Rock Around the Clock was such a hit at the box office that Sam Katzman wasted little time whipping up this follow up. Bill Haley and the Comets are back but his part is even less integral to the plot this time. The movie is actually about a singer played by Alan Dale - who I'd never heard of but who was apparently a crooner in the 50s who switched over to rock and roll. He looks like a former crooner but is meant to be a pop star, probably the biggest problem this unpretentious film has.
The plot involves Dale returning to his hometown to find that rock and roll has been banned - which is a great teensploitation rock and roll plot (as Footloose showed). But it suffers from Dale's casting - I think he was only 30 but he's an old looking 30 and he feels old in a role that needed a Pat Boone or an Elvis. (When Dale romances the daughter of a columnist and is attempted-seduced by a trampy girl, it looks creepy).
It's professionally put together at least and does have Little Richard performing not just "Long Tall Sally" but also "Tutti Fruiti". There's a cute finale where the kids prove a point to the crusty oldies by putting on a performance of 1920s songs. Arthur Freed pops up again as Dale's manager.
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