User reviews

This film was the first British teen movie to actually address the reality of the violent rock and roll society, rather than being a lucid parody of 1950s teenage life. In an attempt to celebrate the work of Liverpool's Junior Liaison Officers the opening title points out that 92% of potential delinquents, who have been dealt with under this scheme, have not committed a second crime. However, this becomes merely a pretext to the following teen-drama until the film's epilogue where we are instructed that we shouldn't feel responsible or sorry for such delinquents however mixed-up they might seem.

Stanley Baker plays a tough detective who reluctantly takes on the post of Juvenile Liaison Officer. This hard-boiled character is a role typical of Baker. Having been currently on the trail of a notorious arsonist known as the firefly and does not relish the distraction of the transfer. However, as in all good police dramas he is led back full circle by a remarkable turn of events, back to his original investigation.

His first case leads him to the home of two young children, Mary and Patrick Murphy (played by real-life brother and sister duo), who have committed a petty theft. Here he meets Cathie (satisfyingly portrayed by Anne Heywood) their older sister whom he eventually becomes romantically involved with. It quickly becomes obvious that the squalid environment of such inner-city estates is a breeding ground for juvenile delinquency.

The elder brother of the Murphy family, Johnny, is the leader of a gang of rock and roll hoodlums. McCallum does an eye-catching turn as the Americanized mixed-up kid, who owes more to the likes of Marlon Brando, than any previous British star. One is reminded of Brando's character Johnny from 'The Wild One' who led a leather-clad gang of rebellious bikers in much the same way as this film's 'Johnny' leads his gang.

Thankfully the preachiness of earlier Dearden crime dramas such as 'The Blue Lamp' is not so apparent. Instead we are presented with several well drawn-out characters on both sides of the law as the drama of the delinquents and the romantic interest between Heywood and Baker takes the forefront.

The plot, whilst at times predictable, does deliver some memorable scenes. The disruptive influence that rock and roll music was thought to have had is played out in a scene where Johnny abandons himself to the music, leading a menacing advance on the police sergeant. The most grippingly memorable piece of film however is the climatic classroom scene where a bunch of terrified school children, including Mary and Patrick, are held hostage at gunpoint by Johnny. Obviously in the light of the real-life Dumblaine Massacre this scene seems all the horrifying. Understandably because of this the film is seldom aired or available to modern audiences.

1958's "Violent Playground" hasn't seen much airplay over the years, one of Britain's earliest answers to "Rebel Without a Cause" or "The Blackboard Jungle" (children in jeopardy too often a disturbing reality). The Johnny Luck recording "Play Rough" is heard over the opening credits (and throughout), as Det. Sgt. Jack Truman (Stanley Baker) switches from a case of arson to the Juvenile Liaison Division, unaware that his 'firebug' will soon reveal himself among them. Filming on location in the Gerard Gardens tenement of Liverpool (demolished in 1987), any clichés that pop up scriptwise are averted by strong performances, as the two young twins are surprisingly well played by real life twins Brona and Fergal Boland (never to do another film). Real life siblings Michael Chow and Tsai Chin (Lin Tang opposite Christopher Lee's Fu Manchu) are also cast as brother and sister, while the leads are portrayed by Anne Heywood and David McCallum, still seven years away from THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. but already displaying a smoldering, sullen presence on screen (if perhaps at 24, too old for a teen). Other commentators have complained about the love interest, but it's not that intrusive, while a surprisingly ineffective Priest, Father Laidlaw, is essayed by rising Hammer star Peter Cushing, who at least informs Baker's officer about some of the characters' backgrounds (the two actors would reunite for 1962's "The Man Who Finally Died"). Other Hammer faces on view include Clifford Evans, George A. Cooper, and Melvyn Hayes, the young Baron in "The Curse of Frankenstein," who again worked opposite Cushing in 1959's "The Flesh and the Fiends" and 1979's "Touch of the Sun."

