A Time to Sing (1968) User Reviews

Idiot Plotting

[boblipton · 3/10 · 19 January 2010]

This movie is a perfect example of idiot plotting: everyone acts like an idiot and the entire plot is motivated because no one ever bothers to ask why a particular individual is doing so.

In this case, the entire plot is actuated by the fact that the Dodd family (Hank Williams Jr. and Ed Begley Senior and, somehow, the very Black D'Urville Martin) are in desperate need of money because the younger one has been singing in public, causing the older one to have a heart attack; hospitals are not cheap. So, of course, to raise the money, he sings some more, and a hullabaloo ensues. No one ever thinks to ask why it upsets Begley, and it takes the first hour of the movie before it comes out.

A good deal of behind-the-camera talent goes into this movie, but that doesn't do much for the proceedings. Of course, Hank Williams Jr. sings fairly often, and that is worth something. But you could toss the rest of the movie and improve it greatly.

Worth Checking Out by Williams Fans

[Michael_Elliott · 5 February 2010]

Time to Sing, A (1968)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Predictable and entertaining drama about a young man (Hank Williams, Jr.) who has the talent to write songs and sing them but his elderly uncle (Ed Begley) refuses to allow it. The uncle is holding back a few secrets but a woman (Shelley Fabares) convinces the young guy to enter a few contests to pay the bills and soon fame comes. I think fans of Williams, Jr. are going to be the ones who will mainly want to check this out but people certainly shouldn't expect the singer most people think of when they think of Williams. This early period of his career certainly has him singing and sounding more like his famous father but that's really not a negative thing as I've always enjoyed this period. Williams gets to sing eight different songs here with four of them written by himself. I doubt most people have heard of these songs but we get some pretty good ones including "It's All Over but the Crying", "Next Time I Say Goodbye I'm Leaving", "Old Before My Time" and the title track. Williams stands solo with his guitar and really delivers on the musical side but I also thought his performance was pretty good. One of the problems with the film is that his character is such a jerk and I must say that Williams really does push that jerkiness extremely well. Williams has a certain edge of toughness that really comes across well and a certain hard head that also jumps right off the screen. Fabares is also extremely good in her role of the love interest and Begley is entertaining, if over the top, as the old fashioned uncle. Character actor Donald Woods is also pretty good in his few scenes. The film's screenplay is pretty poor as it's just way too predictable to be entertaining and the big twist about the uncle's secret is rather lame. With that said, fans of country music or Williams will certainly want to check it out.

Clunky Musical Charts Yokel's Rise to Country and Western Star

[jfrentzen-942-204211 · 2/10 · 6 August 2019]

Country-western singer Hank Williams, Jr., the son of classic singing star Hank Williams, was 19 years old when he starred in this inane, low-budget musical. He portrays Grady Dodd, a farm boy devoid of ideas and imagination who has musical aspirations. With the aid of an overly cute girl (Shelley Fabares) and an overly hip agent Grady makes it to the top, despite the protestations of his reactionary uncle (Ed Begley). The cliched plot, lack of direction and atrocious dialog are but a few of the faults in the unfortunate C-movie. The soundtrack album is a much better bet.

Hank Williams, Jr., next appeared in a bit part in SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND (1978). The movie career of Michele Ann Marie "Shelley" Fabares, who had co-starred with Elvis Presley in three movies, abruptly came to a halt after A TIME TO SING and she retreated back to the relative obscurity of TV work for the next 20 years. In 1962, veteran director Arthur Dreifuss wrote and directed a quality film, THE QUARE FELLOW, starring Patrick McGoohan, but soon after devolved to churning out terrible "youth themed" movies, such as THE LOVE-INS, RIOT ON SUNSET STRIP, FOR SINGLES ONLY, and A TIME TO SING for schlockmeister producer Sam Katzman (even Dreifuss' 1990 obituaries omit this movie, their final collaboration). Thankfully, A TIME TO SING has never been released on DVD or digital format.

A time to turn off the TV

[JohnSeal · 2/10 · 22 February 2010]

I guess there was a pretty good reason this film never got shown on television--well, until TCM finally got around to airing it in early 2010. Besides being a terrible film, A Time to Sing tries to shoehorn Hank Williams Jr. into a scenario even a Colonel Parker-whipped Elvis might have rejected as beneath him. Hank Jr. plays Grady Dodd, a young tobacco farmer with a song in his heart and a grumpy uncle (Ed Begley) holding him back from achieving his musical dreams. In addition to the moth-eaten plot, the Elvis connection is underscored by the presence of Shelley Fabares in her usual spunky gal pal role--and to make matters worse, the fine African-American actor D'urville Martin is stuck with a stereotypical shuffling darkie role that was badly outdated in 1958, never mind 1968. Perhaps MGM was hoping to develop Williams as a replacement for the King, but the man displays virtually no screen charisma and he wisely never tried his hand at acting again. A Time to Sing must have been produced with the southern drive-in circuit in mind, but even cinema patrons below the Mason-Dixon Line must have known they were being played for fools at this late date.