Twist Around the Clock

86 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishBox office$1.4 million (US/Canada)^[1]

Twist Around the Clock is an American musical film released in 1961. It was a remake of Sam Katzman and Robert E. Kent's Rock Around the Clock. Like Rock Around the Clock, which was followed by a sequel titled Don't Knock the Rock, the film was followed by a sequel titled Don't Knock the Twist.

Plot

A struggling manager visiting a hayseed town discovers a new dance craze, the Twist, and hopes to turn it into an overnight nationwide sensation.

Cast

• Chubby Checker as Chubby Checker
• Dion DiMucci as Dion (as Dion)
• Vicki Spencer as Vicki Spencer
• The Marcels as The Marcels
• Cornelius Harp as The Marcels Lead Singer (as The Marcels)
• Fred Johnson as The Marcels Bass Singer (as The Marcels)
• Gene Bricker as The Marcels Singer (as The Marcels)
• Ronald Mundy as The Marcels Singer (as The Marcels)
• Richard Knauss as The Marcels Singer (as The Marcels)
• Allen Johnson as The Marcels Singer (as The Marcels)
• Clay Cole as Clay Cole
• John Cronin as Mitch Mason
• Mary Mitchel as Tina Louden (as Mary Mitchell)
• Maura McGiveney as Debbie Marshall
• Tol Avery as Joe Marshall
• Alvy Moore as Dizzy Bellew
• Lenny Kent as Georgie Clark
• Tom Middleton as Jimmy Cook
• Jeff Malloy as Larry Louden (as Jeff Parker)
• John Bryant as Harry Davis

Production

Twist Around the Clock only cost $250,000 to make, but in less than six months it grossed six million - so of course I'm gonna make more 'Twist' movies !

— Sam Katzman

Critical reception

Describing the film as having "something resembling a plot," critic Eleanor Mannikka wrote in AllMovie that "In the end, this teen-oriented tale is best remembered for two of Dion's hit songs, "Runaround Sue" and "The Wanderer".^[2] Writing for Turner Classic Movies, critic Rob Nixon described the film as "a remake of the first true rock 'n' roll musical, Rock Around the Clock (1956), with a nearly identical plot."^[3] A review of the film in TV Guide described it as "a bit of good fun" that "bears a certain naive charm of a long-gone era," and that it "is really just an excuse for plenty of rock tunes."^[4]

References

External links

• Twist Around the Clock at IMDb