Movie Type: Juvenile Delinquency Film, Coming-of-Age
Themes: Innocence Lost, Kids in Trouble
Main Cast: Ken Wahl, John Friedrich, Karen Allen, Linda Manz, Toni Kalem
Release Year: 1979
Country: US
Run Time: 113 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
The year 1979 saw an epidemic of American street-gang films, including Phil Kaufman's hit period drama The Wanderers. Set in the Bronx in 1963, the film concerns the titular gang of Italian-American teens and their ongoing power struggle with the rival "Fordham Baldies." Richard Price, upon whose novel this film was based, drew from his own experiences to weave his tale. Essentially a series of anecdotes-some tension-filled, some amusing -- The Wanderers climaxes on the occasion of the J.F.K. assassination, which for Price and hundreds and thousands of his aimless contemporaries served as a wake-up call. Viewed from the vantage point of the 1990s, one would wish that the current street gangs be shocked into adulthood with such suddenness (though not through the same tragic means). Ken Wahl, Karen Allen, and Linda Manz are among the standout performers in this richly detailed period piece. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Philip Kaufman's screen adaptation of Richard Price's novel superbly captures the lives of a group of Brooklyn teenagers trying to seem tougher than they are, just as America is about to lose its innocence. While often lumped with The Warriors, Boulevard Nights, and the other street-gang films that hit the screen in 1979, The Wanderers doesn't deal much with territorial violence among emotionally disadvantaged youth. "The Wanderers" rarely confront violence more serious than a schoolyard scuffle, and they don't carry guns. Instead, this movie is a well-remembered reminiscence of the trials of growing up, as the guys struggle with women and figure out what to do with their futures, without much help from their parents. Kaufman does a fine job of capturing the tough, nervy humor of Price's book, but two of the most powerful moments are original to the film, and they set the film's time period perfectly: Perry (Tony Ganios) watches in shock as the coverage of J.F.K.'s assassination plays on a TV in a department-store window, and Richie (Ken Wahl), in a coffeehouse, sees a skinny guy with curly hair and a reedy voice singing "The Times They Are A-Changin'." With his "Wanderers" jacket and oily pompadour, Richie is laughably conspicuous among the self-conscious folkies, and he knows it, but he cannot know that his world will be a thing of the past in a year or two. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Tony Ganios - Perry; Alan Rosenberg - Turkey; Jim Youngs - Buddy; William Andrews - Emilio; Erland Van Lidth - Terror; Val Avery - Mr. Sharp; Dolph Sweet - Chubby Galasso; Michael Wright - Clinton; Dion Albanese - Teddy Wong; Alan Braunstein - Ducky Boy Leader; Rosemary de Angelis - Waitress; Olympia Dukakis - Joey's Mom; Ken Foree - Black Sportsman; Sally Anne Golden - Crying Woman; Leon Grant - Boo Boo; Burtt Harris - Marine Recruiter; Tara King - Pretty Girl; Faith Minton - Big Lady; Bruce Nozick - Dushie; Sam Williams - Roger; Frank Ferrara - Wanderer; Jery Hewitt - Bowler; Tony Munafo - Tony; Richard Price - Bowling Bankroller; Adam Kimmel - Folk Singer; Konrad Sheehan
Credit
Fred Caruso - Associate Producer, Scott Rudin - Casting, Robert de Mora - Costume Designer, Alan Hopkins - First Assistant Director, Philip Kaufman - Director, Stuart H. Pappe - Editor, Ronald Roose - Editor, Richard St. Johns - Executive Producer, Bob O'Bradovich - Makeup, Edward Gold - Camera Operator, John J. Moore - Production Designer, Michael Chapman - Cinematographer, Martin Ransohoff - Producer, Thomas Tonery - Set Designer, Steve Maslow - Sound/Sound Designer, Steve James - Stunts, Philip Kaufman - Screenwriter, Rose Kaufman - Screenwriter, Richard Price - Book Author
It tells the story of several youths growing up together amid the various gangs of 1963 New York City. The film stars Ken Wahl, features Karen Allen and was directed by Philip Kaufman. In an interview for American Film in November 1983, Kaufman (who ran with a gang whilst growing up in Chicago in the 1950s) said he "had been wanting to do a gang movie for years - the urban experience, the darker side of teenagers growing up." Kaufman and his wife Rose wrote the screenplay, making a more cohesive story out of Price's episodic novel. Years later, Kaufman said, "I think Richard Price would say that his novel was really a bunch of short stories, and we really tried to make one story out of them all."[1] The Kaufmans also swapped characteristics between the individual Wanderers in the transition from novel to film. For instance, in the book it is Wanderer Buddy Borsalino who marries Despie Galasso; in the movie, protagonist Richie who marries Despie, and Buddy is relegated to a supporting role in the story. Also, in the book, one of the major characters is a Wanderer named Eugene, who doesn't appear in the movie at all.