Stanley Baker plays a Liverpool police detective who is reassigned to a special Juvenile Liassion Department, which takes this film into the world of a large public housing project teeming with youth of all ages who are seemingly teetering on the edge of becoming responsible adults or the criminals the movie portrays, played quite well by David McCallum and the other tough actors who play his hoodlum friends and followers. There's an awesome opening shot of McCallum and his boys within the confines of the project, and the film interjects Baker into this world through his relationship with two childhood twins who play McCallum's younger siblings, and their older sister, whom Baker begins to fall for. Things get a little bit unbelievable as the film progresses, but the focus on alienated youth bopping along to a rock and roll song isn't half bad, and the conclusion, which seemed to me to be too much of a stretch, was still shockingly well done.

Had no idea if I was going to enjoy this film which is in black and white and was filmed on location in Liverpool, England in a very depressing area with a great deal of problems. Truman, (Stanly Baker) is a detective and is reassigned to another position which is, Juvenile Liason Officer who is now in charge of trying to stop juvenile crime in the City of Liverpool. Truman is not too happy about his assignment but does get involved with young twin children named Mary and Patrick Murphy who have been stealing things in the local stores and meets up with their older sister, Cathie, (Anne Heywood). Johannie Murphy, (David McCallum) is the older brother and he is a ring leader who is causing many problems in the City of Liverpool. Johannie has some mental problems which cause him to enter a school with a gun and starts a major problem and gets himself deeper and deeper in trouble with the police. Peter Cushing, (Priest) plays a great supporting role and even falls off a ladder that is pushed by bad boy Johannie. There is some brief romance in this film also between Cathie and Detective Truman. This film is very different and explodes towards the end of the film. Enjoy.

VIOLENT PLAYGROUND sees tough detective Stanley Baker assigned to a new role after falling foul of his boss; he's directed to head up a juvenile crime prevention scheme. Baldwin fears that his new role will be anything but interesting, but things turn out otherwise as a sub-plot involving an arsonist terrorising the streets of Liverpool becomes mixed up with the main story.

This is a gritty, ahead-of-its-time thriller that mixes social drama with a hard-hitting crime flick. It's surprisingly modern in feel, with tight, character-based drama mixed with action, ranging from car chases to hostage scenarios and of course one or two fiery set-pieces. Basil Dearden's black-and-white photography is crisp and clear and he makes sure to elicit strong performances from his cast members.

Baker is one of those underrated actors who sort of got forgotten about after his death, aside from his role in ZULU, of course, but he's very good given the right material and VIOLENT PLAYGROUND is perfectly suited for his talents. Baker is supported by an engaging cast, including Anne Heywood's love interest and Peter Cushing's priest, and it's worth looking out for future stars Tsai Chin and Freddie Starr in more minor parts. The best actor of the lot is David McCallum in a real star-making turn as the disturbed delinquent whose storyline propels the narrative. Altogether VIOLENT PLAYGROUND is a pacey and engaging piece of film-making which mixes drama and thrills in an effective way.

Seven years after A Hard Day's Night came out and the world heard John, Paul, George and Ringo spoke the Liverpudlian accent. We in America knew what the main criticism of Violent Playground was, that few if any used Liverpool's distinctive speech pattern.

The underrated Stanley Baker plays a sergeant with the Liverpool PD. who reluctantly is working for the juvenile division. In said capacity he comes across Anne Heywood and her juvenile delinquent brother David McCallum in his salad days,

My earliest recollection of McCallum was in The Great Escape. Violent Playground is five years earlier and the best part of this film is the cinematography of post war Liverpool showing the still unrepaired damage from the war. It's the background from which these kids come from and pretty nasty too.

McCallum is suspected of being an arsonist responsible for several fires in the city. He's a charismatic sort and the other juveniles don't want to turn him in.

As for Baker he's in a conflict with growing feelings for Heywood and his duty as a cop in regard to McCallum.

