Subterraneans

This adaptation of a Jack Kerouac novel came too early for it to be successful. When it was released in 1960, Hollywood was then still hidebound by its own peculiar code of sexual ethics. What could and could not be shown on the screen was a tangle that this film, directed by Ranald MacDougall, failed to unravel. Jazz fans have an excuse for watching it, however, as there are good moments from musicians such as André Previn, the film’s musical director, Dave Bailey, Chico Hamilton, Art Farmer, Art Pepper, Bob Enevoldsen, Russ Freeman, Red Mitchell, Shelly Manne, Bill Perkins and Gerry Mulligan, who also acts in the film.