Bye Bye Birdie

directed by George Sidney
Category: "Musical"
Year of Release:1963
Date Added:07/17/2025
Date Watched:07/17/2025
Description:Albert (Dick Van Dyke) wants to be a chemist, but his dominating mother insists that he write music — something he's never succeeded at. He finally sells a song to rock sensation Conrad Birdie, but then Birdie gets drafted before he can record it. Rosie (Janet Leigh) wants to marry Albert, but he won't until he has a steady job. Rosie comes up with an idea for the Ed Sullivan show — pick a girl at random that Birdie can kiss on the show before he performs Albert's song, "One Last Kiss." The girl chosen is Kim (Ann-Margret), but her boyfriend Hugo (Bobby Rydell) isn't crazy about the idea. Everything gets messed up when the Russian Ballet is scheduled for the same show and intends to take up all the time. Albert comes up with a pill that speeds people up, and Rosie sneaks it into the drink of the Russian orchestra director. The ballet is over early, which leaves time for Birdie's song. But just before he kisses Kim, Hugo jumps on stage and punches him. Albert's song is a flop, but he decides to go into business making pills. He marries Rosie, and Kim decides she loves Hugo after all.
My Rating:6

Reviews for Bye Bye Birdie

Review - Bye Bye Birdie

It took a long time before anything happened to get me interested. The song "Put on a Happy Face" was fun. I'm not a big fan of Ann-Margaret, but she had some moments here in her breakout role. It was all a spoof of Elvis getting drafted.
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