Ad un passo dalla morte

Tom Selden and Luana Patten are young, in love, and no longer willing to wait. So they hop into his Plymouth and head to the Mexican border, to get married. But the car runs out of gas, and the next thing they know, Steven Marlo is knocking on the car window. His motorcycle conked out a couple of miles down the road; the spark plugs are bad. He'll walk to the nearest gas station, get some spark plugs and gas, and they'll give him a lift back to his bike. But the motorcycle doesn't turn over, so he rides with them a bit further. At the next stop, he murders a blonde woman in a rage, hides the corpse, and goes on with them. It's his second murder within the latest day, and the cops are already on his trail.

There's a great deal to do in this movie's 61 minutes, and as a result, little of it is done satisfactorily. We watch as Marlo's mind grows more and more unhinged, with Selden and Miss Patten increasingly helpless. We watch as the cops pursue and debate, not just why Marlo is that way, but that it's getting worse; in twenty years they'll have the tools, but what do they do now? None of the answers are satisfactory, none of them solve the problem, and that, my friends, is the subtext of this movie. You're supposed to watch it and be disappointed, dissatisfied, terrified.

When Jamie Forbes (Steven Marlo) is fired for sleeping on the job, he does what any psychopathic employee would do. He beats his boss to death with a pipe wrench! With the cops on his trail, Forbes hits the road on his motorcycle.

Enter eloping teenagers, Benji and Ann (Tom Selden and Luana Patten), who encounter Forbes, unaware of how dangerous he is. In fact, as time goes by, the pair appear impervious to reality, oblivious to Forbes' murderous ways. Even while he's killing people nearby!

Unlike most of the "juvenile delinquent" films of its day, THE YOUNG CAPTIVES does a bit more than condemn rampaging youth. There's also a -somewhat- psychological subtext, exploring what makes a man like Forbes tick, and what the possible solutions might be.

Still, there's nothing all that deep going on. Most of the film's tension comes from waiting to see when Forbes will blow a gasket! We also wonder if the two naive lovebirds will live long enough to get married!

Marlo is quite convincing in his volatile role. An enjoyable movie throughout...

The Young Captives tells a tale that seems to have been very popular during this period on cinema involving a young male who seems to be constantly at odds, rebelling and angry against society. Here is play by Steve marlo, who brings some much needed energy and sense of chaos that this otherwise conventional film needed. He turns in a solid performance. The remainder of the cast are fine and fill their roles as needed. The story is fairly straightforward and is only able to create a minimum of tension. Not an altogether bad film but not a strong as i think it could have been. Despite some shortcomings, The Young Captives is still worth checking out if your curious.

Considering what was passing for teenage exploitation drama at this time 'The Young Captives' was way above par in the genre. Its running time assured that it did not outstay its welcome and capable direction, combined with moody cinematography by respected W. Wallace Kelley ensured it looked very good. The casting was impressive and it was certainly unusual to find lovely Luna Patten in a story so grotesque.

While it was somewhat sensationalist in its depiction of violence it evened this out with a thoughtful script. Characters actually discussed failures in the system and invited some analysis on what changes needed to be examined. This was quite rare for a film within this category and placed it above average within its genre.

It needs to be looked at as a product of its day and appreciated for trying to raise the bar somewhat - even if its R/T did not allow for much follow-up. Looking back at the Roger Corman produced el cheapie; 'Cry Baby Killer' from around this same period makes 'The Young Captives' look like an A grader and worthy of more consideration.

Would like to find this rarity on DVD but don't hold out much hope.