Daddy-O (1958)

User Rating:

1.8/10   

Director:

Lou Place

Writer:

David Moessinger (original screenplay)

Release Date:

March 1958 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Music | Mystery | Romance

Tagline:

Alive!! With the Beat and the Heat of Today's Rock-N-Roll Generation!

Plot:

Phil, a part-time truck driver and singer who wears his pants far too high, meets a feisty platinum...

Plot Keywords:

Singing | Truck | Police | Gang Leader | Accordion Player

Cast

Dick Contino	...	Daddy-O / Phil Sandifer / Pete Plum
Sandra Giles	...	Jana Ryan
Bruno VeSota	...	Sidney Chillas
Gloria Victor	...	Marcia Hayes
Jack McClure	...	Bruce Green
Ron McNeil	...	Duke
Sonia Torgeson	...	Peg Lawrence
Kelly Gordon	...	Ken
Hank Mann	...	Barney
Joseph Donte	...	Frank Wooster
Joseph Martin	...	Kerm
Robert Banas	...	Sonny DiMarco
Gabe Delutri
Ruth Scott
William Riggs
Pierette Hailey
Cheston Tarver

Directed by
Lou Place

Writing credits
David Moessinger		(original screenplay)

Produced by
Elmer C. Rhoden Jr.	....	producer

Original Music by
John Williams

Cinematography by
Perry Finnerman

Film Editing by
Harold White

Production Design by
Pato Guzman

Art Direction by
Claudio Guzmán

Makeup Department
Carlie Taylor	....	makeup artist

Production Companies

• Imperial Productions

Distributors

• American International Pictures (AIP) (1958) (USA) (theatrical)
• RCA Home Video (video)
• Video Beat (????) (USA) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Downbeat (UK)
Out on Probation

Runtime:

74 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved | USA:Passed

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Imperial Productions

Trivia:

This film marks composer John Williams's first feature film score.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Daddy-O is being chased by the police he is wearing a striped shirt. When he comes to the truck ramp, before the big jump, it changes to a solid color, collared shirt. When the car lands, it changes back to the striped shirt.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Pulp Fiction (1994)

"If you weren't a woman I'd punch you in the face"

Truck driver, singer and high trouser enthusiast Daddy-o is a real hip cat. He hangs out at a pizza parlour where he acts moody, sings deep songs like rock candy and dances aggressively with women while repeatedly pointing out to them that if they weren't a woman he would punch them, right in the face. Because their driving is substandard.

While Daddy-o is racing against a pointy breasted stranger his best friend gets run off the road and killed. How close were they? Some people have brothers, daddy-o had this guy. That's how close these two were, though they are only seen to exchange five lines of dialog in the entire movie.

Naturally Daddy-o isn't best pleased and after a run in with a myopic gym manager he drifts into some shady business delivering dope for a fat man who inexplicably spends all his time in the gym. Maybe he isn't getting any thinner because the gym doesn't have any actual gym equipment that I could see.

There are two reasons that I can think of to watch this movie, hence the two star rating. The first is that the songs are just so crap they have to be heard to be believed, most of them just have the same line repeated endlessly like Rock Candy which goes "rock candy, rock, rock, rock candy, rock, rock candy." (repeat 50 times).

The other reason for tuning in to this highly dated yarn is the way the script can't decide if Daddy-o is a mean moody type or a fun loving hipster liable to burst into song at any moment. It probably doesn't help that the teenage rebel looks about 40 either.

Pretty funny, pretty awful too though.