Fantastic!

A very feeble attempt at affirmatie action

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

A youthful gang of punks includes one guy named Eddy (Tony Travis), who has singing talent and is discovered by a talent agent in a restaurant. Which makes his gang members jealous. As the gang tries to sway Eddy away from a singing career, he makes some mistakes in judgment. The result is an off-screen murder event wherein Eddy is a witness.This puts Eddy is something of a predicament. At one point, one of the gang members, played by Peter Breck, reminds Eddy: "You're in it (the murder) just as much as I am; we're all in it, together ... you're one of us ... you hip?" "The Beatniks" is mostly a character study of one juvenile delinquent's dilemma in being loyal to his gang vs. pursuing a promising singing career.The underlying premise is fine. But the script is below average with corny dialogue; too much talk; and the inclusion of Tony Travis' singing, which stops the plot flow. You get the feeling that the film is nothing but a singing vehicle for Travis.Some of the acting, especially from Peter Breck, is really hammy. Casting is poor in that most of the actors look like they're closer to the age of thirty. B&W lighting is acceptable, if conventional. Background music is nondescript jazz, which is the only element that remotely conveys a "beatnik" theme.The film's title is deceptive. Despite that, and other major problems, it's not a terrible movie, just not as good as comparable films from that era. Thankfully, the short runtime makes viewing less painful.

Oh, where do you start? "The Beatniks" -- today's youth living by their code of mutiny and rebellion. Of course, as others have pointed out, there are no beatniks! Did someone actually get "hoodlum" confused with "beatnik"? These defiant young don't look all that young and for good reason. The fellow playing "defiant young" Red was 45 years old when he made the film! Ha! Ha! Ha! Yet the film is fun. It is cheap, cheesy, illogical, and loads of fun. It is also a GOOD FILM."The Beatniks" is a kind of late 1950s fairy tale (no pun intended). Tony Travis plays small- time hood Eddy Crane in a manner that makes him endearing. Peter Breck as Mooney is an over-the-top wonder. The film is notable for the way Mooney is obviously enamored of Eddy -- and this is as obvious as possible given the time period. "Sideburns Don't Need Your Sympathy" is a wonderful novelty tune. The lyrics are deliberately off-the-wall but the singer delivers them strongly and Travis lip synchs with sincerity. The other songs are delightfully crooned.Cheap and corny, "The Beatniks" is in fact a good film. It is not just "so-bad-it's good" but GOOD. It maintains a fast pace throughout the film. It causes the viewer to care about Eddy and loose cannon Mooney. It has four fine songs. Both Karen Kadler and Joyce Terry play their parts believably (even though Terry may have hated the film). Charles Delaney is noteworthy as the avuncular Mr. Bayliss. Talent agents are usually depicted as sleazy but Bayliss is refreshingly kind-hearted and sincere. Delaney looks a bit sickly in the film -- he died before it came out -- but he still plays his part strongly and sincerely. Watch the film. It is good: well-paced, well acted, and with fine music. It deserves a far better reputation than it has.

If there's anyone out there expecting to see a film about the Fifties counterculture prototypes, skip this one by. Skip it by for that reason and on general principles.The Beatniks is about a gang of punks who bully and rob people for kicks and one of them, Tony Travis is discovered in true Hollywood tradition in a roadside dive by an agent. He's got a decent singing voice and the agent promises to make him the next Elvis.But our lug-nut of a hero instead of saying goodbye Daddy-O in true beatnik fashion, doesn't want to lose the old gang. And the old gang don't want to let him go. Especially Peter Breck, a twisted psycho with some gay leanings who's crushing out on Travis big time.Despite this film where he gives an over the top performance like Jack Palance on amphetamines, Peter Breck was the only one in this no name cast to have anything resembling a career.The Beatniks is a film without a lot going for it. This was one of those drive-in flicks which one could get down to serious business at the drive-in without missing anything of importance.

******SPOILERS****** Standard late 1950's and early 60's fare that was cranked out of the great Hollywood "Dream Factory's" youth division back then that had nothing to do with what the title suggests: Beatniks and the Beat Generation but what the heck it's a catchy name and back in those days who would know the difference anyway.Things happen so fast in this movie that it leaves you dizzy after the first ten minutes and almost paralyzed that by the end you have trouble getting out of your seat. A gang of rootless and bored youths who seem to have nothing to do with their lives but rob bars and grocery stores as well as steal cars run into, literally, a top LA record executive Harry Bayliss, Charles Delaney, when they smash into his parked car. With everyone going into the popular Nadine's Diner to get something the eat and the record exec. going to call to get help for his damaged car. Then just like in the movies, gee I almost forgot this is a movie, one of the gang members Eddy Crane, Tony Travis, breaks into a song and dance. Eddy's singing so impresses Mr.Bayliss that he offers to sign Eddy up on the spot not only to a record contract but to put him on a top Rock & Roll TV variety show that very evening! Talking about instant success! Although Eddy and his friends aren't that crazy about going on the TV show, crazy is the word for these goof balls, Eddy reluctantly does go on and the rest, like what they say in ShowBiz, is history. Not the history that you would get in a movie about one going from rags to fame and riches but the history you get from any post office or police station by reading the history of the person on a wanted poster. I For one actually got to like Eddy and was rooting for him to make something of his life and get away from that group of misfits that he was part of. Knowing something about movies like "The Beatniks" I just knew that this wasn't going to happen. I just sat back and waited for the inevitable unhappy ending, and unhappily I wasn't disappointed. The movie has some of the most unrestrained and obnoxious acting that I've ever seen I my life. Peter Breck, Bob "Moonie" Mooney, is so ridicules and over he top as a psycho/killer that he came across comical more then anything else. "I Killed That Fat Barkeep" was one of Breck best lines in the movie as he yelled it at the top of his voice as the cops came looking for him at the hotel that he and his gang were hold up in.Peter Breck actually made the art of "Ham Acting" Kosher with his unbelievable and outlandish performance as crazy "Moonie". The insane plot revolves around a bar killing and later a knife attack by the mentally unstable "Moonie" on Mr. Bayliss in the hotel room that Bayliss paid for Eddy and his gang of crazies to stay at. This all happened while Eddy was doing his gig on the TV show that Bayliss got for him with one of the gang members Red, Sam Edwards, under the covers in bed near dead after being shot! All this after Eddy was well on his way on the road to success with him and his friends not having to be criminals anymore, this was was just to much to take as well as believe. Eddy who seemed to be getting his life back together and was very likable even when he was bad in the end gets his caring and sweet girlfriend Helen Tracy, Joyce Terry, who's a secretary at Mr. Bayliss record office to call the police on him. Eddy felt that he would chicken out if he had to call the cops himself as he and Moonie have it out in back of the record studio; where he just cut his first record and is now in danger of getting cut to ribbons by the insane Moonie. The movie ended with Eddy as well as his former friend Moonie getting sent up the river for murder instead of Eddy getting sent to Hollywood to become the next great American singing idol. You have to say one thing about the movie "The Beatniks" they really knew how to use their imagination in Hollywood back in those days.