Don't Knock the Twist (1962) User Reviews

As twisted as colored TV.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 2 June 2022]

A fun but silly followup to Columbia's string of rock and roll musicals that started with "Rock Around the Clock", so after they didn't knock the rock, the list was bound to follow when that dance craze began. It's 1962, the same year that Tracy Turnblad stirred up things on the Corny Collins Show in "Hairspray", so it's no surprise that songs from the 1988 cult John Waters musical are heard here including "The Mashed Potato" and "Bristol Stomp". There's also "Duke of Earl" with Gene Chandler complete in top hot, tails and monocle looking delightfully over the top. The sweet faced Vic Dana gets a tender spiritual, "Little Altar Boy", and of course, Chubby Checker twists his way around the viewer's finger.

The storyline surrounds TV executive's efforts to produce a "twist spectacular" (before the craze disappears) and fashion designer Mari Blanchard's efforts to create fashions appropriate to twist in after critic Elizabeth Harrower bashes her latest line of rather dull creations. Society matron and the wife of the TV network Barbara Morrison, (who looks square on the surface) turns out to be a cool old lady, pushing Blanchard to design outfits for the show.

Then there's Nydia Westman and Frank Albertson among the other veteran character actors in the film, with Westman still as jittery as she was in films made 25 years before this. Linda Scott is the pretty young girl who gets to wear the silly looking Salome costume which is considered oh so scandalous but is far from it. So it's better than expected story, slight but entertaining, and truly a lot of fun as far as the musical numbers are concerned. As produced by Sam Katzman the king of the B film, this turns out to be quite entertaining, and not as dated as I expected it to be.

The twistin' is fine, but the movie comes up a little lame.

[michaelRokeefe · 6/10 · 9 September 2000]

You can tell right away that this is a quickie to join the parade of "twist" theme movies. A TV executive (Lang Jeffries)is trying to put together a TV special a couple weeks ahead of a competing station. He just happens to call on Chubby Checker to come to his rescue. Chubby wrangles Gene Chandler, Vic Dana, Linda Scott and the Dovells to appear. The spotlight ends up on a young dancer(Georgine Darcy).

Plenty of shimmy shakin' goin' on. Of course the talent, excluding Checker of course, are barely one hit wonders. Very little depth to the plot, but watching again will bring back some memories.

Also in the cast are Mari Blanchard, Stephen Preston and Nydia Westman.

Twisting once again

[bkoganbing · 4/10 · 26 June 2018]

In Don't Knock The Twist TV executive Lang Jeffries is told to take advantage of that latest dance craze The Twist and put together a television special featuring the latest rock and roll acts. Since Jeffries good buddy is none other than Chubby Checker he's got it made.

But girlfriend fashion designer Mari Blanchard has some ideas of her own especially after Jeffries discovers Georgina Darcy and Stephen Miller doing some wild and crazy dance routines. Her machinations almost ruin things for the twisters young and old.

All this is just an excuse to give the current rock and rollers like Linda Scott and Gene Chandler and Vic Dana a chance to show their stuff. And there's Chubby Checker doing a very good job playing Chubby Checker.

For those nostalgic for the era.

T.V. Exec Uses Mashed Potato to Stomp Out the Competition.

[Lang Jr · 26 September 1999]

Ted Haver (Lang Jeffries) is a harried TV exec who must orchestrate an epic "Twist Spectacular" to beat the competing broadcast network. Lang recruits Chubby Checker and other "top talent" like the Linda Scott. He also discovers -- via a Peeping Tom session -- neighborhood "teen" Madge and her "brother" doing the wildest Twist steps, and he convinces her to be in the show ("I'll do it for the Orphans!") Lang's gal pal, Dulcey Corbin, gets jealous of Madge and uses her latest "Twist" fashions to stir up controversy. Film Highlight: Nightclub revelers demonstrate piety during Vic Dana's somber rendition of "Little Altar Boy".