Violent Playground is a gritty realistic film even with the wrong accents being used. It holds up well after half a century.

Stanley Baker plays Truman--a detective in Liverpool. When he gets on the wrong side of his boss, he's asked (i.e., forced) to volunteer to work with a juvenile diversion program. So, instead of locking kids up, he's supposed to try to keep them from going into lives of crime.At first, he's less than thrilled, as this goes against the sort of cop he's always been. But, he seems to eventually get into the routine working with a couple young twins--hardly the hoodlum sort, but with their family background, they certainly could be on their way. What Truman and the rest of the family doesn't know is that their older brother, Johnnie (David McCallum) is seriously disturbed. How disturbed and ultimately what he does is something you'll just have to see for yourself.

The worst thing about this film isn't the fault of the filmmakers. I watched the film streaming from Netflix and the captioning was insanely bad. Words like 'urchins' was written 'our chins' and many times what appeared on the screen had NOTHING to do with what was being said.

As for the film, I also think it wasn't sure what it was trying to say. On one hand, the film was a touchy-feely fort of social issue film like "To Sir, With Love" as well as a gripping crime drama! Now I am not saying that this made the film bad--but the focus was blurred and because of this, the film, to me, seemed to just miss the mark.

A good early David McCallum performance, a properly rockin title song that's almost as good as Bill Haley, and great location shooting in beautiful, grimy, downtown Liverpool (thankfully, for us Yanks, minus the local dialect), is countered if not completely nullified by the almost always fatal decision of writer James Kennaway and director Basil Dearden to put The Problem, in this case juvenile delinquency, before the story and the characters. This results, of course, in the action and pace of the film coming to periodic dull halts while we listen to cops, priests and school principals opine on the scourge of youth crime and alienation so that the film feels much longer than its hour and forty five minutes and by the time the climactic hostage taking occurs we're so worn out with this Stanley Krameresque stuff that we're ready to yell "lock 'em up!" Throw in a dull love interest between Stanley Baker and Anne Heywood plus the fact that at no time are the jd's other than McCallum in any way menacing, let alone interestingly screwed up, and you can see why this film failed to catch on. Give it a C plus.

PS...I'm happy to report that even playing a socially conscious padre Peter Cushing manages to be somewhat creepy.

This film was shot on location in Gerard Gardens in Liverpool, and was the UK's answer to films such as 'Blackboard Jungle'. The film stands the test of time quite well, with all the moral stories still (or even more) relevant today. The film feature some fine performance from some notable British actors such as David McCallum, Stanley Baker, Peter Cushing and Anne Heywood. Baker plays a Liverpool cop assigned to juvenile liaison duties, with the premise that if you catch the kids at an early age, they will end up being responsible adults.

Notable cameos in the film include Freddie Starr (Fred Fowell) and Melvyn Hayes (Gloria). Tsai Chin and Michael Chow play brother and sister (they are real life brother and sister) who are caught up in an arsonists web. Tsai Chin is still acting and can be seen in the latest Nicole Kidman film 'The Interpretor'.

Violent Playground features a gun siege in a school, so is unlikely to be shown on TV following similar events in Scotland / Russia.

I lived in Gerard Gardens where the film was shot (though was not born at the time), and have fond memories of the area. I have recently completed a documentary on Gerard Gardens which includes extracts from 'Violent Playground', and a small UK film 'Coast to Coast' which stars Lenny Henry and Pete Postlewaite. The tenements were demolished in 1987 and the films go some way in keeping the memory alive.

There were some complaints from the residents when the film was released, as the film portrayed the area in a bad light. Time has helped heal those wounds.

