Hollywood's finest are called to investigate two gunshot victims, which leads the police to haul jazz drummer Mickey Rooney (as Stanley "Stan" Maxton) in for questioning… In flashback, Mr. Rooney explains how he became acquainted with wounded Sally Forrest (as Jane Tafford) and dead James Craig (as Delwyn "Sonny" Johnson). After Korean War service, Rooney goes to work for the latter, a successful salesman. When one of Mr. Craig's joints is raided, Rooney escapes in an auto driven by Ms. Forrest. His pretty blonde driver tells Rooney she works as a dancer at the Dixieland nightclub "fluff's" on "The Strip" (Sunset Strip).Rooney goes to see Forrest dance. Wearing those stockings with the eye-catching lines going up the back, Forrest dances up a storm. Then, Rooney shows off his prowess with the sticks (he impersonates a drummer very well), which prompts a job offer from club owner William Demarest (as Fluff). To get close to Forrest, Rooney takes the job. Unfortunately, Rooney winds up being third wheel to the future shooting victims...Louis Armstrong and the musicians are terrific. Mr. Armstrong's rendition of "A Kiss to Build a Dream On" was a big R&B and Pop hit during the film's release. Rooney is fun to watch behind the drum set, or breakfast table and piano with Mr. Demarest. And, he and Tommy Rettig (as Artie) have some funny scenes. "The Strip" doesn't know whether to be a musical or a crime drama, but one makes up for what the other lacks.****** The Strip (8/31/51) Leslie Kardos ~ Mickey Rooney, Sally Forrest, William Demarest, James Craig

This movie is a rather odd mix of musical, romance, drama and crime with a sniff of film-noir to it. It's basically one messy heap of different genres, of which none really works out like it was supposed to.This movie is an attempt by Mickey Rooney to be taken more serious as an actor. He's a former child-star who always used to star in in happy comical- and musical productions at the start of his career. In this movie he picks a different approach (although the musical aspects are still present in the movie). But his role is actually quite laughable within the movie. I mean Mickey Rooney as a tough player? He's an extremely small boyish looking man. He actually was in his 30's already at the time of this movie but he seriously looks more like a 16 year old. Hearing him say babe to women and hearing talking tough to gangsters who are about 3 times bigger than he is just doesn't look and feel right. He simply isn't convincing in his role.Because the movie mixes so many different genres, the story also really feels as a messy one. Somewhere in it there is a crime plot and somewhere in it is a romantic plot-line and one about living your dream but none of it works out really due to the messy approach and handling of it all. It just isn't an interesting or compelling movie to watch. László Kardos is also a director who has done only 10 movies in his lifetime, despite the fact that his career span from 1935 till 1957. He must have been a struggling director who had a hard time getting work into the industry and instead once in a while was given a lesser script to work with. His movies are all unknown ones and normally also not of too high quality.Let's also not forget that this is a '50's movie but yet it more feels like a '40's one or perhaps even as one from the '30's. This is of course mostly due to the fact that this movie got shot in black & white. Generally speaking black & white movies from the '50's often have a cheap looking feeling over it and this movie forms no exception.It's a rather strange sight seeing Mickey Rooney and Louis Armstrong and his band as themselves performing together in a sequence. It wasn't the only movie Armstrong appeared in though and he would often pop up in these type of movies, often simply as himself. I guess jazz lovers can still somewhat enjoy watching this movie due to its music, since there is quite an amount of it present in this movie. The movie actually received an Oscar nomination for best original song.An awkward little movie and outing from Mickey Rooney.4/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Mickey Rooney as discharged Korean War veteran Stanley Maxton not only gets a chance to act as a grown up out on his own in the big city of L.A the movie "The Strip" also showcases his ability to play the drums which he's very good at. The story in itself is more or less average with Stan getting in with the wrong crowd. later when he meets pretty Jane Tafford, Sally Forrest, as he was running from the L.A vice squad. Stan falls so madly in love with the "Fluff's" nightclub cigarette girl and part-time dancer that he quits his job working for local mobster Sonny Johnson, James Craig,to work full-time as a drummer with the Louie Armstrong band at the club. We already know before were even introduced to Stan that Jane is badly injured and dying in the hospital and Sonny is dead from a gunshot wound as the movie started. In a "Dragnet" like introduction we see a police car pull up at Jane's apartment in L.A finding her on the floor bleeding to death. Stan later picked up at his pad is taken to the police station and quizzed about both, Jane & Sonny's, shooting. The film then goes into a long flashback to how this whole tangled and deadly affair began. Stan wasn't too bright in his falling for Jane's obvious attempt to exploit his connections with big time mobster Sonny Johnson. Sonny promising to get Jane a screen test and a short-cut into the movies as an actress had the star-struck Jane fall for Sonny's line that he knows people in high places in Hollywood, hook line and sinker. Jane then dropped Stan who thought that she was in love with him like a hot potato. Sonny also wasn't that fond of Stan checking out on him to work for Fluff's and sent two of his goons to Stan's place to first talk him into coming back and later work him over for not being too cooperative. Stans later warning Jane about Sonny's involvement with the mob backfired when she went to have it out with him about his stringing her along and getting her nowhere in the movies which resulted in his being shot and killed and her ending up on life-support. At the police station Stan in another one of his hair brain attempts to get Jane to come back to him confessed to killing Sonny. It's then that he's told later by L.A police Detective Let. Bonnablo, Tom Powers, that she already confessed to the killing in a typed statement and didn't survive her injuries. Even there with him wanting to take the rap for Jane Stan ended up looking like a total jerk. What I thought was the biggest boner that Stan made in the movie, and he made a lot of them, was him not noticing how Edna, Kay Brown, another girl who worked at "Fluff's" was absolutely crazy about him and how he just shoved her off every time she tried to make the slightest attempt to talk and get friendly with him. Edna who for some reason was called "kid" by everyone in the film, I had to find out what her name was in the IMDb credits, was as pretty, if not more so, then Jane and much nicer and kinder to Stan. But as usual, like with everything else he did in the movie, Stan completely overlooked a good thing when he saw one by being blind to the feelings that she had for him. Even when she was right in front of Stan sweetly asking him for a date!

If you like jazz, you'll like this one : there's a good part of this movie which takes place in Los Angeles' night-clubs with guest star Louis Armstrong. The story may look classical for a film noir, but the way it shows the story of a drummer penetrating in the underground world is surprising : watch it especially for the drum solos. Enjoyable !