...but it's OK to knock the movie.

[Hermit C-2 · 2/10 · 27 September 1999]

Hollywood just never did get it when it came to rock & roll in the early years, did they? I think I know one thing that was wrong with movies about rock in the pre-'Easy Rider' days--they were full o' SQUARES, man! This one is an effort by Columbia Pictures to capitalize on the Twist dance craze. It was produced by the noted cost-cutter Sam Katzman, the man responsible for the worst of Elvis Presley's films, and it shows. It's strictly formula: a simple, basic plot; lots of time consumed by (lip-synched) performances; and a few pretty girls wiggling around. Even so, this movie is comparatively bad for its type--and that means very bad.

The music is no saving grace here. It features Chubby Checker, who, despite his big hits, is no more than a peripheral character in rock & roll history. Vic Dana, the Dovells and Linda Scott are all but forgotten. Gene Chandler does do his big hit, "Duke of Earl," all duded up. That's not much of a highlight package. This flick is only for the fanatic who wants to see every old R&R film ever made.

It was worth the wait all these years

[Moax429 · 7/10 · 24 September 2007]

I remember as a youngster my folks had the soundtrack album of "Don't Knock the Twist," and they played it many times on their stereo whenever they had parties (that album was my introduction to the Dovells' hit "Bristol Stomp" and Dee Dee Sharp's "Mashed Potato Time"). When I was 8 years old in 1970 and got my first record player as a birthday present, my folks bequeathed the album to me (they seemed to prefer Country music more than Pop by then - sad!); in early 1972, however, I accidentally destroyed that copy of "Don't Knock the Twist," and could never find it again (especially since by that time Cameo/Parkway Records ceased to exist). That is, until recently, when I found a pristine copy of the album at a local record meet; it was such a treat to hear all those old songs again, especially "Mashed Potato Time" (I recently purchased a new, deluxe turntable - the kind DJs use in clubs - for my stereo system).

I had never seen the movie of "Don't Knock the Twist;" what was especially tantalizing was a passage in the liner notes on the album's back cover which stated, "....it wouldn't be fair to reveal the plot." (I had seen its prequel, "Twist Around the Clock," on television a few times, however.)

That is, until a few weeks ago.

I had heard unconfirmed rumors that Sony Pictures Entertainment, whose Columbia Pictures division originally released "Don't Knock the Twist," didn't renew the copyrights on this film or "Twist Around the Clock," and that these films were in the public domain.

WRONG! Sony STILL DOES own the rights to these films, and a few months ago they put them on DVD in a 2-disc set!

When I saw the poster in the upper left corner of this page (the cover of the DVD box), I went over to Sony Pictures' website to see if that DVD set was still available; although it wasn't listed on Sony's website, I went to a local Border's bookshop, who confirmed "Don't Knock the Twist" on DVD WAS indeed available, so I ordered a copy.

Surprise! The movie was every bit as good as the album, and at times a little funnier than "Twist Around the Clock!"

It's beyond me why "Don't Knock the Twist" hasn't ever turned up on television. Maybe it was because of the "Salome" subplot? (That would certainly be considered tame by today's standards; if this film was shown on TV now it'd most likely be rated TV-PG.)

But even better than the story itself was the music; it was also enjoyable hearing Linda Scott's hit "Yessirree," Vic Dana's "Little Altar Boy," and especially Gene Chandler's "Duke of Earl," none of which appeared on the soundtrack album (most likely because Ms. Scott recorded for Kapp, Dana for Liberty, and Chandler for Vee Jay, respectively, and since the soundtrack was on Cameo/Parkway, those other labels apparently didn't want to lease the masters of those hits to Cameo/Parkway). And now some of what I saw and heard in the movie makes sense whenever I hear the soundtrack album again (except for the Carroll Brothers' version of "Bo Diddley;" that patter heard at the beginning of the track was deleted in the film, so I still have no idea what that intro was all about).