A little gem of a film, I would recommend you seek this out

David McCallum features strongly in this rather gritty story of "Johnnie", a bit of a pyromaniac, who falls foul of local policeman "Truman" (Stanley Baker) who is charged with dealing with the town's more violently recalcitrant youth. The latter character is not just about law enforcement, though, he is about rehabilitation and the gist of the story is to demonstrate that, whilst never easy or straightforward, there is always a certain degree of hope. "Truman" alights on the young "Johnnie" after he encounters his young niece and nephew running petty - and quite clever - scams on their neighbours. When he takes them home, he sees that their mother "Cathie" (Anne Heywood) is trying to do her best against formidable odds and that their other life influence is caught up in the semi-legal world of sex, drugs and rock and roll. In itself, the story is nothing particularly remarkable - but the characters are engaging, not always likeable, but they have depth which Basil Dearden takes his time to let us experience. The writing is pretty overly simplistic, though, and Baker really only has one gear as an actor and though he isn't bad here, he falls to resonate much as a man who might actually care. Visually, this film shows us a Liverpool that was still in the grips of post war doldrums, and the photography does much to engender the sense of need felt by many of the working class residents; it also shows us that it wasn't just London that had a rich mix of "personalities" embedded within the community - some tolerated more than others! Most folk watching now will only recall McCallum from his "Duckie" role in "NCIS". This film clearly demonstrates that for a while in the late 1950s, he was an actor prepared to push boundaries and tackle some borderline taboo topics with enthusiasm and skill.

Sadly when you watch a film that is 60 years old, you may be lucky if only one or two members of the cast are still alive. As of April 2018, Violent Playground has several members of cast not only alive but still performing such as David McCallum, Michael Chow, Tsai Chin, Freddie Starr and Melvyn Hayes.

Director Basil Dearden as he did in Sapphire and would go on to do in Victim, makes a melodrama dealing with social issues.

Set in post war Liverpool, Stanley Baker plays Detective Truman, he is unmarried, has no kids and he is assigned to work in the with a juvenile division, something he is not keen on. His brief is to stop youngsters living in the poverty ridden part of the city, entering a life of crime.

He ends up dealing with a pair of young twins who were caught shoplifting. Truman is comfortable at first dealing with the kids but as he takes them home to their block of flats he comes to a bunch of older unruly youths such as their older brother Johnnie (McCallum) who might be behind a string of arson in the city. Truman also gets involved romantically with Johnnie's sister.

Johnnie is rather unhinged, in the past he was feted a hero but the film climaxes as Johnnie holds young children in a school hostage in an armed seige.

The film is not totally convincing as it seems the director is uncomfortable in how to deal with the social justice aspects of the story. It wants to be The Blackboard Jungle but it does not get there. Many of the actors have non Scouse accents which is a surprise as McCallum was supposed to be an early British actor influenced by the method acting techniques. Baker's character gets too comfortable, too early as a Juvenile officer, able to understand the issues facing the young kids, although that might be just to expedite the story. Some of the scenes of the youths enjoying rock n roll music and dancing to it just looks silly, making a link to music and juvenile delinquency.

I read Paul's comment as to the film's location in Liverpool,but the school used was St Mary and St Michaels,Sutton street in Stepney London. the schools name was changed to Scotland rd. I was one of the children who looked on with much interest,and we were watching the catering waggon which had real cream cakes,and suddenly Peter Cushing appeared and told the man to give us a cake each,the man's face turned to thunder. also i remember a stunt man hurt himself falling from the school's window and missing the mattress's. I suppose they use a location,then switch to another like they did with To sir with love.

Jeff.

This movie pops up reasonably often on VERY late night TV in Australia on ABC TV (Not the american network).ABC tends to show very old British movies late at night, so I got to watch this one not too long ago.I quite liked it, it's certainly no worse than a lot of simular American films from around that time (Anything by American International for example). The locations and sets were good, Liverpool was an excellent choice for the movie.The fact that it was shot in black and white only enhances the mood and feel of this film. My only complaints about it are, I think that the romantic sub plot between the sargent and the older girl was tiresome and un necessary. The plot was strong enough without it, not to mention in real life, most policemen would be a lot more distant in the situation the good sargent found himself in. But hey. I'm not a policeman so it's only my opinion. My other complaint is that the title song was played throughout the movie ad-nauseum. It was ok for the intro, but after you heard it for the sixth or seventh time, it really started to get annoying. I can't help thinking that the movie was partially intended to be a promotional vehicle for whoever it was that sung it, the closing credits even mentioned that he/she was an artist with Fontana records. Obviously this ploy didn't work if that was the case. But the twins were absolutley gorgeous, especially Mary, it wouldn't have been as good without them. And David Maccallum was also very good as Johnny, happily he went onto much bigger things and deservedly so. It may seem a little dated now, not it's still an excellent movie, Well done!

