Movies:
The Young Savages
- Rating:
- Genre: Drama
- Movie Type: Urban Drama, Social Problem Film
- Themes: Social Injustice, Kids in Trouble, Street Gangs
- Director: John Frankenheimer
- Main Cast: Burt Lancaster, Dina Merrill, Shelley Winters, Edward Andrews, Larry Gates, Vivian Nathan
- Release Year: 1961
- Country: US
- Run Time: 110 minutes
Plot
The Young Savages is what used to be called a "thinking man's picture" about a potentially lurid subject: urban juvenile delinquency. A blind Puerto Rican boy is knifed to death in Spanish Harlem, and three teenage gang members are accused of the crime. Politically ambitious assistant DA Burt Lancaster initially presses for the conviction of all three boys. But as he gets deeper into the case, he realizes that what appears cut-and-dried on the surface is tortuously complex: for starters, the murder victim was hardly the paragon of virtue that the prosecution claims. Despite pressure from his superiors and from members of the accused boys' gang (who at one point threaten Lancaster's wife Dina Merrill with a switchblade,) Lancaster nonetheless sees to it that justice is properly administered. The defendants are portrayed with varying degrees of Brando/Dean "method" by John Davis Chandler, Neil Nephew and Stanley Kristien; more believable, less affected performances are rendered by Shelley Winters, Pilar Seurat and Telly Savalas. Filmed on location in New York, The Young Savages was based on the Evan Hunter novel A Matter of Conviction. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie GuideReview
The Young Savages is the kind of pulse-pounding "social message" film that inevitably dates badly -- but it also has a power and conviction that make it hard to ignore. Even at its most melodramatic and blatantly manipulative (and it is both, in spades), it manages to press more buttons than most viewers will want to admit. Savages starts off well, with an opening sequence that is ferocious and attention-grabbing (and brilliantly shot by director John Frankenheimer). It gets the film off on such a high that it inevitably has to come down. While Savages has its share of "ups" subsequently, none of them ever quite reach the height of the opening. The film is also damaged somewhat by its climactic courtroom scene, which is a bit too overblown and unrealistic, and by the sermonizing tone it too frequently adopts. While the young actors playing the three defendants come across a bit too mannered in their acting style, they still exert power and manage to hold their own with Burt Lancaster, who grabs hold of the film and steers it from the moment he hits the screen. He's given good support from Shelley Winters and Telly Savalas, among others. Savages is too earnest and, at times, too innocent, but it packs a punch. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie GuideCast
- Burt Lancaster - Hank Bell
- Dina Merrill - Karin Bell
- Shelley Winters - Mary Di Pace
- Edward Andrews - Dan Cole
- Larry Gates - Randolph
- Vivian Nathan - Mrs. Escalante
Telly Savalas - Lt. Richard Gunnison; Pilar Seurat - Louisa Escalante; Jody Fair - Angela Rugiello; Roberta Shore - Jenny Bell; Milton Selzer - Walsh; Robert Burton - Judge; David J. Stewart - Barton; Stanley Kristien - Danny di Pace; John Chandler - Arthur Reardon; Neil Nephew - Anthony Aposto; Luis Arroyo - Zorro; Jose Perez - Roberto Escalante; Chris Robinson - Pretty Boy; Stanley Adams - Lt. Hardy; Rafael Lopez - Jose; Henry Norell - Pierce; Bob Biheller - Turtleneck; Mario Roccuzzo - Diavolo; Harry Holcombe - Doctor; Helen Kleeb - Mrs. Patton; Thom Conroy - Mr. Abbeney; Johnny Walsh - Lonnie; Irving Steinberg - Officer Wohlman; Clegg Hoyt - Whitey; Joel Fluellen - Clerk of the Court; Robert Cleaves - Sullivan; Bill Quinn - Capt. Larsen
