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Bill Haley and His Comets perform their hit title song in 1955’s “Rock Around the Clo

To rock ’n’ roll whizzes, 1955 is recorded as a year of cornerstones. The movie “Rock Around the Clock” single-handedly liberated an entire generation’s ears, torsos and imaginations, inventing the rock ’n’ roll movie.

The 1950s ushered with it the rise of the anti-hero and a new and exciting spirit of change, as 1955 also saw the release of “Rebel Without a Cause”; teenagers seemed more rebellious than happy-go-lucky. True to its nature, Hollywood soon realized that the affluent teenage population could be exploited. This untapped market proved irresistible both to kids and to the film industry.

“The so-called rock ’n’ roll movie became popular after the movie industry found a new demographic with teenagers,” said Jonathan Kuntz, an American film history professor. “These kids had a lot of extra spending money and were willing to invest.”

The UCLA Film and Television Archive, partnering with Sony Pictures, hopes to draw greater attention to these films with its new series “Columbia Restorations: Rock Around the Clock,” screening eight movie prints that have been restored by Columbia Pictures. The series is named for the first rock ’n’ roll film, featuring Bill Haley and His Comets and their hit song, and will include other notable rockers such as Little Richard, Paul Anka and Chubby Checker.

“We wanted to get a balanced sample of performers that added variety to the mix,” said head programmer David Pendleton. “At the same time, an important criterion for the chosen movies was that they also had to be historically significant in that they showed how the genre has developed over time.”

Take for example the film version of “Bye Bye Birdie.” More than a rock ’n’ roll film, the movie is a satire of the genre and was included mainly for its visual flair.

Columbia Pictures was the first studio to place real rock ’n’ rollers in front of the camera and create plotlines that revolved around the music itself. Additionally, rock ’n’ roll seemed to be the perfect soundtrack for teenage love on the screen.

Unfortunately, Hollywood was not ready to present teenagers with all of the nitty-gritty realities of unadulterated performances by genuine rockers, so many of the storylines had to be watered down to be deemed acceptable to general society.

“Many of these films’ plotlines are predictable and deal with rock ’n’ roll performers and fans looking for greater acceptance with generally the older generation,” Pendleton said. “Nonetheless, the new music is in the films and teenage audiences radically reacted.”

Though films centered on rock ’n’ roll many seem outdated for today’s audiences, Pendleton sees many similarities with today’s hip-hop culture and its movies.

“Take for example the hip-hop movie, ‘8 Mile.’ In both cases, the music and movie industries are primarily interested in how to market the particular music through film,” Pendleton said. “And the main character is looking for acceptance against authority or society.”