Violent Playground is directed by Basil Dearden and written by James Kennaway. It stars Stanley Baker, Anne Heywood, David McCallum and Peter Cushing. Music is by Phillip Green and cinematography by Reginald H. Wyer.

Detective Sergeant Jack Truman (Baker) is taken off an arsonist case to become a Juvenile Liason Officer. This brings him into contact with the Murphy family on the tough Liverpool estate of Gerard Gardens. As he fights to keep the young Murphy twins from a potential life of crime, his focus is seriously challenged when he starts to fall for the children's elder sister and guardian, Catherine (Heywood). More pressing, maybe? Is the presence of the brother, Johnny (McCallum), who is the leader of the local gang of Suede Heads.

Tough, gritty semi-documentary slice of British realism that features juve delinquency as its centre point. As Britain moved into the 50s, the Liverpool police force experimented with policemen who became Juvenile Liason Officers, their job was to stop young kiddies from moving into crime, a sort of nip it in the bud programme if you like. Violent Playground covers this experiment and links it in with a roguish elder relative, impoverishment, gang culture and a concurrent case of a pyromaniac on the loose. All of which is set to a backdrop of Rock "N" Roll music and an authentic run down Liverpool estate. It's tough in this part of Britain and grim period flavours are clinically brought to life by Dearden and his team.

Kennaway's screenplay is convincing in its literacy. It manages to not soft soap the problems inherent within the Murphy family (no parents, estate living, financial struggle et al), while many conversations strike a realistic chord, such as one that has police officers casually chat about the young kids breaking into coin operated gas metres, you see the travelling funfair is in town and thus this certain crime rises! Dirty faced kids are on the streets shoplifting or trying to pinch fruit from the stalls, so the cops are trying to stop the "second" crime in an area that is a breeding ground for crime, a step-up to a visit to the magistrate, and again Kennaway's pen lets us know that it's at aged 8 when the kids start to become at the mercy of the courts. It's all very informative and aware.

A number of scenes impact hard. As a fire rages, the latest work of the arsonist, the whole area comes out to watch with a sort of resigned acceptance of the crime. There's the deft (daft) inference that Rock "N" Roll is corruptible, in this instance it reduces "Johnny's" gang into Village of the Damned like aggressors, while the extended finale, where a gun comes into play, hits like a bolt of depressive tinged lightning. The supporting cast give very credible performances (though more Cushing as the tough but kindly priest would have been welcome), but the greatness comes from Baker who turns in an absorbing and sympathetic portrayal of a cop being pulled in different directions. While McCallum is wonderfully moody and schizophrenic as our troubled chief delinquent.

Now available on remastered DVD, this under seen film is waiting to be discovered by more people with an appreciation of classic British drama. 8/10

From a 21st century perspective this film benefits from its location shooting in the Liverpool of the late 1950s. Of particular interest are the landmark Art Deco Gerard Gardens flats with their magnificent main entrance, all sadly swept away in the 1980s.

Unfortunately, little else is as noteworthy. The storyline is weak and incoherent, with the interminably drawn-out ending arriving completely out of the blue. Screenplay and much of the acting are equally unhappy, with the poor kids being landed with some particularly gruesome dialogue. Stanley Baker was a fine actor, but he had to wait for Blind Date (1959) and Hell is a City (1960) for vehicles to do his sympathetic detective role justice.

