Platinum High School (MGM) (1960)

TEEN-AGER’S SINGING IDOL CONWAY TWITTY MAKES MOVIE DEBUT Although Conway Twitty doesn’t personally specialize in rock ’n’ roll, he resents this form of music being lambasted by so-called “high-brows.” The teen-age platter idol recently made his motion picture debut in MetroGoldwyn Mayer’s “Platinum High School,” in which he plays a dramatic role with Mickey Rooney, Terry Moore and Dan Duryea. Twitty, who is known as a ballad singer, has made the Hit Parade with several of his recordings, among them the widely-popular “Danny Boy.” But his enthusiasm isn’t limited to balladeers. He’s a great Elvis Presley fan and owns a large collection of Presley records. “Elvis has a great style,’ he says. “Most of the people who pretend to dislike him are just plain envious.” Twitty believes that any new and radical type of music is bound to come in for criticism by mossbacks. “Tt’s always been that way,” he declares. “When Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Rudy Vallee and the rest of the big-timers in the vocal field first got going, they had their ears slapped back for bringing something new to music. Gradually, they were accepted by the conservative clique.” Young people are apt to latch on quickly to novel musical styles, says Twitty. “Rock ’n’ roll is the music of youth. It has a young beat and maybe you’ve got to have young ears to really get the message.” You Don’t Have To Tell Her How To Stand Still! For a sequence in MGM’s suspenseful drama, “Platinum High School,” starring Mickey Rooney, Terry Moore, Dan Duryea and Yvette Mimieux, Miss Mimieux was required to hide from a group of military school cadets and takes refuge behind some shrubbery, where she stands motionless, “This will be a minute-and-a-half take,” the film’s director, Charles Haas, told the actress. “Do you think you can do it without moving at all?” Yvette told him not to worry. “I used to be a fashion model and can stand still for hours.” QUESTIONED ON SCHOOL HAZING DEATH Mickey Rooney questions young cadet Warren Berlinger in a scene from *‘Platinum High School,” suspenseful drama of a young father who investigates the mysterious death of his son at an exclusive military academy for wealthy delinquents. The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer release also stars Terry Moore, Dan Duryea and Yvette Mimieux, and introduces Conway Twitty in a dramatic role. Still 1762-14 Platinum High School Mat 2-B HOW TO WIN POPULARITY WITH THE BOYS When teen-age girls ask Terry Moore how to be popular with boys, she invariably replies, “Don’t be a chameleon.” (Note: A chameleon takes on the coloration of surrounding objects). “Conformity is the plague of today,” says Terry. “So many young people seem to be content to be like everyone else. This is a great way to lose distinction.” And it is distinction that attracts boys in Terry’s opinion. “Don’t dress like other girls,” she advises. “Do your hair the way that is most attractive for you. If you have pretty legs, don’t hide them in jeans, even if every other girl in the crowd does so. And if your legs aren’t shapely, don’t display them, even if fashion dictates that short skirts are the rage.” Terry also has found that boys like girls with an individual conversational line. “Not only don’t be a chameleon, don’t be a parrot,” she says. “Don’t use all Mickey Rooney and Yvette Mimieux play starring roles in ‘Platinum High School,” suspenseful drama of a young father who investigates the mysterious death of his son at an exclusive military academy for wealthy delinquents. The Metro-GoldwynMayer release also stars Terry Moore and Dan Duryea, and introduces Conway Twitty in a dramatic role. Still 1762-73 Platinum High School Mat 2-E the favorite slang of the other girls in your set. Have your conversation mirror your own thoughts and personality. Stand out in the crowd. Don’t merge with it and, as a result, get lost in it.” One of Hollywood’s most popular young stars, both on and off the set, Terry recently chalked up hits in ““Peyton Place’ and “A Private’s Affair” and now appears with Mickey Rooney in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s “Platinum High School.” She believes that her success in films is largely due to the fact that she has never copied anyone. She dresses, talks and behaves like — Terry Moore. FOUND YVETTE IN FILMS’ BACKYARD While beautiful girls come from all over the world to crash the movies, Yvette Mimieux is a home-grown product. She was born in Los Angeles, a pebble’s throw from the studios. Yvette is one of the young actresses being given a big build-up by MetroGoldwyn-Mayer, a studio which holds high hopes for her future. She was given the feminine lead opposite Rod Taylor in “The Time Machine” and currently plays a co-starring role with Mickey Rooney, Terry Moore and Dan Duryea in “Platinum High School.” She feels that for those who have a film career in mind, it is a big help to spend one’s childhood in Hollywood. “There’s a feeling of celluloid in the air,” she says. “A youngster can absorb show business almost without a conscious effort.” When Yvette was attending Hollywood High, she associated with children whose parents were in films. There was much “shop talk” and she became familiar with the art of screen make-up, how sound is recorded and what a director does on the set. “As a result, when I first entered a motion picture studio, I didn’t feel at all alien,’ she declares. “I’d heard and talked so much about it that I felt as though I were coming home. I was familiar with technical