Best of all, now I don't have to wonder "Why hasn't 'Don't Knock the Twist' ever been shown on TV, and when will it ever turn up?" I can enjoy this film, as well as "Twist Around the Clock," again any time I want!

So thanks a lot, Sony!

I also discovered ABKCO Records and Music now owns the rights to the Cameo/Parkway Records backlog, and that they recently began releasing some "best of" CDs by Chubby Checker, Bobby Rydell, The Orlons, Dee Dee Sharp, etc., all of which are the long, sought-after original recordings. I can only hope ABKCO will consider re-releasing the "Don't Knock the Twist" soundtrack album on CD, too!

A "B" movie from the early 60's

[emckinnis2 · 3/10 · 29 December 2006]

Double Lame vote here. The only known celebrity of note is Ernest Evans whose stage name, Chubby Checker was suggested by Dick Clark's first wife, Barbara, as a take off on "Fats" Domino. Chubby deserved better treatment than this movie gave him. The movie sucks and only Chubby's music and the film presentation of the dances attributed to him make it bearable to watch

FYI, Ernest Evans was born on October 3, 1941 in Spring Gulley, South Carolina. Later his parents moved to South Philadelphia, PA. He was an alumnus of South Philadelphia High School,the same high school that gave us Frankie Avalon and Fabian (Forte). Ernest and Faian used to dance and sing entertain their classmates when given the opportunity.

The song The Twist had been a Rhythm and Blues recording for Hank Ballard and was one of the songs in young Mr. Evans repertoire. Dick Clark arranged for the now Chubby Checker to record the song for the Cameo-Parkway label. After Chubby appeared on American Bandstand the song became a #1 hit and launched his career.

Other songs on Chubby's hit list were The Pony, Let's Twist Again (like we did last summer), The Fly (which was used in the movie Don't Knock the Twist) and Limbo Rock to name a few. In fact The Twist emerged again in 1961 and climbed to #1 again, a feat that is shared only with Bing Crosby for White Christmas.

Another mindless black & white rock 'n roll movie

[the_glorious_sob · 4/10 · 2 February 2018]

I discovered this on Get TV, a terrestrial channel which aired this movie when it first aired. Back then, its programming was old movies from Columbia Pictures or Sony; it currently airs old TV shows & movies on weekends. I also saw this on YouTube a few times before the user or the website removed it. I am currently watching it as a DVD courtesy of Netflix, & I learned it's the sequel to "Twist Around the Clock." OK, here's the main review: it's a poor to so-so musical comedy. If you're a fan of such movies or of oldies music this is up your alley. But whenever the music stops, there's the faint sense of a plot. & I'm alerting of spoilers because I did manage to watch the film more seriously to recognize one character has to create conflict by conjuring up controversy with something about Salome & the dance of the seven veils (which sounds iffy way back then but couldn't be a big deal in 2018). And to inform you how inactively involved I am as a viewer, the DVD plays while I type this & procrastinate on working on home finances. I only plan to watch this 2-4x on the DVD before mailing it back, ready for my next DVD on the queue. (Incidentally "Twist Around the Clock" is on the queue; I expect to also give it a 4/10 stars.) In conclusion, this Chubby Checker motion picture is mindless entertainment. If you're a Baby Boomer or a young fan of oldies, enjoy the music. As for the story-line & any jokes or funny dialogue? Well, this only identifies it as an official comedy but I didn't LOL the whole film through.

This one has even the older folks rockin'

[crazy-12 · 8/10 · 28 November 1999]

A very entertaining film with music that takes me back to my senior year in high school. Unlike most of these rock n roll movies, this one clearly shows middle aged and even elderly adults enjoying the music of teenagers. I find that refreshing, although mostly unrealistic. I also enjoy watching Georgine Darcy's(Madge) and her "brother" doing their dance routine. Georgine is a real pro and makes the show more enjoyable.(I would love to know how to contact her.) A real neat movie!