Production
The film was shot in about two or three weeks on-location in Kansas City sometime in the latter part of 1957. The locations included a Kansas City high school, where most of the students got a chance to be in the film, a run-down Aberdeen Hotel in downtown Kansas City, a greasy spoon called Pat's Pig, Penn Valley Park and the Indian Scout Statue overlooking the city, the Blue Note Club, the renowned Kansas City Jazz hall, and several real homes and neighborhoods. Rhoden Jr. had cooperation from many local businesses and also from the Kansas City Police Department, who were contacted for several reasons.
While standing on the street between takes, actors Dick Bakalyan and Dick Jones were actually arrested for vagrancy by Kansas City police. They spent several hours in the local jail before someone explained that they were just acting for a film.
Like with The Delinquents, Rhoden Jr. had The Cool and the Crazy post-production and editing executed under professional conditions in Hollywood by Helene Turner. Rhoden Jr. also now had enough money to order an original music score, which was written and conducted by veteran film composer Raoul Kraushaar. Kraushaar's score featured recurring versions of the film's theme song, some which were done in a fast tempo and beat, and other versions that were performed in a slower, bluesier style.
Rhoden Jr. had apparently already worked out a distribution deal with American-International. AIP made no mention of the drug plot in the trailer or on the poster, and tagged on disclaimers at the beginning and end assuring parents that this was a film made for the purpose of warning teenagers about drugs. The film was released in the spring of 1958, with the "gala world premiere" in Kansas City, which was accompanied by a live radio broadcast, house lights, live music, a dance contest, and a parade of the Kansas Citians involved in the film.
The Cool and the Crazy was a great box-office success, grossing more than $5,000,000 for AIP and was hailed as one of the most popular delinquency films of 1958.
The Cool and the Crazy has recently gained a devoted cult following for its rabid anti-marijuana message and Dick Bakalyan's performance. It first began to be shown on television in the 1970s, when it first began to attract its following, and was released on video the next decade.
Read more about this topic: The Cool And The Crazy
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