Rock All Night

An ordinary day at the Cloud Nine music bar – Al the barman (Robin Morse) converses with customers, Steve the journalist (Richard H. Cutting) is looking for a scoop, Sir Bop the inept music manager (Mel Welles) is struggling to find work for his musicians, Shorty the brash and cunning regular (Dick Miller) comments on what is going on and, in the last act, two criminals (Russel Johnson and Jonathan Haze) arrive to somewhat spice up an otherwise rather unspectacular storyline. Characters abound (I only listed a fraction of them) and each has a bit of exposure time. Now, that series of diverse characters is quite enjoyable and gives life to the desertic plot. This low-budget rock ’n’ roll odyssey of an evening in a bar was designed mainly to attract teenagers to drive-in cinemas. Still, despite its naivety, it offers quite a charming message about the fight of David and Goliath (compared to King Kong in the film) and is rather funny, even if not much happens in it. (11/11/2018)