Musical Monday: Rock, Pretty Baby (1956)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
Rock, Pretty Baby (1956) – Musical #856

Studio:
Universal Pictures

Director:
Richard Bartlett

Starring:
Sal Mineo, John Saxon, Luana Patten, Shelley Fabares, Edward Platt, Fay Wray, Rod McKuen, John Wilder, Alan Reed Jr., Douglas Fowley, Bob Courtney, George Winslow, Duncan Richardson, Walter Reed
Themselves: Johnny Grant

Plot:
Jimmy Daley (Saxon) has a rock n’ roll combo with his friends (Mineo, McKuen, Reed Jr., Courtney). While Jimmy has ambitions of hitting it big, his parents (Wray, Platt) have different goals for them. Meanwhile, Jimmy has a contentious relationship with his girlfriend, Joan (Patten).

Trivia:
• First film of poet Rod McKuen
• Working titles were “The Living End!” and “Crazy Love”
• First film of twin actresses Susan and Caryl Volkman. The sisters were in a total of two films, with their final film being Rockabilly Baby (1957)
• The film SUMMER LOVE (1958) was a follow up to ROCK, PRETTY BABY
• Music scored by Henry Mancini
• Several songs were written by Bobby Troup. “Picnic By the Sea” was co-written by Troup and Rod McKuen.

Highlights:
• Twin actresses Susan and Caryl Volkman
• The dad’s Studebaker

Notable Songs:
• “Rock, Pretty Baby” performed by Alan Copeland
• “Picnic By the Sea” performed by Rod McKuen
• “Can I Steal a Little Love”
• “What’s It Gonna Be”

My review:
In the 1950s, as rock n’ roll music grew in popularity, society felt it was corrupting youth. And several movies followed that defended the music.

For example, after the 1956 film, ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK, was banned in several UK theaters, Queen Elizabeth II herself requested a print so she could see the movie herself and so she could learn more about rock n’ roll.

Another movie that took a look at the relationship between teens, their parents and what adults think of rock n’ roll is ROCK, PRETTY BABY (1956).

In the film, Jimmy Daley (Saxon) is the lead guitar in a rock n’ roll combo with his friends (Mineo, McKuen, Reed Jr., Courtney), known as the Jimmy Daley Combo. Jimmy wants a new $300 electric guitar for his band, and pawns law books that his father gave him thinking of Jimmy’s later career. Jimmy gets connected with former musician Pop Wright (Fowley), who is also the father of Jimmy’s girlfriend, Joan (Patten), who thinks the band is great, and has them audition to play at a summer camp. During the audition, teens dance enthusiastically, kicking off their shoes and dancing barefoot; which shocks the parents and chaperones. They are turned down, but the combo continues trying to get gigs and also compete for a major contest hosted by Johnny Grant. Along the way, Jimmy has jealous spat with Joan, his sister, Twinkie (Fabares); is trying to get the attention of their neighbor, Miles; and their poor parents are trying to keep up with their children.

While the movie seemed pretty straight forward while watching, that felt like a difficult plot to articulate. To boil it down: Jimmy is frequently moody, plays music and argues with his girlfriend, while his parents do their best.

When the film was released, Universal said the film was inspired by research saying that five percent of the teenage population at this time suffered from “the kind of psychological twistings that makes them extreme problem cases.” This was used to highlight the fact that teens can be healthy but still like rock and roll music, according to the American Film Institute.

To be honest, the cast of ROCK, PRETTY BABY (1956), but it has some high points. The best scenes in the film are less about teen angst, rock n’ roll and romance. The truly enjoyable parts center around the Daley family – Fay Wray, Ed Platt, John Saxon, Shelley Fabares and George Winslow. I wish their portions had been built out more and more of the focus.

I thought it was fun seeing Fay Wray as a mother, either secretly hiding a chuckle or dealing with her emotional children. Ed Platt played a fun, harried father – especially compared to his other roles, like on the TV show “Get Smart.” Shelley Fabares and George Winslow are so much fun as the younger siblings.

I actually watched this movie for Shelley Fabares, who just passed away at age 80 on Aug. 22, 2026. Since I previously had already reviewed the majority of Fabares’s musical films, I decided to review this one in her memory. While Fabares doesn’t sing, she gives a standout performance in this film as the pestering tomboy little sister, who is also in love with the boy next door, Miles (Duncan Richardson). She has a very funny scene where she wears too much lipstick and grown up earrings.

And then there is John Saxon. While Sal Mineo receives top billing, this is Saxon’s movie. He’s swoonworthy here, and does more brooding than smiling, but I still enjoyed watching him. Saxon and Luana Patten’s characters have some very silly fights in the movie.

Patten is stunning and lovely in the film. Mineo’s character is more of a clown in the movie.

An interesting bit of casting is Rod McKuen, who later became a best selling poet in the 1960s and 1970s. This was McKuen’s first film credit.

There are alot of funny moments in the film around the teen angst. The best scene in the film is where John Saxon throws a party while his parents aren’t home and it gets out of hand. A fight breaks out, windows and furniture are broken, and teens drive across the lawn. The fall out after with their parents is fun.

I also enjoy the scene where kids are dancing and throwing off their shoes. An unintentionally funny moment is when Saxon and Patten nearly walk off the beach set into a rear projection of the beach had they not been called back.

With most of these teen, rock n’ roll movies, there’s always a satisfying moment where the parents wise up and help. In this one, Fay Wray has a great line about “An adolescent is a part time adult” and shares that sometimes they need some help.

Thankfully, ROCK, PRETTY BABY (1957) is now easy to find thanks to a Kino Lorber BluRay. These teen movies are usually a good time, so I recommend seeking it out, if not only for the great performances from Wray and Platt.

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