The Careless Years (1957)

Director:

Arthur Hiller

Writers (WGA):

John Howard Lawson (written by) (originally as Edward Lewis) &
Mitch Lindemann (written by) (originally as Edward Lewis)

Release Date:

2 September 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Girls From the "Right" Kind of Home...Stumbling Into the "Wrong" Kind of Love!

Plot:

High school girl from a wealthy family falls for a fellow student from a poor family. Both families disapprove, and, unable to stand the pressure, the couple quit school and flee to Mexico.

Plot Keywords:

High School | Teenager | Patience | High School Senior | Student

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Dean Stockwell	...	Jerry Vernon
Natalie Trundy	...	Emily 'Miley' Meredith
John Larch	...	Sam Vernon
Barbara Billingsley	...	Helen Meredith
John Stephenson	...	Charles Meredith
Maureen Cassidy	...	Harriet
Alan Dinehart III	...	Bob Williams
Virginia Christine	...	Mathilda Vernon

Runtime:

70 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:Approved (PCA #18483) | Finland:S

Company:

Bryna Productions

Trivia:

Arthur Hiller's feature film directorial debut.

Soundtrack:

Butterfingers Baby

Above Average

Careless Years, The (1957)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Dean Stockwell and Natalie Trundy play a poor boy and a rich girl who find themselves in love but they're starting to feel sexual desires so in order to do things right they want to get married but all of the parents involved thinks that's a bad idea. I was pleasantly shocked to see how well made and at times emotion this film was. The story is told in a very serious manor and outside the title song the film comes off pretty well without any of the camp factor that usually attaches itself to a film like this. What really makes the film worth viewing are the performances, all of which are very good. Stockwell steals the show as the poor boy who finds himself falling apart as he tries to do things the right way. He does a great job at building this character up into someone we can care about. Trundy is also very good as the good girl who wants to do things the right way. John Lynch is terrific as the boys father and Barbara Billingsley from Leave it to Beaver plays the girl's over cautious mother. There's a terrific scene towards the end where the boy steals some of his father's money and how this plays out is very brutal, realistic and quite emotional. The one thing that hampers the film is the fact that we've seen this type of movie countless times before.