**SPOILERS** A bit heavy handed but still effective film about how the plague of juvenile delinquency had become a major factor in turning America's youth from respecting the law, as well as their parents, and become future residents in hell holes like San Quentin and Attica state prison.
We see a bunch of unruly youths lead by this smirking and full of himself wise guy Cholly, Peter Miller, start a ruckus at a local nightclub because he and his friends, being under age, are refused to be served beer. Looking for action Cholly and company go to the local drive-in planning to start trouble with those peacefully watching the movie. It just happens that young Scotty White, Tommy Laughlin, is also at the drive-in trying to forget what just happened to him.
Scotty was told by his girlfriend's parents The Wilsons, James Lantz & Lotus Carelli, to stay away from their 16 year-old daughter Janice, Rosemary Howard, for no other reason then him and Janice being in love with each other. A confused Scotty leaves, with Janice in tears, to catch a movie so he can get his head back together.
It's at the drive-in that Scotty runs into Cholly and his friends who after picking a fight with another group of teenagers come to Scotty's, who got blamed for what Cholly and his friend Eddy(Richard Bakalyan) did, rescue. At first Cholly took a shine for the friendly but very naive, to what Cholly was up to, Scotty. This had Cholly's #1 man Eddy get very jealous and resentful at Scotty for taking Cholly away from him.
Being invited with a very reluctant Janice, using the excuse she's going on a date with Cholly, to a party at the deserted Old Johnson House Scotty ends up getting drunk and together Janice leaves early. Unknow to both Scotty & Janice Cholly and his gang broke into the Johnson House to do their partying and that had the cops raid the place arresting everyone there, except Scotty & Janice.
Seeing his big chance to stick it to Scotty, for taking Cholly away from him, Eddy has Scotty framed in being a snitch in him calling, which Scotty didn't, the cops on the drunken and obnoxious party goers. A mad and fired up Cholly now plans to get even with Scotty in not only abusing his girlfriend Janice but getting the clean-cut and milk drinking young man smashed on hard liquor. Cholly then plans to have the dead drunk Scotty dumped in woods where, with some luck, he'll be killed and eaten by the coyotes wolves and bears who live there!
Things don't exactly work out as well as Cholly planned with him, at the insistence of Eddy, getting involved in a gas station holdup where the attendant Kenny, Joe Adelman, is left for dead with his head smashed in and Scotty, drunk as a skunk, staggering away from the crime scene. Cholly trying to keep Scotty from talking to the cops, which in fact he had no plans of doing, goes a step farther in kidnapping, a both federal and in some states like California capital crime, Janice! Scotty had by now come to his senses, after sobering up, and in a white hot fury took off to Cholly's place, after almost chocking Eddy to death, to save Janice from being gang raped by Cholly and his friends.
Early work of director Robert Altman and actor Tommy, or later Tom, Laughlin which is a bit too mild, with the teenagers in it so obedient to their parents, in it's trying to show its audience the dangers of juvenile delinquency. Still "The Delinquents" despite it's meager budget and unknown cast is right up there with other much more expensive and critically acclaimed troubled youth films of the same period like "Blackboad Jungle" and "Rebal Withou a Cause". The film shows what can happen when young people aren't taught to respect their parents and eventually the law by them, and their growing up problems, being either ignored or just never acted upon.
We see a bunch of unruly youths lead by this smirking and full of himself wise guy Cholly, Peter Miller, start a ruckus at a local nightclub because he and his friends, being under age, are refused to be served beer. Looking for action Cholly and company go to the local drive-in planning to start trouble with those peacefully watching the movie. It just happens that young Scotty White, Tommy Laughlin, is also at the drive-in trying to forget what just happened to him.
Scotty was told by his girlfriend's parents The Wilsons, James Lantz & Lotus Carelli, to stay away from their 16 year-old daughter Janice, Rosemary Howard, for no other reason then him and Janice being in love with each other. A confused Scotty leaves, with Janice in tears, to catch a movie so he can get his head back together.
It's at the drive-in that Scotty runs into Cholly and his friends who after picking a fight with another group of teenagers come to Scotty's, who got blamed for what Cholly and his friend Eddy(Richard Bakalyan) did, rescue. At first Cholly took a shine for the friendly but very naive, to what Cholly was up to, Scotty. This had Cholly's #1 man Eddy get very jealous and resentful at Scotty for taking Cholly away from him.
Being invited with a very reluctant Janice, using the excuse she's going on a date with Cholly, to a party at the deserted Old Johnson House Scotty ends up getting drunk and together Janice leaves early. Unknow to both Scotty & Janice Cholly and his gang broke into the Johnson House to do their partying and that had the cops raid the place arresting everyone there, except Scotty & Janice.
Seeing his big chance to stick it to Scotty, for taking Cholly away from him, Eddy has Scotty framed in being a snitch in him calling, which Scotty didn't, the cops on the drunken and obnoxious party goers. A mad and fired up Cholly now plans to get even with Scotty in not only abusing his girlfriend Janice but getting the clean-cut and milk drinking young man smashed on hard liquor. Cholly then plans to have the dead drunk Scotty dumped in woods where, with some luck, he'll be killed and eaten by the coyotes wolves and bears who live there!
Things don't exactly work out as well as Cholly planned with him, at the insistence of Eddy, getting involved in a gas station holdup where the attendant Kenny, Joe Adelman, is left for dead with his head smashed in and Scotty, drunk as a skunk, staggering away from the crime scene. Cholly trying to keep Scotty from talking to the cops, which in fact he had no plans of doing, goes a step farther in kidnapping, a both federal and in some states like California capital crime, Janice! Scotty had by now come to his senses, after sobering up, and in a white hot fury took off to Cholly's place, after almost chocking Eddy to death, to save Janice from being gang raped by Cholly and his friends.
Early work of director Robert Altman and actor Tommy, or later Tom, Laughlin which is a bit too mild, with the teenagers in it so obedient to their parents, in it's trying to show its audience the dangers of juvenile delinquency. Still "The Delinquents" despite it's meager budget and unknown cast is right up there with other much more expensive and critically acclaimed troubled youth films of the same period like "Blackboad Jungle" and "Rebal Withou a Cause". The film shows what can happen when young people aren't taught to respect their parents and eventually the law by them, and their growing up problems, being either ignored or just never acted upon.