Mad Youth

In MAD YOUTH, Marian Morgan (Mary Ainslee) waits for her mother to go out to her bridge game. Then, she invites "the gang" over for a bash. These 25 year old "teens" spend the night "jitterbugging" and playing "strip poker"! Adding to this godless mayhem, a baton-twirling majorette shows up! In a glittery uniform!

Meanwhile, mum's been out with a gigolo known as "The Count". When she brings "The Count" home for a nightcap, he falls for Marian!

Thus, begins Marian's downward spiral into an abyss of mariachi bands, clown-faced matadors, dogs in bull costumes, and human trafficking!

MAD YOUTH is another melodramatic morality tale from yesteryear. While not as deliriously absurd as REEFER MADNESS, it does have its own silly charm. Plus, the dance routines are a hoot!...

I enjoyed this movie it was nice look at the teens of the late 30's and early 40's. It had great dance scenes and good music to go with it. with had a very realistic and intense fight scene for it's time. some scenes were a little long and drawn out.it is a good midnight movie it's a drive in style movie fine for the whole family. If you can find a copy you should see it there is not much more to say about it is just OK. it's not memorable but it's good, I mean don,t go out of your way to fine it but if you come across it pick it up for me. If you like black and white movie on a Saturday night you will like this.

love, Steve

Shapely sweater-clad Mary Ainslee (as Marian Morgan) enjoys wild nights partying while "lonesome" mother Betty Compson (as Lucy) prefers quieter evenings playing bridge with "dedicated and refined" gigolos like accented immigrant Willy Castello (as "Count" DeKoven). With her alimony check spent, Ms. Compson can't afford the extra charge for Mr. Castello's "love" on their first date, but future funds mean "necking" sessions. Then, when Castello meets Ms. Ainslee, both mother and daughter desire the same man. Are Castello's intentions good, or "strictly dishonorable?"

"Mad Youth" takes an unexpected turn for a last act, after skirting with some actual depth. The performances of Ainslee and Compson become quite good, and intriguingly natural. It's nice to see women portrayed as interested in sex (for a change). After the rival mother and daughter share a marvelous scene, the story returns to its lurid roots. The dissolve and double exposures used for Ainslee's "drunk scene" and Compson's discovery of her daughter's diary are well done. The uninhibited dancing of Tommy Wonder and the "Jitter Bugs" is another highlight. Watch for the slinky blonde prostitute to stand in front of a revealing lamp, and one of the fighters to split his pants, in the film's final minutes.

****** Mad Youth (5/5/40) Melville Shyer ~ Mary Ainslee, Betty Compson, Willy Castello, Tommy Wonder

1st watched 2/19/2007 - 3 out of 10(Dir-Melville Shyer): Mediocre drama about a battling mother and daughter over the affections of a gigolo named "Count." Advertised as an exploitation movie about the horrors of youth but instead it's just a run-of-the-mill romance where it just happens that the mother and daughter are the competitors. The mother is trying to live out her youth all over again by hiring young escorts to take her to wonderful places but one young suitor is more impressed with her daughter. After a spat, the daughter decides to move out and hooks up with an old friend of hers who happens to be trapped in a brothel. The "Count" then comes to the rescue and the rest is cinema history(kind of…)!! This is a very bland drama with professional dancing thrown in to keep us entertained around the silly story. The problem is that the dancing is better than the story, so I guess they should have made the movie around them instead of using them as window-dressing. Of course, that would have been a different movie but possibly a better one.

Lucy lives with her rich divorcee mother Marian Morgan. Marian hires male escort Count DeHoven, but he has a fling with Lucy instead. Lucy's friend Helen got kicked out of her home and intends to marry. Marian is tired of her daughter's partying and jealous of her youth. Marian sends her to live with her father. She heads off to stay with Helen instead.

The filmmaking is poor. The acting is mostly stiff and average at best. I'm not sure about the intention. It is a B-movie. One can argue that it's better than most B-movies. That's not a high bar to clear. I am engaged enough to stay with the story and there are some fun dance scenes. In the end, this is not good enough.