Beatnik movies

[James Demby]

I love how B-movies portrayed beatniks and jazz hipsters in the late 50s and early 60's.  Some of my favorite "beatnik" flicks are:

The Beat Generation

Bucket of Blood

The Rebel Set

All night Long  (not really a beatnik flick, but a great jazz themed movie from the UK)

It Won't Rub Off Baby (another jazz themed flick)

Got any faves you'd recommend?

[CHAS D]

The Christopher Lee / Adam Faith movie "Beat girl" aka "Wild for Kicks" was pretty cool. I agree with hyou about "Bucket of Blood." Nothing can top that one. Brilliant art scene satire.

[John Battles]

Yes ! "Beat Girl" has it all. The kids in that movie are almost Mods . They're still Beats , but , they would have been mods , probably ,a year later , were this real life . Adam Faith doing minimal , Cochranesque Rockers for The Beats , looking like a Mod. Too much . "Violence is for Squares!" Preach on!  Sadly , the commercial versions of said tunes are buried in strings !! Then you've got the badass John Barry Soundtrack , KING Christopher Lee , young Oliver Reed , and I forget ol' Beat Gal's name , but Va Va and Voom !!!

'SOMEONE DOWN THERE LIKES ME !".  The Dark Knight .

"High School Confidential " , of course , depicts Jackie Coogan's Heroin operation being run out of a coffee house , with , um , whatshername , doing a sultry beat poem , "Tommorrow Is a DRAG!" , WHILE THE UNJUSTLY IGNORED JOHN DREW BARRYMORE (WHO'S BETTER KNOWN TODAY FOR MAKING GOOD GIRLS......THAT GO BAD!) Does a great recitation about Christopher Colombus, comparable to Andy Griffith's "Romeo and Juliet" , but , even though he plays a Southern boy , he 's no hick.

Related : Maynard G. Krebs , of course , King of the Beats , and probably the first counter - cultural character on a TV show.    The "Happy dAYS " EPISODE , where Richie befriends some Beats. iT'S STILL FUNNY ; "There are no jelly donuts for you , little boy. ONLY DEATH."  Strangely enough , there was a "Dennis The Menace " EPISODE , based on an actual Hank Ketchum (I think.) Dennis story , where Dennis's Dad has a literal mass home invasion , because everyone thinks he's having an openhouse , including a Beatnik couple. The woman looks like a Picasso , and the man has shades , long(For then) hair and the prerequisite goatee, and he calls Mr. Mitchell "Dad". His character was replaced with a Joe College type. But , seek that out , and "Kookie", a Beatnik comic book that was actually very well done , if you feel like it.

'Bucket of Blood" , ONE OF CORMAN'S BEST.  Can't go wrong with Dick Miller , and this is one of THE only times he nabbed a starring role.

CHAS D said:

The Christopher Lee / Adam Faith movie "Beat girl" aka "Wild for Kicks" was pretty cool. I agree with hyou about "Bucket of Blood." Nothing can top that one. Brilliant art scene satire.

[Howie Pyro]

Beat Girl, High School Confidential has one of my favorite beatnik scenes ever (with Philipa Fallon), The Bloody Brood, The Prime Time (the first film by Herschel Gordon Lewis)...there's loads more, though Bucket of Blood is my favorite...

[CHAS D]

"Repetition is death..." my wife still recites that line to me...

[James Demby]

I forgot about Beat Girl, saw that years ago I remember enjoying it.  High School Confidential was great!  You gotta love any movie where Uncle Fester is a dope pusher.

[CHAS D]

Johnny Legend showed "High School Confidential" at the old Hawaiian Gardens (former porno theater) here in Hollywood (next to the Florentine Gardens dance club). AMAZING.

[John Battles]

I'd love to hear Johnny recite "Tommorrow is a Drag". 

Crazy casting in HSC , former child star (Coogan), Contenders to their respective thrones (Mamie "Hey , I eat punks like Jayne and Marilyn for breakfast , with Diana Dors for a chaser ! " Van Doren , Jerry Lee "All Elvis ever did was take dope that I could'nt git a holt of." Lewis.), and sons of legends of the Silent era (John Drew Barrymore , Charles Chaplin , Harold Lloyd , Jr.) whose own careers never really took off.......AND The older Brother of a future Standell (Russ Tamblyn).
 
CHAS D said:

Johnny Legend showed "High School Confidential" at the old Hawaiian Gardens (former porno theater) here in Hollywood (next to the Florentine Gardens dance club). AMAZING.