On the Loose

ON THE LOOSE opens with Jill Bradley's (Joan Evans) attempted suicide. Told in flashback, we see what led up to this desperate act.

Jill's bickering, self-absorbed parents (Melvyn Douglas and Lynn Bari) hardly notice her running around with her boozing friends, and getting into trouble.

When Jill is rejected by a man, she quickly becomes one of "those girls", fast and loose.

A bit less melodramatic than most of the "JD"-type films, this is still a cautionary tale about alcoholism and parental neglect. Everyone is believable, especially Ms. Evans' character.

EXTRA POINTS FOR: The father / daughter dance routine!...

Earnest little endeavor that is unfortunately too transparent for its own good. Jill (Joan Evans) is a typical teenager, though burdened with insensitive parents only interested in themselves and having a good time. Emotionally neglected, Jill falls heavily for Larry (Robert Arthur), and one tipsy evening makes clear that she's marriage minded and available to him in the meantime. Put off by the aggressive demeanor, he dumps her, after which she fills the void by dating indiscriminately, ruining her reputation in the process. Shunned by others and feeling desperate, she attempts suicide.

The movie is from Filmmakers, Ida Lupino's gritty little production company that tried to buck the technicolor trend of the early 50's with social conscience films like this. The problem here is that the script pulls too many punches and the film ends up settling for the conventional in all too predictable fashion. For example, in rather simplistic fashion, the fault is made to lie with the obvious parents and with nothing more complex that might complicate the facile conclusion.The uninspired direction doesn't help either, allowing Bari, for one, to pile on the nastiness in melodramatic style. Note that there is something of a teen sub-culture here, but it's still very much an offshoot of adult approval, a fact that would change in a few years. Probably, the material works best as a reflection of teen mores during that submerged period between the war's end and the eruption of rock-and-roll (the so-called "silent" generation).

In passing-- there is a strong parallel between the emotionally neglected Judy (Natalie Wood) in Rebel Without a Cause and the rebellious Jill in this obscure little film of 4 years earlier. There are other parallels,as well, most notably, in laying primary blame on irresponsible parenting for the upsurge of youthful misbehavior. Likely, the resemblances are no accident.

Holy Cow!!! And I thought I knew so many great old flicks - I don't know how I missed this one! Sure the storyline sounds a bit dated. However, the acting is top notch. By the end of the film you are ready to strangle one of the characters. This film has points where you might guess what will happen. But it also has some real zingers that are unexpected and makes you say wow.

It takes us along the path of high school clicks, and the reputation of young girls. Sure it leaves out boys which are half of the equation, but you have to remember when this was made. Taking that into account, it really does parallel current situations more that it does not.

Watch it - This is something really worthwhile.

ON THE LOOSE is a relatively unknown but watchable film dealing with the alienated youth/juvenile delinquency theme that was popular in the 1950's. It predates the blockbuster "Rebel Without A Cause" by four years, and could have been a great influence on it. The main themes of the two films are very similar, but in the case of "On The Loose", the story is told from a female point of view. The film is well-paced, well-acted, and it held my interest throughout its brief 78 minute running time. The young star Joan Evans is gorgeous, looking very similar to Anne Francis and with an acting style similar to Lauren Bacall. It is unfortunate that her career as an actress remained so obscure. Parents played by Melvyn Douglas and Lynn Bari are typically (and convincingly) self-absorbed and detached from their daughter. A youthful Hugh O'Brian has a small part as an emergency room doctor. Overall, an enjoyable film that deserves more frequent showings.

A sensational beginning. Opening narration by the great Ida Lupino. And we're off on a taut and poignant story about messed-up teens.

If anyone doesn't believe that parents like Melvyn Douglas and Lynn Bari actually existed off-screen, I'm here to say from experience tat they play extremely accurately drawn distracted parents from that time period.

Though Douglas is the more sympathetic of the two ultimately -- who ISN'T more sympathetic than Lynn Bari? -- there are very strong hints almost from the start that he is inappropriately interested in his daughter. The way he looks at her, the way he hugs her, the daughter's guilt over nothing she herself has done: This movie was very much ahead of its time in depicting parental abuse.

Unfortunately, a Hollywood ending is tacked on. Suddenly the self-involved mother becomes loving and concerned, and she and Douglas miraculously stop squabbling in order to help their troubled daughter.

And -- who thought up that thoroughly misleading title? It makes this sound like Abbott and Costello, which is (and surely was at the time) a great disservice to a small, serious, thoughtful movie.