terms, too, and when someone yelled, ‘Hit that broad,’ I didn’t duck. I knew he was referring to a light on the set.” You Can't Always Be Bad Mickey Rooney returns to the straight-and-narrow path in MGM’s Platinum High School,” following his recent series of portrayals as a “heavy.” He was a murderer in “The Last Mile,” a vicious labor racketeer in “The Big Operator” and “Satan” in “The Private Lives of Adam and Eve.” NO MORE HOOFER ROLES FOR MICKEY ROONEY; THAT'S ALL IN THE PAST There comes a time in almost every dancer’s life when he throws away his dancing shoes and goes “straight,” according to Mickey Rooney. Mickey, who starred in some of the screen's top musicals, both with and without Judy Garland, swore off tuners in 1952, “All Ashore” was his last. He’s had numerous bids to do songand-dance scripts since then, but has turned them all down. “Frankly, I think musicals should be made with young performers,” he says. “They've got the bounce and verve that these pictures demand. I’d rather the fans remembered me in ‘Babes in Arms’ than have them say, ‘Mickey’s not as good as he was in ‘Babes in Arms.’ ”’ Rooney plays the father of a 15year-old son in his new Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer picture, “Platinum High School.” It’s a dramatic part which he describes as “easy on the feet — no dancing.” Rooney is not the only star to forsake dancing for drama. Fred Astaire, top dancer of them all, recently played his first dramatic role in “On the Beach” and will next do another straight part in “The Pleasure of His Company.” Gene Kelly will have nary a song or dance when he makes “Inherit the Wind” for Stanley Kramer. Ginger Rogers long ago decided to give up dancing despite the fabulous success she had in musicals. Joan Crawford, who stepped to stardom doing the Charleston and Black Bottom in such films as “Our Dancing Daughters” and “The Taxi Dancer,” swore off terpsichore in 1932 after she made “Dancing Lady” with Clark Gable. Joan stuck to her word, became a dramatic star and won an Academy Oscar for her performance in “Mild Now It’s Terry Who's Doin’ the Chasin’ Who says Tempus doesn’t Fugit ? In 1950, Mickey Rooney and Terry Moore appeared in “He’s a Cockeyed Wonder.” Mickey’s role was that of a predatory vaudeville magacian; Terry played the picture’s irreproachable heroine. It seems each has changed since then. In Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s “Patinum High School,” in which Rooney and Miss Moore are reunited, Mickey plays a_ serious young father; Terry a girl whose main diet is aspirin downed with vodka chasers. Says Mickey, with a grin, “Ten years ago, I did the chasing and Terry was the chaste.” Yvette Mimieux, one of MeiroGoldwyn-Mayer’s rising young stars, plays a girl forced to defend herself against a group of brutal cadets in “Platinum High School,’ dramatic story dealing with the practice of “hazing” at an exclusive military academy for wealthy delinquents. Heading the cast of the Albert Zugsmith Production for MGM are Mickey Rooney, Terry Moore and Dan Duryea. Still 1762-86 Platinum High School Mat 1-E Mickey Rooney and Terry Moore play starring roles in ‘Platinum High School,” suspenseful drama of a young father who investigates the mysterious death of his son at an exclusive military academy for wealthy delinquents. The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer release also stars Dan Duryea and Yvette Mimieux, and introduces Conway Twitty in a dramatic role. Still 1762-68 Platinum High School Mat 1-B. ’ red Pierce.” In 1953, she relented and danced again in “Torch Song.” With the nostalgia out of her system, she now has returned to straight characterizations. Clifton Webb, once famed, for his dancing in Broadway musicals, is known only as a straight actor in movies. And the charming Leslie Caron has given up ballet to devote herself to non-dancing roles in such pictures as “Gigi,” “The Doctor’s Dilemma” and “The Subterraneans.” JIMMY BOYD LOOKS TO A ROSY FUTURE At the age of thirteen, Jimmy Boyd skyrocketed to renown with his recording of “I Saw Mommy Kissin’ Santa Claus,”’ and he has been earning a top salary ever since? However, he isn’t taking any chances. He socks away most of what he earns for the possible eventuality of a rainy day. “T’ve heard about too many young stars who just couldn’t cut it when they got older,” he explains. “I’d rather be cautious now than end up with a big nothin’ later.” Young Boyd, who plays a juvenile delinquent (definitely not type-casting) in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s “Platinum High School,” states that his folks gave him a sound talking-to when he first started earning big money. “And I had sense enough to listen,” he says. “Most of my salary goes into sound investments and I have a trust fund, too.” Jimmy loves show business and plans to keep in it as long as the public wants him. “But things change and the public’s taste isn’t always the same. Sure, there are the big leaguers like Crosby and Sinatra who are able to move with the times. But everyone isn’t that lucky. All you have to do it look around on a movie set and see the men and women who once made $10,000 a week now doing extra work.” Remember “Ukulele Ike’? Nostalgic fans of old-time film celebrities better take a good look at the boatman in MGM’s “Platinum High School.” He is Cliff Edwards (“Ukulele Ike”), who won fame in 1929, when he sang “Singin’ in the Rain” in “The Hollywood Revue.” He made his last appearance at MGM back in 1937 with Clark Gable and Jean Harlow in “Saratoga.”