Riot on Sunset Strip

Down at General Hospital, recovering from her acid-induced statutory gang-rape at the hands of Sunset Strip "long-hairs", twenty-something teenager Mimsey Farmer gets snippy with her police captain daddy, Aldo Ray, and sneers, "Things that happen to me aren't usually fatal." Maybe not, Mimsey, they can sure damage a girl's career. Unbelievably bad expose' of the wild life of teenagers who terrorize LA by standing around passively on the Strip wearing groovey clothes and carrying signs that say things like "We want peace, not police." Career high-point for Mickey Rooney's kid, who does more flipping of his hair than any given season of Charlie's Angels. Most ludicrous [and longest] moment: Mimsey accidentally drops acid and does a very long, robotic interpretive dance with lots of arched-back, breasts-out wanna-be Ann-Margret faux-eroticism. Groovey, Baby. Best line: "Who's the rat-fink that put the finger on us?" Favorite character: the girl in the cool green dress who takes acid and spends the rest of the movie draping herself across various pices of furniture, railings, window sills, etc. and trying to laugh demonically. Great micro-scene by Margaretta Ramsey as Mimsey's pre-Jerry Springer alcoholic hag-mom.

This legendary film is most legendary for its music scenes by the Standells(whose versions of the two songs they do are different from the ones appearing on the soundtrack album!) and the Chocolate Watchband (who are a VERY exciting live band and whose appearance totally justifies their devoted cult following). The actual movie has a kind of "Dragnet" feel, minus Jack Webb's patented hard-boiled ambience. With an actor as impressive as Aldo Ray in the lead--as a fair-minded police chief with a complex family situation who is drawn into the melodramatic situation that provides the film's plot--at least we are provided with a solid performance in a central role. And the young Mimsy Farmer's LSD dance is as bizarre as I'd heard it was. The rest of the film plays like a TV episode with a little extra sleaze added. Director Arthur Dreifuss was no stranger to exploitation films, having directed Black-cast and teen-oriented quickies in the 1940s AND directing the 60s classic The Love-Ins. Producer Sam Katzman had attempted to cash in on youth culture in the mid-50s with his two Bill Haley films and in the early 60s with his two Chubby Checker films (Don't Knock the Twist was excellent!). Frankly, this film takes the same youth/adult conflicts shown in those films and transposes them into 1967 Los Angeles. The difference is that the music is not the main element here-- it's only a backdrop to the Adult/Youth conflict. This film actually means well and presents a fair-minded analysis of the situation, and Ray is quite sympathetic and convincing, but the overall effect is reduced by weakly written roles for the (overage) teenagers and a "riot" that is anti-climactic and a conclusion that seems abrupt. Still the music scenes with the Standells and the Chocolate Watchband are GREAT, as are the songs by the exciting band who performs "Jolene" or something like that in a club scene. Perhaps this could be put on a DVD double-bill with another 60s AIP teen-exploitation flick?

Hard to find but worth the search! This movie was filmed in 1967 and could easily have been made by Dragnet's own Jack Webb. The over-the-top hippiness of this movie is what makes it a classic. If you have ever seen hippy episodes of Dragnet, this is the same scene, man. The Chocolate Watchband perform as does The Standells. Its nice to see these 1960s bands performing live in a set that probably resembles what it was like to see them live back then. The klead singer of the Chocolate watchband sings with two maracas in each hand and emits a strange Jim Morrison vibe in his half-shouting way of singing and his stage movements. Who influenced who, I wonder? The kids hang out at a club called "Pandora's Box" and some dance, some read and others are just there into their own trips. Mimsy Farmer plays Andy, a fresh face on the strip who is led down the road to perdition with a sugar cube of LSD slipped into her drink at a "freak-out". Mimsy had just finished work as Gloria the bad boys gal on "Hot Rods To Hell" the same year. She will seem vaguely familiar as she bears an uncanny resemblance in some light to Meredith McRae back in her "Petticoat Junction" days. Mimsy is slipped drugs and the obligatory trip scene in this movie is one in which she rolls around the floor in a minidress and performs what amounts to a weird interpretive dance which I am sure was filled with profound meaning in 1967 but is rather lost on me. The men wear Sonny Bono caveman vests, the women wear bright neon miniskirts. If this is your bag, baby, definately try to find this movie.

This relic was truly fascinating. Bad, not terrible enough to be unwatchable, but bad enough to be thoroughly entertaining.

When talking to the cops, the girls say stuff like "My name is Elisabeth Ann, but my friends call me Liz Ann" and "My name is Andrea and my friends call me Andy". And cop replies, "Are they really your friends, honey?" For some reason I found that scene absurdly humorous. That is a good example of the writing and acting in this movie.

Andy's acid trip is truly trippy man. It's like a freaked out yoga session.

The movie is very earnest, like Glenn or Glenda, but also very out of touch. Hee hee a good time.

By the way, there was no riot. Guess it wasn't in the budget.

As Reefer Madness was to the youth of the 30's, so Riot on Sunset Strip was to the Baby Boomers. So out of touch, it is actually funny, not serious as intended. This film lacked a grasp of the time, mood and the music. The mood of the 60's was anti-war, not I don't like my mommy and daddy. I've wasted 90 minutes before, but it was seldom less fun. In short, this film is trite and definitely out of touch with the era of peace and love.