Die Unverstandenen

Things are just about the way they were for young people at the time just before choice. It may not have had today's broad slice of life in your face stance, but it was not the order of the day.It reflects the last days of a total lack of knowledge and misunderstood truths among the teenagers of that most recent time. Attractive actors may have brought a few more young people to see and think about the films' moral.

I saw this black & white film back in the early 70's on television, when they used to show movies in the afternoon, and not hours of info-mercials...!

It's stuck with me all of these years; I'd like to see it again. Where IS it? Carol Lynley is a be-a-u-tiful little thing, and Brandon De Wilde was good also (it was good to see him in something besides SHANE).

I was a young teenager when I viewed the film; it did play like a "Father Knows Best" episode, but I didn't expect it to go so far, even to include an unexpected teenage pregnancy...! We barely understood the consequences of that issue in the public school at the time, quite a surprise to see it on television (then).

It made an impression on me as a youth; I'd like to see it again, but don't know why it's not available... if the movie studios can put "Killer Klowns from Outer Space" on DVD (or even VHS), why can't they put this nice little play on plastic? What's the hold-up?

Arthur Bartley and Janet Willard are fresh-faced teens in 1950s America. Arthur shoots the breeze with his friend Ernie drinking, smoking, and playing poker. Janet enters their basement hideout. Ernie forges a permission slip for her. Arthur and Janet start a relationship which culminates to a desperate need for an abortion.

There are limitations for its time. There is no way to show the sexual encounter and the word abortion is never mentioned. It's already pushing the envelop to touch upon the subject matter. It is exactly what one expects from a 50's movie dealing with teen sex and abortion. The movie has one major change from the play that speaks to the public sensitivity. As a movie, it is very much a 50's movie. It is old fashion melodrama. The young actors are all capable. The two leads are very young and fresh-faced. It's like a better made PSA movie. That's giving it short shrift. It's better than that. There is real tension in the drama. The most compelling section is Arthur trying to tell his parents. The ending is the safer choice which is as much as can be expected for its time. While the attempt is commendable, it cannot escape the melodramatic style and the moral restrictions.

Yes, this movie is dated along with many faults that the discriminate movie watcher can point out. It does not have the artistic value of another "dated movie" such as "The Best Years of our Lives, 1946" but this was America in 1959. Yes, it was "risque" just like "Summerplace" of the same era. Unwanted pregnancies were a big problem that our ancestors preferred to keep under silence, Hollywood included. Unwanted/unplanned pregnancies still are, except that many teenagers/young adults just get an abortion(s) or simply swell the ranks of single parents. Sadly enough, the cost to our American society is disastrous: poverty, violence, pain, abuse, drugs, etc. Worst of all, this tragedy is self-perpetuating. Art (the star teenager) had the chance of having parents he finally went to, who supported and helped him. Most teenagers nowadays won't have a parent or a mentor to confide in. I know, given up to relative as a child in the fifties, I spent part of my life helping teenagers in distress until the problem got overwhelming. This movie teaches a lesson and spreads a message for teenagers, parents, families and educators. The props may be "dated", the feelings, our human needs and man/woman's quest for love are not. I highly recommend "Blue Denim" as I pursue my journey to find such a place where values and principles of dignity are still practiced.

"Good is he who learns from his mistakes but much better is the one who learns from someone else's errors" was the moral message that "Blue Denim's" Director was telling us.

I must admit I TiVOed this movie because of the description of it. I was intrigued on how a movie made back then could tackle the subject of abortion. If you couldn't even say a word about it, how could you base a whole movie on it? First and foremost, MacDonald Carey did a fantastic job as your typical dad from that era (imagine Fred MacMurray dealing with Robbie knocking a girl up on My Three Sons). Seeing as how he was just about the only one in the movie who could act, I realize how underrated he was at the time (and I guess altogether). The women in the movie (mother and sister of the boy in "trouble") are you typical dingbat "ask the husband what YOUR opinion is" people from that era, which makes it all the more entertaining. The highlights for me are the girl in trouble, the boy's best friend, and of course Mac C. The story is great for the time in which it was acted. Definitely entertaining and worth checking out. Not as dark as "Love with the Proper Stranger" if even that could be considered dark. But good luck finding it. I watched the premiere of it of the FMC. Who knows if it'll be on again.