Teenage Rebel (1956) User Reviews

Don't Be Fooled By The Title: This Is No Drive-In Cheapie

[Handlinghandel · 7/10 · 13 September 2005]

A very insightful character study. This movie carries excellent credentials: Charles Brackett as one of the screenwriters and Edmond Goulding as director. (Goulding fares less well as writer of the pre-Elvis title song, which dates the movie more than anything else in it but can be skipped over.) Ginger looks great -- better than she did in some other movies from the 1950s. She sports some revealing clothes, such as a tennis outfit reminiscent of the clothes worn by Lana Turner in her best outing, "The postman Always Rings Twice." And her acting is good, as is everyone else's.

A very insightful character study. This movie carries excellent credentials: Charles Brackett as one of the screenwriters and Edmond Goulding as director. (Goulding fares less well as writer of the pre-Elvis title song, which dates the movie more than anything else in it but can be skipped over.) Ginger looks great -- better than she did in some other movies from the 1950s. She sports some revealing clothes, such as a tennis outfit reminiscent of the clothes worn by Lana Turner in her best outing, "The postman Always Rings Twice." And her acting is good, as is everyone else's.

The actress who plays her daughter and the actor plying the neighbor enticed to pay attention to her are fine. And Mildred Natwick, as the boy's mother, is as always excellent.

Her character is not so much a rebel, like Brando and Dean and Mineo from this decade, as a sad child of divorce.

The air of hauteur and aloofness she puts on is very plausible in the portrayal of an insecure teenager.

Rogers's and second husband Michael Rennie little boy is quite a character. He seems a fugitive from some other movie, though he is excellent and works well here. He is more eccentric than little John Henry as played by Brandon De Wilde in the classic "Member of the Wedding." And, though an observation, that is also very high praise.

Doesn't look good on TV!

[JohnHowardReid · 6/10 · 26 June 2017]

Copyright 1956 by 20th Century-Fox Film Corp. New York opening at the Globe: 17 November 1956. U.S. release: November 1956. U.K. release: 11 February 1957. Australian release: 7 February 1957. Sydney opening at the Century. 8,465 feet. 94 minutes.

SYNOPSIS: Re-married mother tries to win back the love and respect of her teenage daughter after an eight-year separation.

NOTES: "A Roomful of Roses" opened on Broadway at the Playhouse on 17 October 1955, running a modest 88 performances. Patricia Neal starred. Miss Keim was the daughter and Mr. Berlinger her "interest". Guthrie McClintic directed. Miss Keim's movie career seems to consist of only four films: These Wilder Years (1956), The Wayward Bus (1957), Some Came Running (1959) being the others. This film was the debut debut of Warren Berlinger. It was nominated for two Academy Awards: Black-and-white Art Direction (lost to "Somebody Up There Likes Me"), and black-and-white Costume Design (lost to "The Solid Gold Cadillac"). This was Fox's second black-and-white CinemaScope movie. (Love Me Tender was the first).

COMMENT" Very much a filmed stage play. True, Brackett has made some attempt to open it up — even plagiarizing his famous "Garbo laughs" gag from "Ninotchka" — with little success, no doubt because hampered by this movie's modest budget. The story remains stubbornly pretentious and slight, wordy and conventional.

Directed in a smooth but incredibly dull fashion, it's hard to believe that this is the same Edmund Goulding of "The Razor's Edge" and "Nightmare Alley". The acting is merely as competent as the script will allow — which doesn't amount to much in the way of interest — though Miss Rogers looks quite fetching, her age apparent only in moments of emotional stress.

Aside from the bright CinemaScope photography, credits and production values are distinctly middle-drawer (the music score is almost a liability). Odd that the sets and costumes were nominated for Oscars — though the sets especially do have to be seen on the CinemaScope screen to be fully appreciated.

While occasionally I felt like hollering at the TV, I liked this film quite a bit!

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 19 November 2015]

This is a very good film about family problems. However, too often I wanted to yell at my TV telling the mother (Ginger Rogers) how to handle her nasty daughter, Dodie! This isn't so much a complaint but shows that I was involved with this film.

When the movie begins, you learn that Nancy Fallon (Rogers) was divorced eight years ago. It seemed that she wanted out of this loveless marriage and her rich ex-husband took their 7 year-old to Europe to prevent them seeing each other. Now, unexpectedly, they get word that this 15 year-old is coming for a visit...which is strange considering the father's actions.

