Juventude Selvagem

The sixties were John Frankenheimer's heyday:he directed three classics "birdman from Alcatraz" "the Manchurian candidate " and "seconds" ,all unqualified musts for any cinebuff.

"Young savages " is at first sight ,a more realist "West Side Story" (the Thunderbirds and the Horsemen replacing the Jets and the Sharks),but hindsight shows that ,in the end ,Frankenheimer's work is not more convincing than Wise's -which has other assets anyway- ,as far as social depiction is concerned.The script promised great things.Which counts in favor of Frankenheimer is his impartiality:he never really sides with one of the groups.Some scenes are impressive :the first meeting Lancaster/victim's mother-but the second one gets in the way-,the murder seen thru glasses -which borrows from Hitchcock's "strangers on a train" though,the pack assaulting a young boy at the pool...The magpie syndrome comes back in the scene when Lancaster's wife is assaulted in the elevator :the same thing happened to Glenn Ford's wife in "blackboard Jungle" .

Some ideas or theories are dubious indeed:because Di Pace (what a name!) has a very high IQ -which is not obvious at all,considering his behavior and his conversation-,he might possibly be less guilty than the others.Ah ... and he is also Lancaster's former sweetheart's offspring !The last confrontation Lancaster/Di Pace is supposed to be an almighty fuss:but anybody past infancy has understood the "knife trick" long before the dialog ends.

"Young savages " is not a bad movie ;it's simply politically correct to the core,which the three works I mention above are not.That said ,there are enough surprises,unexpected twist ,and good performances (of course Shelley Winters outshadows Lancaster's bland wife)to sustain interest till the end.

"The Young Savages" is a social-conscience drama showcasing its star, Burt Lancaster, to good effect. Burt plays Hank Bell, a district attorney who is handed the case of three Caucasian youth gang members who murdered a Puerto Rican youth in cold blood. But is that what really happened? As Bell does a lot of his own sleuthing, he discovers, predictably enough, that things may not be as they appeared. He embarks on a bull headed quest for the "truth" of the matter.

Bell conducts himself in an unprofessional matter often enough, at least during the climactic trial, that it may lose some viewers due to lack of complete believability. But it's still a reasonably engrossing story, well told by screenwriters Edward Anhalt and J.P. Miller (based on the novel "A Matter of Conviction" by Evan Hunter) and director John Frankenheimer. Frankenheimer doesn't concern himself with being overly cinematic, concentrating mostly on just spinning this racially charged yarn. We are subject to some speechifying and philosophizing on the nature of criminal youth, and the nature of the justice system. For one thing, Hanks' wife Karin (Dina Merrill) is a bleeding heart liberal.

The main thing that really holds all of this together is an exceptional cast. Lancaster handles himself with great dignity, playing a character who considers himself fortunate to have escaped slum surroundings (partly due to his father changing the family name, which was actually Bellini). The film co-stars Edward Andrews, Vivian Nathan, Shelley Winters, Larry Gates, Telly Savalas (in his first substantial role), Pilar Seurat, and Milton Selzer, with juicy parts for the younger generation: Stanley Kristien as the defiant Danny, John Davis Chandler as the volatile Arthur, Neil Nephew as the none too bright Anthony, and Luis Arroyo as the passionate Zorro.

While not all that satisfying when all is said and done, "The Young Savages" is compelling enough to keep a viewer watching for 103 minutes.

Seven out of 10.

This is the first of the several black and white films that Frankenheimer made in the sixties, most of them excellent. Although is not as good as The Manchurian Candidate or The Train it has also his usual rigor in the construction of a plot with political implications. Lancaster has a good performance, his appointments with the members of the gangs are enough believable and the trial scene reaches an adequate climax. The film starts with the murder of a blind puertorican boy by three italians guys, members of a gang. Lancaster, who was born in little Italy and has changed his surname Bellini to Bell has to prosecute them as D.A. despite of one of the italians boys is a former gilrlfriend's son.

This was also one of the first playings of Telly Savalas and is remarkable that his performance as a cynical policeman prefigures his later successful in "kojack", although it wasn´t the most appropiate for this film.

John Frankenheimer directs this intense story of three teenage killers in New York City's Spanish Harlem and the idealistic DA(Burt Lancaster)given the job to prosecute them. Young gang members trying to protect their turf see no use in cooperating with the law. Lancaster plays the part as if he were Jack Webb. (That is meant to be a compliment). This movie also gives Lancaster the chance to work with Shelley Winters. (Wink, wink) Also in the cast are Dina Merrill, Chris Robinson, Edward Andrews and the debut of Telly Savalas. Very little actual violence, but some pretty good drama.

Solid drama of racial tension and prejudice well directed by Frankenheimer and acted with feeling by the cast. Lancaster is earnest but he is put somewhat in the shade by Shelley Winters in a strong supporting performance full of sad resignation and vulnerability, when she was on her game as she is here and reigned in her inner ham they were very few actresses as good at presenting the human condition. Edward Andrews is very good as usual in a small part as an ambitious politico, another underrated and unfortunately obscure actor who was always good whether in drama or comedy. As a study on the effects of poverty on people it is sadly still a timely story.