The Young Stranger

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.

When the story begins, Hal (James MacArthur) and his friend are at a movie theater and Hal is behaving a bit like a jerk with the man sitting in front of him. He SHOULD have taken his feet off the chair and that would have been the end of it. However, Hal wouldn't back down and the man goes to get the manager. At this point, Hal backs off and tries to just leave the theater to diffuse the situation. But the theater owner has an usher grab him and drag him back into the theater and, not surprisingly, a scuffle breaks out. Hal slugs the manager, as he was trying to get away. Soon, he's arrested and the police and the boy's father both refuse to listen to him and hear his side of the story.

Following this incident, Hal is very mouthy and angry. Much of it you can understand--his father, in particular, would not listen nor support him at all. And, in addition, it seems that Dad's way of handling things is to lecture and then bail his son out of trouble...but the boy is longing for a real connection with the man. At the same time, it becomes obvious that the father has also alienated his wife, as he is very closed emotionally with her as well. It becomes obvious that Hal and the family could use some therapy...not the police.

This is a really exceptional family drama. The characters and dialog seem very real and the story is very moving. Well worth your time.

From the very beginning this movie is a classic of the teens-in-trouble genre - or of any genre. In many respects it is better than "Rebel Without a Cause" with its stunning black and white cinematography, far less pretentious and overwrought plot, and scrupulous avoidance of anything smacking of exploitation. Performances are absolutely breathtaking, even those of secondary characters. The music is just perfect, a dream. Stylistically this is as good as it gets. The plot matches the subdued, sensitive style. But there is a fly in the ointment. The movie overplays its cards, pleading for so much compassion for a young man who doesn't quite merit it, that one tends to side with the theater manager whom he assaulted. The boy's feelings are so tender, that even when he escapes punishment he wants his victim and parents and society in general to admit that he wouldn't have deserved it, had he been so unlucky as to have gotten it. That is going too far. That is emotional blackmail. It's a nasty, bullying streak that the writer feeds and rewards. The implication seems to be that all the sensitive youth are concentrated in the upper strata of society. The wealthier the more "sensitive" kids are. That's occasion for mirth. Poor youngsters are as entitled to say "we are also sensitive", we are also going through phases, and we also need understanding and tender loving care.

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.

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?