The Wanderers (1979)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Philip Kaufman

Writers:

Richard Price (novel)
Rose Kaufman (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

4 July 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Action

Tagline:

It's 1963. Meet The Wanderers... They were the hottest guys in town.

Plot:

Set against the urban jungle of 1963 New York's gangland subculture, this coming of age teenage movie is set around the Italian gang the Wanderers...

Plot Keywords:

Rock 'n' Roll | Gang | Football Game | Bare Butt | African American

Cast

Ken Wahl	...	Richie
John Friedrich	...	Joey
Karen Allen	...	Nina
Toni Kalem	...	Despie Galasso
Alan Rosenberg	...	Turkey
Jim Youngs	...	Buddy
Tony Ganios	...	Perry
Linda Manz	...	Peewee
William Andrews	...	Emilio
Erland van Lidth	...	Terror (as Erland Van Lidth De Jeude)
Val Avery	...	Mr. Sharp
Dolph Sweet	...	Chubby Galasso
Michael Wright	...	Clinton
Burtt Harris	...	Marine Recruiter
Samm-Art Williams	...	Roger

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:R (original rating) | Netherlands:16 | Iceland:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-18 | France:-16 | Norway:18 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Bronx, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Film Finance Group

Trivia:

The "elbow-tit" scene, where Ken Wahl first meets Karen Allen, was shot on Lydig Avenue, one block south of Pelham Parkway, outside of the actual Wanderers' turf, which ranged from Allerton to Burke Avenues.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): In a classroom scene, Mr. Sharp writes on the blackboard "all men are created equal." He asks the class "who wrote that?" The class jokes "you did." Then Sharp says it was 'A. Lincoln'. It was written by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence.

Quotes:

Peppy Dio: You guys are gonna win big tonight!
Joey: [about the bowling hustlers] What, are you kidding, Peppy Dio? These guys is good enough to be pros.
Peppy Dio: Now you're thinkin'. They is pros. Chubby checked up on them. They go around to the different lanes. Hustle the house bowlers. They hustle the hustlers. They are greedy boys.
Joey: Hey, what's Chubby gonna do?
Peppy Dio: Chubby got a way of creating miracles.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Old School (2003)

Soundtrack:

I Love You

Screenplay Notes - Part 1

Interestingly enough, most of the gangs portrayed in the film were neither symbolic nor imaginary, but were based on various real gangs who existed at different periods throughout the fifties and early sixties.

Many of these gangs were not real gangs in the common theatrical sense, but were specific ethnic groups of teens from different Bronx and Manhattan neighborhoods. Of course, each group developed its own mythical idea of what the other groups were like, and in his novel, Richard Price used much of this teenage myth and lore.

Of all the well-embellished epics common to the teens in the Wanderers' neighborhood , those dealing with the Duckies were the most detailed and commonly accepted. The Duckies, whether or not they were truly an organized group with such a name, were "the guys across the tracks", insofar as The Wanderers were concerned (the tracks being the NY Central's Harlem Line). They lived in the predominantly Irish neighborhood directly across Bronx Park. I believe their frightening, near demonic quality in the movie was based on a single actual event when two of the Wanderers were actually attacked in the park. Since The Wanderers had never really engaged in any real "gang wars" (or any significant fighting for that matter), that particular episode was the source of most of their perceptions of the Duckie Boys' penchant for unbridled violence.