''Calypso Heat Wave'' is a 1957 American

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

musical film directed by Fred F. Sears and starring

Johnny Desmond Johnny Desmond (born Giovanni Alfredo De Simone; November 14, 1919 – September 6, 1985) was an American singer who was popular in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. Biography Early years Desmond was born Giovanni de Simone in Detroit, Michigan, ...

Merry Anders Merry Anders (born Mary Helen Anderson; May 22, 1934 – October 28, 2012) was an American actress and model who appeared in a number of television programs and films from the 1950s until her retirement from the screen in 1972. Early life Ander ...

and Meg Myles. It was an attempt by producer

Sam Katzman Sam Katzman (July 7, 1901 – August 4, 1973) was an American film producer and director. Katzman produced low-budget genre films, including serials, which had disproportionately high returns for the studios and his financial backers. E ...

to repeat the success of '' Rock Around the Clock'' with calypso music. It was originally known as ''Juke Box Jamboree''.

Plot

Everything's going well at Disco Records, where singer Johnny Conroy is popular and publicity chief Marty Collins is good at her job, as well as in love with company boss Mack Adams. Everything changes when Barney Pearl shows up. Pearl is a crude businessman who supplies records to jukeboxes coast-to-coast. He demands to be made a full partner in Disco Records or he will yank their discs out of jukes everywhere. Furthermore, he insists that singer girlfriend Mona De Luce gets to make a record of her own. Implored not to agree, Mack goes along. Pearl keeps the pressure on, renaming the company after himself. Johnny quits and leaves on his sailboat for points unknown. Mona, meanwhile, is a much better singer than expected. Her record is a smash hit, annoying Barney, who wants her wholly dependent on him. Barney demands her career come to an end. Marty, Mack and Mona all travel to the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

, where Johnny is now enjoying the sun, fun and music. Johnny suggests they begin recording

calypso songs Calypso refers to: * Calypso (mythology), a nymph who, famously in Homer's ''Odyssey'', kept Odysseus with her on her island of Ogygia for seven years. * Calypso (nymphs), other nymphs called Calypso. Calypso may also refer to: Books * ...

. It all works out perfectly, and when Pearl tries to cut himself in, they find a way to keep him out.

Cast

as Johnny Conroy *

as Marty Collins * Meg Myles as Mona De Luce *

Paul Langton Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

as Mack Adams *

Joel Grey Joel Grey (born Joel David Katz; April 11, 1932) is an American actor, singer, dancer, photographer and theatre director. He is best known for portraying the Master of Ceremonies in the musical '' Cabaret'' on Broadway as well as in the 1972 fi ...

as Alex Nash *

Michael Granger Michael Granger (May 14, 1923 – October 22, 1981) was an American actor. Born Milton Grossman in Kansas City, MO, Granger, he appeared in ''The Big Heat'' and in B movies such as '' Creature With The Atom Brain'', as well as on TV shows includ ...

as Barney Pearl * George E. Stone as Books * The Treniers as The Treniers *

The Tarriers The Tarriers were an American vocal group, specializing in folk music and folk-flavored popular music. Named after the folk song " Drill, Ye Tarriers, Drill", the group had two hit songs during 1956-57: "Cindy, Oh Cindy" (with Vince Martin) a ...

as The Tarriers *

The Hi-Los The Hi-Lo's were a vocal quartet formed in 1953, who achieved their greatest fame in the late 1950s and 1960s. The group's name is a reference to their extreme vocal and physical ranges (Bob Strasen and Bob Morse were tall, Gene Puerling and Cla ...

as The Hi-Los * Maya Angelou as herself * Dick Whittinghill as himself *

Darla Hood Darla Jean Hood (November 8, 1931 – June 13, 1979) was an American child actress, best known as the leading lady in the ''Our Gang'' series from 1935 to 1941. She was born in Leedey, Oklahoma, the only child of music teacher Elizabeth Da ...

as Johnny's Duet Partner *

Pierce Lyden Pierce W. Lyden (January 8, 1908 – October 10, 1998) was an American actor best known for his work in television and film Westerns. Early life Lyden was born in a sod house on a ranch near Hildreth, Nebraska on January 8, 1908. The son of a hor ...

as Hi-Fi *

Gil Perkins Gilbert Vincent Perkins (24 August 1907 – 28 March 1999) was an Australian film and television actor. Early life As a teenager, Perkins was a trackman and an athlete. He ran away from home at a young age and joined the crew of a Norwe ...

as First Thug *

William Challee William John Challee (April 6, 1904 – March 11, 1989) was an American actor. Biography Challee was born in Chicago and was a student at Lake View High School. Challee appeared on Broadway by 1926 and by 1931 in early Group Theatre produc ...

as Second Thug * King Charles MacNiles as Mac Niles (as Mac Niles)

References

External links

* * 1957 films Columbia Pictures films American musical drama films Films directed by Fred F. Sears 1950s English-language films 1950s American films English-language musical drama films {{musical-drama-film-stub