Sergeant Jack Truman (Stanley Baker) is 'volunteered' to be a Juvenile Liaison Officer. He is ridiculed by the other detectives. It's a struggle to win over the wild neighborhood children like the Murphy kids, the school principal, and the local priest (Peter Cushing). The kids' older brother Johnnie Murphy (David McCallum) leads a youth gang which is harassing an Asian kid. Truman is also pursuing an arsonist known as Firefly.

The problem with the kids is that there is a lot of fake acting. The problem has two causes. First, they are kids. It's asking a lot because second, the characters are supposed to be faking but they have to do it believably. It makes for hard acting. The skills needed are beyond the youngsters but they try their best. It is interesting to see a few minorities. The accent work is very light which makes it less arduous for non-Brits but less real. It's like an American youth crime movie and very comparable in quality. NCIS fans may recognize a very young McCallum. The movie actually gets to a darkly modern place. It's fascinating.

A slightly less awkward rendering of a good story---and one which I enjoyed---would have been awarded a couple of additional points. Like one of the previous reviewers, I also thought about "Blackboard Jungle". The social context and questions: are individuals whose formative years are lived in poverty responsible for their errant behavior? What is the role of the authorities; the clergy; educators? The cinematic exposition was a bit awkward though well-filmed in an English city in the 1950's. One can't fault the writers, directors, and producers---who weren't Rossellinis---since many elements are engaging, especially the scenes in the street, school yards, and open spaces. The influence of popular culture, shown in the trance-like dancing to the pop music of the day, was artificial. Throwing in a decent priest and an understanding school teacher made the story a bit Capraesque. The last scenes were tense and well filmed. Overall, it was worth a look but a bit dated.

When police Sargeant Truman (Stanley Baker) is transferred to the Juvenile Liaison division, he views this as a somewhat humiliating demotion, especially as he had been in the middle of a case involving multiple arsons. He knows he can't help catch the firebug while basically being a truant officer. But when he gets involved with a couple of very young thieves, he soon discovers there's more to their family than he could've imagined.

There's a lot to like about this tense thriller. But before you get to that, you might get the feeling it's a light comedy, as the young twins Mary and Patrick are hilarious! But soon enough, the tone shifts slowly until it's deadly serious, and it really works. Some nice character development and genuine shocks drive the story along.

I would say it's Baker's movie, but also equally David McCallum's. It's a fairly early role for him and must've gained him a ton of attention. Nice, albeit smaller roles for Peter Cushing and Anne Heywood as well.

I was impressed with this one. I'm glad YouTube affords me the opportunity to see these gems now, especially living in areas where these lesser known British movies weren't exactly on heavy rotation on TV growing up.

Apologies in advance but imagine watching a film set in London and everyone had a Scottish accent, or in New York and they all spoke like Texans, a film set in Liverpool and not one Scouse accent. Even with a willing suspension of disbelief I could not carry on watching this, shame really as some reviews rate it. Ah well, back to Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins.....

I've long wanted to see this film, being a fan of both Peter Cushing and David McCallum. I agree that the romantic sub-plot was a waste of time, but the talent of McCallum shines through this juvie role. Thank heavens for Turner Classic which aired the show last week. I can imagine that there were lots of problems with children after the war, especially with the way things were throughout the 1950s. Some of the boys are a bit scary. I certainly wouldn't want to met them on a well-lit street, much less a dark one. There were some good insights regarding the feelings of a firebug as well, or as they call him, a firefly.

As "Blackboard Jungle" showed it in 1955 in United States, rock'n'roll was a disaster for young teens who frantically could commit the worst crimes. And "Violent Playground" shows the insane crimes of the young Johnny Murphy (played by David McCallum) until his last demented action in a Liverpool school, terrorizing the whole school. All this tragic part is impressively directed by Basil Dearden with a tough editing and remains unforgettable. In front of this youth rage, Stanley Baker and Peter Cushing play very soberly. Unique.