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      The Beatniks

      1960 1h 18m Drama List
      Reviews 8% Audience Score 250+ Ratings A talent agent spots a hippie singer and offers to make him a star. Read More Read Less

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      The Beatniks

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      Critics Reviews

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      Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews A shrill take on small-time thugs here mistakenly called beatniks. Rated: C Oct 22, 2008 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

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      Audience Member I've always wanted to read Kerouaq, Ginsberg, Cassidy, Burroughs or Huckley etc. but if Im being honest, I've just been too lazy to do so...but then I found this movie, free of charge from Youtube, of course and finally understood what this all was about! I've always wanted to call myself a Beatnik and finally I feel I get it (man!) and can do so. I want to become a full-blown Dharmabum and that's why I've watched this movie already like five or six times and I recommend it to everybody, whom also want to become a beatnik or even a full-blown Dharmabum (like myself), this is must see material! This is like a gateway-drug to more hardcore stuff (man!) like Albert Camus or Søren Kirkegaard and the philosophyschool of absurdism, because we beatniks aint' no nihilists (man!) or lame ass existentialists! As a higher lever dharmabum myself I still had my low point and I went and bought Kerouaq's book of haikus to read aloud in a bar to feel cool or whatever... I also like to do money meditation, because as an experienced upper ladder dharmabum myself, as thought by this great movie, I like to feel spiritual and whatnot. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/19/23 Full Review Audience Member Confronted with a shrill script filled with insufferable characters, pointless plot, and complete misunderstanding of what makes for a beatnik—it sure isn't a love for crooner standards—it's like the filmmakers (including legendary voice actor Paul Frees at the helm) tried nothing to make it better and then ran all out of ideas. Hodgson scale: 4/5, thanks not to the inherent fun of the movie, but to a riff that would leave even Ginsberg howling. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Although having a (somehwat) interesting plot and also being featured in a MST3K episode, "The Beatniks" is bad acting and character development for everyone! Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review kevin w A gang of raucous noncomformists are living on the edge of society, waiting for the cops to kill them in a as-pointless-as-their-lives-already-are shootout, when their leader is singled out as a possible vocal sensation (like a Frankie I-wanna-be-the-next-Frank-Sinatra Avalon kind've way). This breaking from the ranks the gang cannot tolerate, and the trouble begins. Beatniks? I don't see no beatniks around here. the gang only adopts some few beatnik-like attitudes to secure their waiting to be shot lifestyle. There's good singing though. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Watching some of the old MST3K episodes available for streaming on Hulu and Netflix (there is a different random selection on each platform). Whether it is Joel or Mike watching these awful movies with the bots I do not envy their torture. Their snarky comments add some entertainment value, but my ratings are based on the movie's quality itself and not the commentary broadcast from the satellite of love. Who could believe these 30 year olds are teenage hoodlums. The script and performances are atrocious. The filmmakers have a poor understanding (and obvious fear) of what beatniks are. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member A PSA movie about a greaser with the talent of singing being threatened by his jealous friends. Contrary to the title, there were no beatniks. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      The Beatniks

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      Movie Info

      Synopsis A talent agent spots a hippie singer and offers to make him a star.
      Director
      Paul Frees
      Screenwriter
      Paul Frees
      Genre
      Drama
      Original Language
      English
      Runtime
      1h 18m
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