MPAA/PCA Collection at the AMPAS Library, Mister Rock and Roll was shot on location in New York City. Although thirty songs were used in the film, only the two performed by Little Richard reached Billboard magazine's Top 40 list. Modern sources include "Screamin'" Jay Hawkins in the cast.
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States Fall September 1957
Released in United States Fall September 1957
