The Delinquents

The opening voice-over warns "The Delinquents" will be a story of "teenage violence and immorality" in Kansas City, Missouri. Then, we meet hunky dark-eyed Tom Laughlin (as Scotty White). He and sweet-as-honey girlfriend Rosemary Howard (as Janice Wilson) - playing mid-teens - are ordered to stop seeing each other because they are too young. Upset, Mr. Laughlin goes out to a drive-in alone, and falls in with perpetually rebellious Peter Miller (as Cholly) and his sneaky sidekick Richard Bakalyan (as Eddy). They turn out to be part of what you could call the WRONG crowd. But, they act well. A closing narration pounds home the moralistic point.

Not a great film, but one obviously full of potential, which was in at least two cases, fully realized.

****** The Delinquents (3/1/57) Robert Altman ~ Tom Laughlin, Peter Miller, Richard Bakalyan, Rosemary Howard

Despite the budget, the movie shows genuine flair, and it's not surprising that Altman went on to Hollywood following this energetic little indie. The KC locations manage to turn a budget disadvantage into an atmospheric advantage by creating a middle-America flavor well beyond Hollywood's usual sound-stage scope. Sure, the movie is dated. Nonetheless, many touchstones of teen culture are present— drive-in's, underage drinking, "good girls" and "bad girls". Too bad Altman didn't work in some Elvis or, at least, R&R.

Whether luck or acumen, Altman gets a strong cast with Bakalyan, Miller, and Laughlin. Bakalyan is a true teen superstar from that era and maybe it's best actor. Catch him in "The Cool and the Crazy" (1958), to appreciate a versatile sensitive side. Miller too impresses as the sneering and thoroughly dislikable gang leader. Apparently, he was too good at business to stay in the movies. And, of course, there's "Billy Jack" Laughlin practicing his limited form of pacifism that would later become a stock-in-trade. Unfortunately, there's also poor Rosemary Howard who struggles emotively as the good girl, but does look the part.

There is one scene like nothing I've seen from that era. Good guy Laughlin is taken to a tract home by the gang, where he's forced to drink an unlimited amount of hard liquor. One agonizing drink after another, you expect him to refuse. But he doesn't, going submissively along, and I'm getting sick just watching. It's almost excruciating to sit through, and is a much more effective warning against delinquent behavior than all the official ones. Altman also shows his way with crowd scenes in both the opening ruckus in the bar and in the teen party. Such byplay scenes, of course, were to become his trademark.

On the downside, the narrative is pretty choppy. I don't know if it comes from the script or the editing, but the story unfolds awkwardly at times, showing less than a polished hand. And, of course, there's that heavy-handed epilog and prolog that sounds like the voice of Big Brother warning the plebs. I guess that was the price for putting all the fun stuff before the public. And what about parents dragging all those 25-year olds down courthouse steps at movie's end!

Anyway, it's probably worth pointing out to younger viewers that despite what's on screen, the 50's generation was arguably the most conformist of any since WWII. They weren't called the "Silent Generation" for no reason. Good jobs were plentiful; at the same time, most youth simply wanted "to marry and settle down". Their biggest worry was whether they were too young to marry, and, of course, sex outside marriage was forbidden, which is what motivates Janice's dad in the movie. Real youth rebellion was still a decade away, and only strange cats like Jack Kerouac were on the road. All in all, the movie itself remains an interesting slice of that teen era.

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.

Familiar story of nice guy Scotty (Tom Laughlin) and his sweet girlfriend Janice (Rosemary Howard) being taken in by a gang of hoods led by Bill (Peter Miller). This is the type of movie which shows bad behaviour as being smoking, drinking and starting fights. I know I was in trouble when it starts off with a narrator telling the audience that this is a cautionary tale of where their kids might end up! I saw this only because it was Robert Altman's first film--he wrote, produced and directed it. It was made on a VERY low budget and it shows. It's horribly edited with inappropriate music cues (there's some thundering music when Scotty just comes out of a cab!). Also the script has lapses--especially when Bill inexplicably wants to help Scotty. Why? There's no rhyme or reason. For some reason Bill acts like he's sexually attracted to Scotty! All the actors were unknowns when this was made. The only one that went on to become famous was Laughlin when 15 years later he did "Billy Jack". As it is his acting here is actually pretty good. He's obviously WAY too old for his role but he's handsome and muscular and has a lengthy shirtless scene. Howard as his girlfriend is just awful. Whiny and obnoxious. This was her only film--it's easy to see why. Miller wasn't bad as the head of the gang and everyone else was OK. This is really of interest only as Altman's first film. Other than that it's just a run of the mill "bad boys" film that was done countless times in the 1950s.

Although United Artist released The Delinquents in 1957, it was filmed in Kansas City in the summer of 1955. That helps explain the musical choice of jazz over rock. When it was shot, the ground just been broken on the juvenile delinquent sub-genre with The Wild Ones and The Blackboard Jungle. A more timely release would likely have made it more successful at the box office and more influential on other rebelling teen films. Even with the late release, the film made a tidy profit for the studio.

Altman later said Tom Laughlin copped an attitude during the filming and was very difficult to work with.