When Dodie (Betty Lou Keim) arrives, she's cold and haughty---which isn't a bit surprise considering that her father has been filling her mind with hatred towards her mother. But the daughter's nastiness extends to EVERYONE--her step-brother, her step-father and even the neighbors. The situation seems intolerable...but they are stuck with each other. It seems that Dodie's father has dumped her on the ex- because he's getting remarried and wants time alone with his new wife! How is this mess ever going to get worked out successfully?!

The film has a very interesting plot and you feel for the mother and everyone else around her. My only complaint is the step-brother-- what an annoying little brat! Well worth seeing and engaging.

By the way, the IMDb trivia for this one is really, really interesting. It seems that Dodie was in love with Dick in the film...and a few years later, these same actors actually married, raised a family and were apparently very happy together. That's sweet.

Positively rancid title obscures a more meaningful and incisive story.

[Poseidon-3 · 8 November 2005]

"Teenage Rebel" conjures up images of boozing, knife fights, wild parties, vandalism and a dozen other offenses, none of which are to be found in this film. It's actually the story of a mother (Rogers) who's long been separated from her daughter and has to try, with some difficulty, to re-establish a relationship with her when they're reunited. Rogers plays an attractive housewife, married to architect Rennie, and mother to Swope, a precocious and mischievous seven year-old. One day, she finds out that her daughter (Keim) from a previous marriage is coming for a visit after eight years of estrangement. It seems that Keim's father circumvented the custody agreement by removing her from the United States as a way of punishing Rogers for her infidelity during their marriage. Now that he is about to remarry, himself, he intends to foist Keim onto Rogers, possibly for good. Rogers' joy at seeing her darling daughter once again is dissuaded when she is confronted by the coldest, haughtiest, most-reticent young girl imaginable. Rennie tries to remedy the situation by employing the neighbor children (Berlinger and Gentile) to become friends with Keim. Rogers tries everything from a hands-off approach to old-fashioned "don't use that tone of voice with me!" authority, all to little avail. Eventually, Keim begins to crack and admit that she misses her mother's love. But will it be enough to sustain her when an unexpected rough spot hits? Rogers gives a decent performance here, expressing a range of emotions and conveying a surprisingly frank outlook for the time. She makes sure to include many a glimpse of her still-considerable legs as she trots about in short-shorts and nimbly descends a showy staircase designed by hubby, surely for that very reason. Rennie is also surprisingly contemporary and liberal in his thinking which helps keep the film refreshing, rather than stale and old-fashioned. His dance moves with Rogers out on the patio have to be seen to be believed. Who knew he had it in him? Natwick plays a neighbor with a touch of wit, but doesn't have a lot of bearing on the story. Beavers plays the family maid and she's saddled with tolerating Swope's antics and trying to please the various inhabitants of the house. Billed (incorrectly) as "three stars of the future", Keim, Berlinger and Jergens all give solid, if artificial performances. Berlinger fares best, injecting an amount of real emotion and texture into his teen character. Jergens is fine as well, in one of those wise beyond her years type of teen roles. Keim is appropriately unbearable at the start, but manages to segue into something closer to a human as it goes along. None of these actors was able to parlay his or her career into anything resembling stardom, however. In an odd twist of fate, Berlinger and Keim married in real life a few years after this and remain so to this day! Swope gives a truly wretched performance, shouting all his lines inappropriately and failing to create any sense of naturalness in his portrayal. In one key scene between he and Rogers', she can be seen visibly trying to hold on to the moment and convey some warmth and familiarity between them as he blurts his lines as if he'd learned them by rote. This is a reasonably good attempt at displaying the effects of divorce on a child at a time when divorce was still somewhat unusual. Now, of course, IT is the norm, but in 1956 it was atypical enough to raise a few eyebrows in certain communities. What takes the film out of the realm of gritty realism is the insistence on elaborate, unbelievable sets and flashy costumes for Rogers. However, enough meaningful interaction takes place for the film to warrant viewing. Modern day parents will laugh at what the film-makers considered "rebel" behavior! The worst thing this kid does, besides ignoring or smarting off to her mother, is leave without permission to go to a movie!

