Colpevole innocente

... because by 1955 RKO was a sinking ship and Howard Hughes was tired of the play toy he had broken. He ended up selling to General Tire and Rubber who, opposite of Hughes, completely neglected it. They simply did not care that their product was a laughingstock because they were planning to use it as a tax write-off, which was very important in the days of 90% taxation.

But this film is pretty good. You have John Frankenheimer in his directorial debut, James MacArthur in the lead in only his third film appearance as the "young stranger", with veteran Kim Hunter as his mother. Character actors Whit Bissel and James Gregory turn in fine supporting performances.

Although this film is allegedly about juvenile delinquency, it isn't really. James MacArthur plays Hal Ditmar, the 16-year-old only child of movie producer Tom Ditmar and his wife Helen. Today such a teen would be completely isolated from all normal problems and normal people but, in the high taxation days of the 1950s, his family lives well enough and has a big house and a maid, but Hal goes to public high school, drives a beater of a car, and is friends with the most middling of middle class kids.

Hal goes to the movies one night with his best friend. A guy and his date sit down in the row in front of him. When Hal puts his feet up on the seat in front of him and next to the guy with the date, words are exchanged. The guy gets the theater manager who ejects Hal and his friend from the theater, but not before he demands that they go to his office for a reason he won't disclose. When Hal tries to leave the theater, the manager grabs him and Hal defends himself by punching the manager.

Of course, this is not the story the theater manager tells the police. He said he was assaulted without cause. So Hal is arrested after - 1. Exchanging words with an obnoxious fellow patron. 2. Being accused of delinquency by the manager in retaliation for all of the actual delinquents the manager never managed to catch 3. Being detained for no particular reason. 4. Defending himself when grabbed. The police and Hal's father believe the manager and won't even let Hal say what really happened. Complications ensue.

This is a really good examination of the price of post war success often being borne by the children of said post war successes who don't take time to get to know their own kids. In this case the wife feels left out too as success can be a demanding mistress. I'd recommend this entertaining yet rather obscure film.

What often threatens to turn into a soppy and soft-headed drama about misunderstood middle-class youth ends up a surprisingly shaded and subdued movie by John Frankenheimer (his first, though he had started in television, directing among other things an earlier version of this script).

We are still in those semi-mythic ‘50s when teenagers drove jalopies and jeans were still dungarees. James MacArthur (adoptive son of playwright Charles and actress Helen Hayes, and later to enter pop culture as Hawaii 5-0's Danno) gets involved in a minor incident in a movie theater which escalates to his throwing a punch at the manager (Whit Bissell) and being booked down at the police station. His dad (James Daly), a big-shot movie producer gets the call, doesn't listen to his son's version of the story, and pulls strings to get him off.

But MacArthur keeps carrying a chip on his shoulder, which even his sympathetic mom (Kim Hunter) can't knock off. Things worsen in the Coldwater Canyon homestead until MacArthur, trying to vindicate himself, stages a reprise of the original incident....

The movie doesn't quite avoid the attitudes – and cliches – of its time, but presents them with considerable nuance: Every character gets an honorable hearing; every point of view has its merits (and reactions to the movie will depend on what viewers bring to it). There are flaws (the word `crummy,' a standard rebellious euphemism of the era, is used about 30 times too often) but they're outweighed by strengths. The movie benefits from a strong cast (most notable among them the excellent character actor James Gregory, as a police detective) and a resolutely non-exploitative way of telling its story. From a vantage point in the new millennium, the hot water MacArthur finds himself in may seem a little tepid, but The Young Stranger remains honest and honorable.

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.

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.

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.