| Overview: | "I know a girl that is really keen / And she come on like a teenage queen! / She's got a smile that is oh so mean / And when we're on a date she really makes the scene! / She's Date Bait! / Yeaaaaah, she's really great! / She's my Date Bait Baby and I don't mean maybe / She's my Date Bait Baby for me! / Do wah, pappa do do wan..." Actually, teenage Sue Randall (MARLA RYAN) isn't dating anyone except Danny Logan (GARY CLARKE, the teenage werewolf of the original How to Make a Monster). And therein lies the problem. Her daddy hates the guy. And her old beau, back in town and hooked on heroin, shows up hoping to renew their romance. Which is all the plot needed to fuel Date Bait, one of the better Teenage Angst films of the Fifties.
Pissed that Sue no longer wants to be "his girl," bad-boy Brad Martinelli invades the local teen hangout, takes out his trusty switchblade, and tries to carve up Danny: "Okay, lover boy, let's go!" Fortunately, Brad's older brother, Nico, breaks things up. Unfortunately, Nico is even worse than Brad and promptly runs Danny's hot rod off the road--a surprisingly well shot scene for a low-budget movie, especially since it was actually filmed at night--and leaves Danny beaten up by the side of the road. Worse, Nico is also the neighborhood dope dealer and uses Brad as his delivery boy which, obviously, is not the best occupation for a substance abuser: "lt's okay to sell it to these idiots, but you leave it alone," Nico cautions Brad. "That stuff's murder!" Of course, Nico's too dumb to realize that Brad's already getting high on the supply.
And then there's daddy. "I have too many plans for my daughter to have you come along and ruin her life," Mr. Randall tells a black-&-blue-faced Danny. "I'd advise you to find a girl in your own class!" Forbidden to ever see him again, Sue gets a Bright ldea: "Let's get married right away! Tonight! If we're married, Daddy would have to understand how we feel!" Amazingly, Danny likes the idea: "We could go to Nevada! Hey, we could lie about our ages!" And, sure enough, the two underage imbeciles drive to Las Vegas, get hitched at a wedding chapel, and check in to the Glen Capri Motel for a wedding night rendered chaste by a convenient fade-out.
Oddly, when Sue and Danny return to town, they decide to keep everything a secret which, of course, defeats the whole purpose of them getting married in the first place. Nevertheless, Daddy finds out--"Sue and Logan did what!!?."--but before he can go berserk, Sue's held hostage by a stoned Brad armed with Nico's gun. Or, as the police report it: "Dope Addict holding girl at gunpoint...."
Director O'DALE IRELAND also helmed the equally enjoyable High School Caesar which, no surprise, was the other half of Date Baits official theatrical double bill. Though Date Bait's long been available from sorry-looking public domain prints, we've uncovered an original 35mm print which helps restore a little lustre to this under-rated teenflick. Do wah, pappa do do wah..
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