Mother-Daughter Drama

[vert001 · 6/10 · 11 August 2019]

From a fairly successful Broadway drama, TEENAGE REBEL has been given, as everyone agrees, an absolutely terrible title. Our teenager, Betty Lou Keim, is not particularly rebellious, only suffering from the emotional baggage of her parents' divorce. As the story goes, her mother (Ginger Rogers) had left her father for another man (Michael Rennie) some eight years previously. Apparently embittered, the father had kept Keim completely away from Rogers by living with his daughter in Europe all that time, but he had now returned to the States to remarry and wanted some privacy for his honeymoon, thus had finally shipped the girl back to Rogers. Daughter Keim remains in the dark about all of this and is angry with her mother for leaving her when she was seven, for never seeing her since (not the mother's fault), and other than general feelings of abandonment is also suffering the pangs of loneliness, having lived too peripatetic a life in Europe to establish any roots there. The movie is mostly about Keim and Rogers breaking through these emotional barriers to re-establish a loving relationship.

In a relatively small role, Rennie was good as the understanding husband, Ginger for the most part was fine as the loving mother, but I found Keim too declamatory for film acting, not entirely her fault as the dialogue seemed clumsy from time to time (Ginger also fell into this declamatory trap occasionally). Keim had originated the role on stage where such acting is far more effective.

All in all, TEENAGE REBEL is an average to slightly above average movie.

And I must take special note of Ginger Rogers' physical appearance, positively stunning for a woman of 45. I don't believe that she'd looked that good in nearly a decade. It's a pity that her great film career was practically at its end.

Definitely would have been more appealing under the play's name.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 21 January 2024]

Certainly teen monster could describe the bitter Dodie (Betty Lou Keim), forced by the courts to spend three weeks with her mother (Ginger Rogers) who's looking forward to the visit. Instead finding out that her father has aided Dodie in becoming one of the most vindictive, hateful teenage girl, totally pretentious and snobbish, Rogers tries patience and finally snaps. It's certainly no "A Summer Place", both metaphorically and literally.

Certainly Keim and fellow billed "three stars of tomorrow" Warren Berlinger and Diane Jergens, didn't realize that prediction, with the later two playing the children of native Mildred Natwick. Then there's Rusty Swope as Rogers' son by second husband Michael Rennie, squawking every time he feels he's neglected by the arrival of his half sister.

The younger cast members give no threat to the vets which also includes Louise Beavers as Rogers' housekeeper and John Stephenson as the ex-husband, not getting much to do to reveal anything crucial about him. Rogers, looking trim in her glamorous shorts and blouse, is still the epitome of glamour and her telling off of Keim deserves applause. But the title reeks of drive-in double bills, which obviously this was not meant to be. After a while, the teen moodiness becomes tiresome to watch, knowing that the script will indicate a sudden unrealistic change in attitude.

A rare combination of 50s teenage fun and serious drama

[crazy-12 · 8/10 · 15 January 2000]

This film is a cut above most 50s teenage movies which deal with music and fun times like "Rock, Rock, Rock" and others. Then there are the ones dealing with a serious plot with little teenage fun times shown. Unlike these, "Teenage Rebel" has the best of both in one film. The kids have loads of fun here. They clown at the malt shop, go to a drag race and enjoy a real fun party with plenty of music and dancing. Yet, at the same time, a serious drama is going on where a resentful girl learns a valuable lesson about the value of her mothers unconditional love for her. This is very intense drama combined with the fun.

a really good teenpic

[froberts73 · 9/10 · 4 May 2011]

First of all, as has been pointed out, the title is God-awful, something from some of the sleazy '50s Z movies. Jeez, who dreamed that up? Was it a ploy to entice those who enjoy tastelessness?

This movie is sweet, funny, loaded with warmth. The story of a sort-of disconnected teenager is excellent. She is a child of divorce who bounces from un-warm dada to momma Ginger Rogers. (Remember when she was 15 in "The Major and the Minor"?) Michael Rennie is an odd choice for her husband, but he is excellent in the part. He even gets to dance with Ginger - tha "ka-tu boogie" I think).

The scene stealer is Betty Keim as the teen who has to be angry, loving, warm, confused. It was her first flick and she did quite a lot of work after that - and she deserved it.

Warren Berlinger was also introduced in this movie and, as another critic pointed out, they eventually became husband and wife. How fuzzy puppy can you get?

