Too Young to Love

A most unusual film. Set in America but made in Britain because the subject matter concerning underage sex would never have been allowed over 60 years ago. The sets are good, good plot, but let down by the language used especially when dubbed. It is a must see though for the curiosity of the subject matter being explicit for the time.

Other than the presence of pop star Jess Conrad in the cast, there's no real way to tell that TOO YOUNG TO LOVE is a British film as it gets the American authenticity spot on. It's an above-average addition to the wave of 'sensation' films that had been going since the 1930s and which enjoyed a resurgence in popularity during the 1950s. The format of TOO YOUNG TO LOVE is a courtroom drama, with a middle aged bloke on trial for having underage sex with a 15 year old girl.

As you can guess from that description, TOO YOUNG TO LOVE must have been incredibly controversial for its time. Dialogue within the production is explicit and the situations alluded to are distinctly adult in tone (for example, when one character is described as having "laid a sailor"). It's also a well made little movie, with strong direction and performances, and one which seeks to get to the meat of its subject matter rather than shying away from anything too unsavoury. I thought it was a real surprise, and it's a film I'd recommend to those interested in exploring the genre as a product ahead of its time.

An astonishing exercise in late fifties sleaze worthy of pre-code Hollywood set in a surreal British visualisation of Brooklyn (complete with American-style slang) based on a play by Elsa Shelley called 'Pick Up Girl'; but then wrecked by garrulous scripting by Sydney Box and leaden direction from Muriel. Raymond Durgnat in 'Films in Review' said it "seems to be slanted for American television", and it certainly feels like an ancient TV production.

Presumably rushed into production to capitalise on the 'shock' impact recently achieved by 'Anatomy of a Murder', the script includes words like 'sex delinquent', 'marijuana', 'abortion' and 'syphilis' delivered by Thomas Mitchell (who presumably had been imported to lend the sort of folksy gravitas Joseph Welch had brought to Preminger's film). British-based Yanks & Canadians Joan Miller (who was in the original stage production), Jess Conrad, Cec Linder, Alan Gifford, Austin Willis and Charles Farrell fill out supporting roles in the tiny courtroom presided over by a clerk primly played by - believe it or not! - Bessie Love.

Sheila Gallagher is breathtaking as platinum blonde bad girl Ruby.

Thomas Mitchell is a judge in juvenile court. The case under his consideration is based on 47-year-old Alan Gifford, wearing only an undershirt, in the bedroom of 15-year-old Pauline Hahn, wearing nothing.

It's a difficult case that Mitchell must untangle, involving incoherent parents, slovenly associates, and a girl who is not vicious, but fallen into vicious habits. It considers various issues of the day, of changing society, and does so in a thoughtful and excellent manner.

The performances are likewise good, if occasionally they are written a bit monotonously. My one cavil with it is that the director, Muriel Box, seems to have a tin ear for the details of American speech; the accents and vocabulary are a bit too stereotyped to make one think these are three-dimensional characters. Still, an interesting work.

A great version of the "teenagers out of control" type of film with great performances all round except from Jess Conrad who was very wooden. A film made to scare teenager into behaving as their elders think they should, if I had seen it as a teenager it would have worked on me. Impressively American made looking for a UK made film. Well worth a watch.