Rock You Sinners
1957 film
Rock You Sinners is a 1957 British second feature black and white musical film directed by Denis Kavanagh and featuring early British rock and roll artistes, including Art Baxter and His Rock 'n' Roll Sinners, known for their song "Rock You Sinners". The story was by Beatrice Scott.
According to the British Film Institute it was the "first British rock 'n' roll film".
Plot
The success of his rock and roll television show brings fame for DJ Johnny Laurence but trouble for his relationship with steady girlfriend Carol.
Cast
Philip Gilbert as Johnny Laurence
Adrienne Scott as Carol Carter
Colin Croft as Pete
Jackie Collins as Jackie
Michael Duffield as Paul Selway
Beckett Bould as McIver
Tony Hall as himself (compère)
Tony Crombie as himself: leader, Tony Crombie and His Rockers
Art Baxter as himself: leader, Art Baxter and His Rockin' Sinners
Joan Small as herself
Dickie Bennett as himself
Don Sollash as himself: leader, Don Sollash and His Rockin' Horses
Rory Blackwell as himself: leader, Rory Blackwell and the Blackjacks
George "Calypso" Browne as himself (as George Browne)
Curly Pat Barry as himself
Angus the dog as himself
Production
The film is set in London and is mainly set in clubs, cafes and small recording studios.
Critical reception
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "The plot of this film is negligible, most of the footage being occupied with rock 'n' roll numbers which, however lively, can hardly satisfy the more exacting initiates of the style."
Kine Weekly wrote: "Good British title programmer for the masses and teenagers. ... Unpretentious as it is the film clearly proves that the Americans have no monopoly of rock 'n' roll fare."
Picture Show wrote: "One of the few British rock 'n' roll musicals to be made ... well-acted by Philip Gilbert as the disc jockey and Adrienne Scott as his girl-friend."
Picturegoer wrote: "If rock 'n roll is really dying – as everyone says it is – this film should stand as a tombstone. For by its monumental ineptitude it finally closes the lid on whatever was fresh and exciting in the harsh, twitching beat.
The public source identifies “Rock You Sinners” as 1957 film. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Rock, Sinners and film.
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Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q16928098. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1957.
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This entry incorporates text from “Rock You Sinners” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.