The movie is an unusual entry for 20th Century Fox. They spent no money on technicolor but, no matter, it worked beautifully in black and white.

It shows the difference between the more carefree teeners of the '50s as opposed to today's young people.

I recommend this movie and it is one I will enjoy seeing again. The way FMC operates, there is a good chance of a repeat presentation - or three.

A really nice old B&W film about family relations.

[TxMike · 29 July 2000]

"Teenage Rebel", released in 1956, was one of Ginger Rogers' last feature films, made when she was 45. It featured a couple of "future stars" (opening credits) Betty Lou Keim, as estranged daughter "Dodie" and Warren Berlinger as the nice kid "Dick" next door. As an interesting sideline, Betty Lou Keim only made 4 more movies over the next 3 years, then married Warren Berlinger in 1959, quit showbusiness, and has 4 children.

Dodie, 15, had been estranged from her mother for 8 years since her parents' divorce. Because her mother was the one who apparently had an "adulterous' relationship with the man she then married, Dodie's father was awarded custody. Since they traveled extensively, and had a home in NY, she had never been able to spend the court-ordered 3 weeks annually with her mother. At the age of 15, she was sent to her mother in California so that her father could secretly get married. It was obvious that she was unhappy being in California, resented her mother, resented her stepfather, and was generally angry with the world.

The movie is about Dodie's growth as a young adult, learning to fit in with normal teenagers, and learning how to accept her mother's love that she had rejected for so long. The story is done very well, and thgis movie is a good representation of 1950s B&W movies. I rate it a solid 7 of 10.

Teenage Movie That Clicks

[gamay9 · 8/10 · 1 February 2015]

Most teenage films from the 50's and 60's portray the children as much more innocent than they actually were; and, usually the boy is more mature than the girl, which we always knew was the opposite. Yes, Dick is the most mature, but Dorothy (Dodie) is right up there with him, which is why they click. Ginger is very svelte in the film, yet older than when she danced with Fred Astaire in the 40's. Ginger, as well as the rest of the cast, is excellent and the script is not your usual Hollywood teenage oriented tripe. I assume the Fallon's lived in L.A. and I know from experience that kids were faster than portrayed. I grew up in the Great Lakes area and we were even more mature than the kids in southern Cal; girls in 1956 started having sex with older boys (18, 19) because they had cars and those 'farmers daughters' were hot to trot. Whatever the case may be, this film, despite such extreme parental interference, was the best Hollywood could do in the late 50's. Notice that the Fallon's (Ginger & Michael) beds were not separated by a nightstand, but rather side by side. I guess the censors were becoming more realistic.

Pretty Good Movie, Despite Misleading Title

[dougdoepke · 17 January 2015]

As others point out, the title is at best misleading. Dodie (Keim) suffers more from angry alienation than teenage rebellion, while the movie is more about adjusting to family splits than teenage delinquency. At first, Dodie's almost a hateful little brat, unhappy at being sent to her divorced mother's (Rogers) house so that her dad (Stephenson) can marry a new wife. In her mother's house, she hides behind an air of icy superiority that makes acceptance difficult. Keim spreads on the histrionics pretty thick, unusual for teen girl portrayals of the time. But thanks to the attentions of neighbor boy (Berlinger), who's been bribed by Dodie's stepdad (Rennie), Dodie begins to soften up. I like the pivotal drugstore scene where Dodie finally gets into the teen swing because of the infectious high spirits. It's astutely done, given her previous resistance to verbal persuasion. But, will the softening continue once she finds out some secret truths.

All in all, it's an odd film, and I can sympathize with teen boys drawn in by the title and expecting beer, drag-racing, and switchblade knives. Except for a brief dragster race, there's none of that here. For Rogers, it's a minor come-down since her role is really secondary to Keim's. But then the actress was still coming off the reverse blacklist, a Hollywood backlash against those who had cooperated with HUAC's blacklisting of movie lefties. For a time in the 50's, she found employment difficult. Plus, who would expect to see the 50's favorite space alien, Michael Rennie, actually shaking a leg to a teen beat. I'm still recovering from that. All in all, it's an affecting little film, with a good look at mores of the time, including upscale home decor and suburban high fashion. Too bad none of the teen cast went on to bigger careers after such promising starts.