Youth Runs Wild (1944)

Director:

Mark Robson

Writers:

John Fante (story) and
Herbert Kline (story) ...

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

TIMELY! TRUTHFUL! (original ad under alternate title "Are These Our Children" - all caps)

Plot:

During WWII, adults are either off fighting or busy in the factories, so juvenile delinquency becomes a major problem back home...

Plot Keywords:

WWII | Home Front | Thief | Delinquent | Card Game

Cast

Bonita Granville	...	'Toddy' Jones
Kent Smith	...	Danny Coates
Jean Brooks	...	Mary Hauser Coates
Glen Vernon	...	Frank Hauser (as Glenn Vernon)
Vanessa Brown	...	Sarah Taylor (as Tessa Brind)
Ben Bard	...	Mr. Taylor
Mary Servoss	...	Mrs. Cora Hauser
Arthur Shields	...	Father Killed by His Son (scenes deleted)
Lawrence Tierney	...	Larry Duncan
Johnny Walsh	...	Herb Vigero
Rod Rodgers	...	Rocky
Elizabeth Russell	...	Mrs. Mabel Taylor

Runtime:

67 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #9767) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

Because RKO re-cut Val Lewton's original version and eliminated several scenes, many cast members in studio records/casting call lists did not appear or were not identifiable in the movie. These were (with their character names): Margaret Landry (Hysterical Girl), Joan Blair (Mrs. Loring), Molly Lamont (Mrs. Webster), Dorothy Malone (Girl in Booth), Daun Kennedy (Girl in Booth), Mike Road (Boy with Toddy), Donald Kerr (Member of Horse Act), Les Clark (Member of Horse Act), Gordon Jones (Truck Driver), Harry Harvey (Watchman), Jack Gargan (Man at Shooting Gallery) and Don Dillaway (Drunk). Some other more obscure cast members may also have been cut.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Val Lewton: The Man in the Shadows (2007) (TV)

Soundtrack:

I Get the Neck of the Chicken

Lewton Away From the Horror Genre

Youth Runs Wild (1944)

** (out of 4)

Val Lewton produced this WW2 drama about teenagers who start getting into trouble while the older folks are either working or fighting in the war. Lewton hated horror films and wanted to be taken more serious and I guess this film was his attempt to do that but the movie is really boring and bland. The strange thing is that Lewton's horror films didn't contain much horror and this juvenile film doesn't contain too much stuff dealing with the subject. There's a subplot of a tire stealing ring, another story dealing with teenage love and yet another dealing with a soldier returning home. None of them work and together they just make for a mess of a film. The film should have centered on one story and followed it but as it is the film just becomes tiresome even at 67-minutes. Bonita Granville of Warner's Nancy Drew series gets top billing but she too is rather bland, which was a disappointment since I enjoyed most of her early roles. Glenn Vernon, Kent Smith and Lawrence Tierney co-star.