The Delinquents (1957)

• Year: 1957
• Released: 01 Mar 1957
• Country: United States
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• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050302/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_delinquents
• Metacritics:
• Available in: 720p, 1080p,
• Language: English
• MPA Rating: Not Rated
• Genre: Drama
• Runtime: 72 min
• Writer: Robert Altman
• Director: Robert Altman
• Cast: Tom Laughlin, Peter Miller, Richard Bakalyan
• Keywords: gang, kansas city, juvenile delinquent, greaser,

	5.5/10
	false% – Audience

The Delinquents Storyline

Scotty White (age 19) must stop ‘going steady’ with Janice Wilson (age 16) when Janice’s parents intervene. Frustrated, idle and without Janice’s restraining influence, Scotty encounters Cholly and his band of disorganized, fun-loving delinquents. Soon he has Janice (who seems considerably the more mature of the two) mixed up in their doings, which begin to seem less and less like harmless fun…—Rod Crawford

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The Delinquents Movie Reviews

Juvenile delinquents

A group of teenagers in the Kansas City of 1957 are the subject of this film that has a feeling of a morality tale written and directed by Robert Altman. We are given a glimpse of a group of young people doing things that for the times, when the action takes place, was an affront to the ordinary folks trying to lead decent lives, only to have to face a crowd of restless youths getting into all kinds of trouble.

The gang led by Cholly were an aimless bunch of teens whose lives, if they continued the way they acted, when we meet them, they probably ended in some type of juvenile facility. Cholly was a vicious young man who saw an opportunity to take care of a naive Scotty because he represented a good person and he wanted to make him suffer for the way he was perceived.

When Scotty is told by Janice’s parents to stop seeing her, he goes into a terrible ordeal. Having gone alone to the drive-in, he has the unfortunate experience of parking next to Cholly and his friends who have all intentions of getting into trouble. Upon hearing of Scotty’s problems, Cholly offers to go to get Janice as though he had a date with her, and then bring her to meet Scotty. That was the start of some serious problems between the two young men. It comes to a bad confrontation, but in the meantime, it will ultimately bring Scotty and Janice together.

The film is a bit heavy handed by Mr. Altman. The picture has a look as though made for television, a medium in which the director worked for quite a while before turning to making films exclusively. The style he used in the film shows a different aspect of his genius, although viewing this movie one could not foresee the great things he would get involved later on. Watch it as a curiosity.

Story about violence and immorality

**SPOILERS** A bit heavy handed but still effective film about how the plague of juvenile delinquency had become a major factor in turning America’s youth from respecting the law, as well as their parents, and become future residents in hell holes like San Quentin and Attica state prison.

We see a bunch of unruly youths lead by this smirking and full of himself wise guy Cholly, Peter Miller, start a ruckus at a local nightclub because he and his friends, being under age, are refused to be served beer. Looking for action Cholly and company go to the local drive-in planning to start trouble with those peacefully watching the movie. It just happens that young Scotty White, Tommy Laughlin, is also at the drive-in trying to forget what just happened to him.

Scotty was told by his girlfriend’s parents The Wilsons, James Lantz & Lotus Carelli, to stay away from their 16 year-old daughter Janice, Rosemary Howard, for no other reason then him and Janice being in love with each other. A confused Scotty leaves, with Janice in tears, to catch a movie so he can get his head back together.

It’s at the drive-in that Scotty runs into Cholly and his friends who after picking a fight with another group of teenagers come to Scotty’s, who got blamed for what Cholly and his friend Eddy(Richard Bakalyan) did, rescue. At first Cholly took a shine for the friendly but very naive, to what Cholly was up to, Scotty. This had Cholly’s #1 man Eddy get very jealous and resentful at Scotty for taking Cholly away from him.

Being invited with a very reluctant Janice, using the excuse she’s going on a date with Cholly, to a party at the deserted Old Johnson House Scotty ends up getting drunk and together Janice leaves early. Unknow to both Scotty & Janice Cholly and his gang broke into the Johnson House to do their partying and that had the cops raid the place arresting everyone there, except Scotty & Janice.

Seeing his big chance to stick it to Scotty, for taking Cholly away from him, Eddy has Scotty framed in being a snitch in him calling, which Scotty didn’t, the cops on the drunken and obnoxious party goers. A mad and fired up Cholly now plans to get even with Scotty in not only abusing his girlfriend Janice but getting the clean-cut and milk drinking young man smashed on hard liquor. Cholly then plans to have the dead drunk Scotty dumped in woods where, with some luck, he’ll be killed and eaten by the coyotes wolves and bears who live there!

Things don’t exactly work out as well as Cholly planned with him, at the insistence of Eddy, getting involved in a gas station holdup where the attendant Kenny, Joe Adelman, is left for dead with his head smashed in and Scotty, drunk as a skunk, staggering away from the crime scene. Cholly trying to keep Scotty from talking to the cops, which in fact he had no plans of doing, goes a step farther in kidnapping, a both federal and in some states like California capital crime, Janice! Scotty had by now come to his senses, after sobering up, and in a white hot fury took off to Cholly’s place, after almost chocking Eddy to death, to save Janice from being gang raped by Cholly and his friends.

Early work of director Robert Altman and actor Tommy, or later Tom, Laughlin which is a bit too mild, with the teenagers in it so obedient to their parents, in it’s trying to show its audience the dangers of juvenile delinquency. Still “The Delinquents” despite it’s meager budget and unknown cast is right up there with other much more expensive and critically acclaimed troubled youth films of the same period like “Blackboad Jungle” and “Rebal Withou a Cause”. The film shows what can happen when young people aren’t taught to respect their parents and eventually the law by them, and their growing up problems, being either ignored or just never acted upon.

Very Early Altman

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

Robert Altman wrote, produced, and directed this film in his hometown of Kansas City, Missouri during the summer of 1956 on a $63,000 budget raised by local theater owner Elmer Rhoden. He was hoping to cash in on the juvenile craze that American International Pictures made popular with films such as “Hot Rod Girl” (1956) and ” Shake, Rattle & Rock!” (1956). Indeed, the film is very much in the AIP style and could pass for one of their productions.

As summed up by Altman, “I wrote the thing in five days, cast it, picked the locations, drove the generator truck, got the people together, took no money, and we just did it, that’s all.” Shooting was a bit of a pain, with Altman in constant disagreement with star Tom Laughlin (a Milwaukee native who went on to be known for the “Billy Jack” film series).

Cameraman Charles Paddock, on Altman’s advice, imitated the lighting of “The Asphalt Jungle” (1950). This is probably why the film looks more professional than it actually was. Despite anything it might lack, the photography is smart and sharp.

United Artists bought the film for $150,000, earning it a quick profit before even hitting theaters. Altman maintained for years (at least up to 2001) that he did not care for the film, but Alfred Hitchcock of all people did and got Altman hired on for “Alfred Hitchcock Presents”. Success! Rhoden produced one more film in Kansas City — AIP’s “The Cool and the Crazy” (1958) — and was even featured in Time magazine as one of the “new wave” of producers. He then produced a delinquency film in Hollywood featuring the debut of composer John Williams, AIP’s “Daddy-O” (1958), but his mini-mogul reign was short-lived.