Plot
The film centres around the members of a North Bronx youth gang, the Wanderers, and their fights with other gangs, and as well as gang rivalry, it deals with issues such as racial tensions, sex, growing up, loyalty, the good and bad points of machismo and brotherhood, and the reflection of youth rebellion in the music of the era. The film's two main protagonists are Richie Gennaro (Ken Wahl), leader of the Wanderers, who has to deal with the imminent responsibilities of marriage, fatherhood, and joining his mobster father-in-law's family business; and Joey Capra (John Friedrich), who has a violent streak, artistic aspirations, and an unhappy home life (he hates and fears his brutal father).
Reception
In his book Cult Movies III, Danny Peary notes that "many critics who loved the book would later accuse Kaufman of doing the novel a disservice...But Price would disagree: "I love that picture. It's not my book, and I don't care. The spirit is right, and the way Phil Kaufman directed it showed me another way of looking at my own book.""[2]
Although it was not a box office success upon its theatrical release, The Wanderers gained popularity and cult status over the years because of its sensitive depiction of teenagers coming of age. The gangs named in the movie, though fictionalized, are based on real gangs encountered by Price in his childhood, growing up in a housing project in the Bronx. Real names of actual Bronx gangs of the era -- the Fordham Baldies, the Del-Bombers, the Ducky Boys -- are used. "The Wanderers" was the name of an actual gang located in South Brooklyn that was part of the larger South Brooklyn Boys gang. The movie depicts the end of a more innocent time, reflected by the violent death of Turkey (a former Wanderer), the recruitment of the Fordham Baldies into the Marines (a subtle foreshadowing of the Vietnam War), the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the imminent marriage and domestication of Wanderers leader Richie, the departure of Wanderers Joey and Perry (who drive off to California), and a scene depicting then-rising folk singer Bob Dylan in Greenwich Village performing his song "The Times They Are A-Changin'". Kaufman later said, "When I was shooting Goldstein, we came out on the street one day and I saw people were staggering down the street crying. We were walking around with our cameras and saw a bunch of people standing around a store window, looking in and crying. That was how I found out that JFK had been killed. We duplicated that in The Wanderers with the people looking in the department store window at all the TVs, watching the news that President John F. Kennedyhad been assassinated. I love that moment when Richie sees this transition happen and he decides to go back to the old neighborhood and stay in the old world, instead of going to see Bob Dylan with the Karen Allen character and joining the new world."[1]
Gangs
Wanderers: An all-Italian gang comprising 27 members. They wear bright yellow/brown jackets and blue jeans. Their leader, Richie, is dating Despie Galasso, the daughter of an infamous mobster, so The Wanderers have connections.
Fordham Baldies: As their name suggests, they are all bald, reportedly to prevent their hair from getting in their eyes during a fight. There are 40 of them, and each member is a serious brawler. Their leader is Terror, a 6'8", 400-pound monster of a man. They wear leather jackets with a skull on the back and "FB" (Fordham Baldies) on the arm. In an anachronistic way they could be considered a skinhead gang.
Del Bombers: They are the toughest all-black gang in the Bronx. They have 23 members, and are prejudiced against Italians. They wear purple and gold hoodies with "DB" written in Old English lettering on the back. Their leader is Clinton Stitch.
Ducky Boys: They are an all-Irish gang. They have several distinctive things about them: none of them wears gang "colors", and they never speak. They are also the largest gang of the Bronx, with 500 members. They have a twisted take on Christianity- it is all right to kill and beat up people, as long as they attend mass and confession. They are the only gang willing to kill people. They all have crucifix tattoos on their arms and chest. In the movie they lose their final battle fighting against the Wanderers, The Del Bombers, and the Wongs.
Wongs: As their name suggests, they are all Chinese, and have the last name "Wong". There are 27 members, and every single one of them knows jujutsu. Their leader is Teddy Wong. They wear black hoodies with a hanzi (Chinese character) on the back. They all appear to be quite stealthy as during a meeting in an open field they appear to vanish as the Wanderers momentarily turn their heads. Their motto is "Don't Fuck with the Wongs". They all have dragon tattoos.
