Starring Tony Travis, Karen Kadler, Peter Breck, Joyce Terry
Directed by Paul Frees
A young singer's chance at fame is threatened by his hoodlum pals.
It was filmed in 1958 and released in 1959, though it's often listed under 1960 films.
Eddy Crane is the leader of a gang that robs small businesses for petty cash. At one point, his gang accosts the broken-down car of a music business executive, Harry Bayliss. Afterward Bayliss, wishing to call a tow truck, goes into the diner where Eddy's gang is celebrating. Bayliss overhears Eddy singing to the jukebox and offers him a chance to audition for his variety program. Eddy accepts, passes his audition, and is given a spot on television. Eddy sings a two-minute song that is apparently stupendously successful, with Bayliss calling Eddy an "overnight sensation" and prophesying an astounding rise to fame, complete with a hit record, "a guest spot on every top show," and eventually culminating with "The Eddy Crane Show."
The specter of Eddy's stardom raises dissension among his gang, who wish either to accompany him unquestionably on his ascent, or to hold him back in their ranks. Meanwhile, with his newfound success, Eddy begins making advances at Bayliss's secretary, Helen Tracy, in preference to his long-suffering and jealous girlfriend, Iris.
Will Eddy make the break from his friends, or will they drag him back down to where he began?
The film was shot in 1958 under the title 'Sideburns and Sympathy'. Songs for The Beatniks were written by songwriter Eddie Brandt and director Paul Frees.
Like most exploitation films at the dawn of the teenage-rock-n-roll-era, the title of the film is pure sensationalism. There is actually nothing in the film about beatniks, nor anything about the Beat Generation in general.
If you think Plan 9 was bad, wait until you see The Beatniks...
Cheap, Cheesy, and Loads of Fun
Boy, was this stupid!
Grand Slam of Cliches with Horrible Acting - The Beatniks
Not as bad as you might expect....
Ah, the horror of undisciplined youth
WARNING!! There are no Beatniks in this Movie