Mon père, cet étranger

The world is going to miss John Frankenheimer. This was his first feature film and it was four years before he directed his second, but don't let that dissuade you from seeking it out. Frankenheimer's direction is assured, and he gets some compelling performances out of his cast.

Someone else has already pointed them out, but I also want to talk up James Gregory and Whit Bissell in two key supporting roles. Both would work for Frankenheimer again -- Gregory most notably as the bumbling senator in "The Manchurian Candidate" -- and they do good work for him here.

If the whole thing seems too simple in the end, that's merely because Frankenheimer and writer Robert Dozier chose to tell a simple story, and they do it well. Keep a lookout for it -- Turner Classic Movies just might show it again.

Rebel Without a Cause was an interesting film, even with the histrionics of James Dean, an actor that was decent, but not as good as James McArthur, in my opinion. The storyline and direction of this film is also superior to the overrated Rebel Without a Cause. It is a true coming of age film about a young man in a slightly dysfunctional family (mostly the father), who has trouble getting anyone to believe the actual events of a minor incident. It is a very interesting perspective of this time period in American history. The father-son relationship is at the crux of the film, and I was very sensitive to that issue, as I am close to my son, Joe. A good study in growing pains of a teenager.

A teenage James MacArthur stars in this film dealing with the age old theme of listen to your children as well as try to believe them.

From an affluent Beverly Hill home, MacArthur finds himself being harassed in a movie theater after a patron complained about his putting his legs on a chair. The problem is that there were plenty of people saw the harassment by the manager of the theater but no one was asked to say anything. This is a definite problem in the screen writing.

I had actually forgotten that James Daly was an actor. I remember him in television commercials. As his wife, Kim Hunter looks like she is annoyed with the whole plot. We suddenly find out that she has been contemplating leaving Daly for 5 years. What's stopping you lady, your life of luxury?

While John Frankenheimer always dealt with social problems, this one is cliché ridden.

Acting kudos goes to James Gregory as a hard-nosed police officer who adds to the problem by giving MacArthur a bad time. I think this picture was a cheap stunt to continue the theme of "Rebel Without A Cause." That Sal Mineo masterpiece also deals with wayward youth and a loss of interaction between parent and child. "Young Stranger" is adequate but certainly not in the league of "Rebel."

Whit Bissell is effective as the theater owner who is fed up with the behavior of all teenage movie-goers and wants to use MacArthur as an example. Usually a cowardly co-star in grade B films of the 1950s, Bissell shows his adeptness of really being a weakling.

With regard to Gregory, Frankenheimer would get a brilliant performance out of him in 1962's "The Manchurian Candidate." Remember him as the moronic senator married to Angela Lansbury?

This eloquent, simple film makes a remarkably clear statement about a teenager and his father. A theatrical release, the director, John Frankenheimer, learned his craft in the early, challenging days of live television in New York City. Indeed, he directed the teleplay on which the film is based, "Deal a Blow," on the CBS drama series "Climax." "Young Stranger" represents his Hollywood debut. After a hiatus of four years, during which he would do more television, he returned to direct "The Young Savages" with Burt Lancaster and, a year after that, "All Fall Down" with Warren Beatty and Angela Lansbury.

The casting is competent with James Daly and Kim Hunter (particularly good) playing the parents of the title character performed by James MacArthur (his first theatrical film) who played the same role in the television version which was his first appearance on the small screen. Look for James Gregory and Whit Bissell in supporting roles.

I usually get a kick out of teenspoitation movies made in the '50, mainly because the characters and their attitudes seem so dated when seen today. So when this movie came up on Turner Classic Movies, you can be sure I was careful to tape it. The beginning of the movie seems to promise that it will be pretty campy. The teenage protagonist upset that he has to drive his own crummy car since his father won't let him use his brand new car? The teenage protagonist venting his building angst by putting his feet up on the chair in front of him in a movie theater? But not long after all that, the movie gets pretty serious - and compelling. You'll start to sympathize with the teenage protagonist (even though the movie doesn't make him TOTALLY likable), and understand why he is so upset, and why he does the things he does. MacArthur is actually pretty good in the title role, even though he seems to be just a little too old to be a teenager. And Frankenheimer's direction is overall pretty solid. Today's teenagers may think this to be tame stuff, but older viewers in a nostalgic mood will probably find this to be a pleasant surprise.