What About Juvenile Delinquency?
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- Publication date
- 1955
- Usage
- Public Domain
Shotlist
JIMMY LEAVES GANG WHEN HE FINDS OUT IT WAS HIS FATHER WHO WAS MAULED IN CAR-BUMPING INCIDENT BY TEEN-AGE GANG. DESPITE THREATS FROM GANG MEMBERS, HE JOINS OTHER STUDENTS WHO GO TO CITY HALL TO DISCUSS PROPOSED CURFEW WITH CITY COUNCIL. FILMED IN LAWRENCE, KANSAS.
This moral tale looks into teen transgression on a local level and shows a community's effort to come to terms with the problem. A tough, sneering gang roughs up an adult who happens to be the father of Jimmy, a gang member not involved in the beating. Although the gang threatens Jimmy, he goes to City Hall with some other high-school students so that their voice can be heard as part of the debate about a proposed curfew for teens. Like the other "Discussion Problems in Group Living" films, this one ends without resolution and a challenge to the audience: "What would you do?"
Although the film is perhaps too well-intentioned to be credible, its sincerity and openness make it stand out from so many other melodramatic and theatricalized depictions of juvenile delinquency. It also positions delinquency as a local issue about which people can and should talk and act, rather than as a recurring generational issue without a cure.
Ken Smith sez: A jazzy soundtrack plays as a gang of punks rough up a bald guy in a Buick. It turns out the guy is the dad of "Jamie," one of the members of the gang. Jamie gets mad, rips his lightning-bolt insignia off his jacket, and joins forces with the "good kids." The punks race after them in an exciting (for an instructional film) chase sequence over stock music you'll recognize from the old Superman series. They all end up at a town council meeting where the good teens tell the adults "Teenagers aren't all delinquents," and complain that they're being treated "as if we're a bunch of freaks or something." The film ends as the narrator asks, "What would you do?" This production reduces a complex social problem to a narrative melodrama, but at least it's quick-paced. Possibly remade in 1959.
JUVENILE DELINQUENCY VANDALISM MUGGING CAR-BUMPING MAULING VIOLENCE TEENAGE GANGS STUDENTS CITY HALL CITY COUNCIL CURFEWS RECKLESS DRIVING health and safety
Danger Lurks
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- Addeddate
- 2002-07-16 00:00:00
- Ccnum
- asr
- Closed captioning
- no
- Collectionid
- 01431
- Color
- B&W
- Country
- United States
- Identifier
- WhatAbou1955
- Numeric_id
- 1182
- Proddate
- 1955
- Run time
- 10:41
- Sound
- Sd
- Type
- MovingImage
- Whisper_asr_module_version
- 20230805.01
comment
Reviews
Subject: Geez Mutch what’s with the hate
Subject: Oh well
Last but not least: Dr Moronius, take your MST3K crap and shove it.
Subject: drop the pencil punk!
Subject: Let Them Talk!
However, this is 1955, so we get some less-than-nuanced acting (the "angry citizen" screws up a cue), and weaponless gang members wearing jackets that could have come from the local Kresges. The teenagers depicted left their teen years behind them in real life some years earlier.
Unfitting, dramatic stock music adds to the fun.
The question at the end is still relevant.
Subject: JD
Subject: Some kids will do anything for a pencil . . .
Jamie is a proud member of the local gang, until he finds out they mugged his dad for his "pencil" (actually a pen). Jamie is angry of course, so hands in his resignation (he rips his flimsy lightning-bolt patch off and hands it to the gang's leader). After this, there's a tense scene where Jamie is torn literally between two peer groups---the greasy punks and the lacquered dorks. The dorks (or 'good kids') warn him that city council is holding a meeting on juvenile delinquency downtown and are going to attempt to "stop" the problem by upping the age requirements for drivers licenses and other horrendous things. They invite Jamie to come along with them to explain his position to the city council, and he does. A brief "car chase" ensues, but the gang doesn't make it into city hall in time to stop Jamie from talking. In typical Centron style, the film concludes open-endedly, with the narrator asking, "What would you do if you were Jamie? What would you say to the mayor on the subject of juvenile delinquency?" Not an easy question for choolkids of 1955, nor for those of today.
The film has some good camp value, and the bots on MST3K did a good job with it a few years back. Fun can also be had spotting regular Centron actors, including Jamie's mother who is also the mom in "Cindy Goes to a Party"; Bret Waller who plays a student council president here and later was the star of "The Trouble Maker"; and Jamie's dad who is played by the father who says he has no objetion to "a little drink before dinner" in "What About Drinking?" Those familiar with Lawrence, KS might recognize a hallway and front lawn scene at Lawrence High School, and the Douglas County Courthouse doubling for City Hall.
According to Centron production records, the film was produced by Art Wolf, directed by Herk Harvey, and written by Art Wolf and Trudy Travis, with photography by Norm Stuewe and editing by Chuck Lacey. Sound recording was handled by Chuck Lacey and Art Wolf. All in all, a good little film with laughs and historical intrigue. The first movie I saw on this site. Recommended.
Subject: Not a simple solution
Subject: Well, what about it?
Fun little film, with the bonus of recognizing some actors from other Centron films (Like the Mother from 'Cindy Goes To A Party' and the Ripley-Like kid (who's now president of the Student Coucil!) from 'The Trouble Maker'.
Subject: A very freudian drama !
As a matter of fact, "What About Juvenile Delinquency?" presents the three basic elements of the psychanalytical construction of the human mind. The Ego, prensented as the main character, the subconscious as the immoral gang which the main character leave at some point in this totally educationnal short. And the superego, which is represented by the football team captain, the senior class president and finally the head of student council. All litlle perfect kid's what a coincidence, the superego is the moral instance of the human psyche therefore it is guided by perfection.
Now, are ego at some point of the movie is asked to take a stance between the subconcious and the
superego. The movie using this superb freudian construction accentuates the desire of the viewer to identify himself to the principal character ! Because, the viewer (you and me) is most of the time living the reality through the ego. Hint, at the end of the movie, they ask you what would you do in this situation ! The director expected immediate identification to the principal character.
People, please, if you have knowledge in psychanalytical psychology please be aware of the subversive usage of it especially in educational videos made for high schools !
In conclusion, good video, nice construction, but please, this is a shitload of propaganda.
Subject: What About Juvenile Deliquency?
Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***. Also available on Mental Hygiene and Mystery Science Theater 3000, Episode #518: The Atomic Brain.