THE DELINQUENTS (1957)

"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."- Narrator

A young Tommy (BILLY JACK) Laughlin is Tommy, a teenager who is forced to break up with his girlfriend because her parents don't think she's ready to "go steady". He goes to the drive-in alone and gets mixed up with Cholly and his gang and Tommy ends up getting on the wrong side of Cholly's pal Eddie, while at the same time earning Cholly's respect.

Tommy tells Cholly of his girlfriend problems and Choly hatches a plan for Tommy & Janice to see each other. Cholly then invites them to a party in an abandoned house where Cholly's gang separates Tommy from Janice and get Tommy drunk. Janice gets mad and Tommy doesn't feel well so they leave just before the cops arrive. The kid who was supposed to be keeping watch was too busy making out with his girlfriend to notice the cops, and when askeed, he tells Eddie that the cops flashed their headlights (they didn't)- which was the signal they were to use, in order to avoid getting in trouble with the gang . Eddie, who stilll holds a ggrudge from the drive-in convinces the rest of the gang that it must've been Tommy & Janice who tipped off the fuzz since they knew the signal and were the only ones to convienienly leave early.

Then Cholly decides to get even...


A tight (around 1hr 15 min.) cool, violent little JD flick that shows how nervous or downright afraid of teenagers adults of the time were (the impetus forthe JD genre).

Written and directed by Robert Altman(!)