The Delinquents

IMDb RATING

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A frustrated young man, separated from his younger girlfriend, gets involved in a juvenile gang.A frustrated young man, separated from his younger girlfriend, gets involved in a juvenile gang.A frustrated young man, separated from his younger girlfriend, gets involved in a juvenile gang.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

5.5/10

692

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

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Storyline

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Trivia
Director Alfred Hitchcock was so impressed with this film that as a result director Robert Altman was hired to direct episodes of Hitch's television series Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955) and gave Altman more television work over the ensuing 1960s decade.

Goofs
About the 13:30 mark, when Scotty (Tom Laughlin) is being invited out of Janice's house by her dad, the front door (interior) is a beautiful leaded glass number. As he walks away from the house (exterior) the door is solid. Not Glass.

Quotes
Narrator: The story you are about to see is about violence and immorality - teenage violence and immorality, children trapped in the half-world between adolescence and maturity - their struggle to understand, their need to be understood. Perhaps in its rapid progression into the material world, man has forgotten the spiritual values which are the moral fiber of a great nation: decency, respect, fair play... Perhaps he has forgotten to teach these values to his own; he has forgotten to teach his children their responsibility before God and society. The answer may lie in the story of the delinquents, in their violent attempt to find a place in society. This film is a cry to a busy world - a protest, a reminder to those who might set the example.

Connections
Featured in Altman on His Own Terms (2000)

Soundtracks
A Porter's Love Song to a Chambermaid
Written by James P. Johnson and Andy Razaf
Performed by the Bill Nolan Quintet Minus Two
Sung by Julia Lee in the opening sequence

User reviews15

Review

Featured review

Never rises above the cliche

After some screenwriting assignments, Altman debuted as film director in this disappointing juvenile delinquency saga. Similarly, Tom Laughlin is merely okay as the nominal good-guy hero whose unbelievable naivete gets him into trouble. His emergence as a a major independent filmmaker and icon a decade or so later was certainly not telegraphed here.

Altman brings some realism via location filmmaking and especially the Julia Lee blues singer opening but his screenplay is standard '50s corn. With Peter Miller and especially Richard Bakalyan as the stereotypical young villains, the quality and drama of say Nick Ray ("Rebel Without a Cause") is way beyond Altman's reach.

Altman's daughter playing the future Billy Jack's cute young sister impressed me, but otherwise it's a dreary, contrived movie. Add the preachy narration and it's way too dated to be an enjoyable watch.