Teen idol Tommy Sands never got as popular as his Virgil Walker character is here(and if he did, it lasted about a minute). Too bad then that his acting chops couldn't compensate for a lack of chart hits. Young man goes from tent-revivals to teen king, but when a funeral back home beckons, his priorities change. Cinemascoped affair has beautiful b&w photography and just enough melodrama to help it over the finish line, but it's awfully flimsy. Perhaps Elvis Presley's life story was a starting point for original writer Paul Monash(who later had a hand in 1976's "Carrie"!), but Tommy Sands, although energetic, isn't up to Presley's standards(maybe Ricky Nelson's). He's got a handsome face and a gorgeous crop of greasy black hair(like Presley's), but when his adolescent voice squeaks in rebellion, one almost wants to duck for cover.
Review of Sing Boy Sing
