MartinHafer
"Teen-Age Crime Wave" is clearly intended as an exploitational film--to scare the audience and sensationalize the topic of juvenile crime. Plus, it's doggone silly because the teens in the film are all closer to their 30s than their teen! Oddly, this sort of bizarro casting was the norm in the 1950s--even with higher quality films of the genre such as "Rebel Without a Cause" where only one member of the starring cast was high school age! Yet, in spite of its low budget and all its other obvious shortcomings, there is something strangely entertaining about this film and I do recommend it--but still give it a 5 due to the production values. As far as entertainment goes, it's far better. The acting is good for unknowns and the script is excellent--probably too good for a film of such low pedigree! It's a great film for exploitation lovers or someone wanting something different.The film has a familiar theme--similar to "The Desperate Hours" in that a group of psycho criminals take a family hostage and spend much of the film menacing them. A similar low-budget film made just a few later is the surprisingly good "The Sadist"--by Arch Hall--a man known for genuinely crappy films! It's well worth seeking if you like "Teen-Age Crime Wave".
thedeuce-1
This is a very worthwhile diversion. Tommy Cook overacts all over the place, but it does provide many enjoyable chuckles. Molly McCart does a fine job as Terry and deserved a successful career based on the talent she displayed here. While Sue English as Jane portrayed her character satisfactorily, the role did not require much of a stretch. Given her obvious attractiveness, I am surprised I was not previously aware of this actress! This production must have had an "in" with the Griffiths Observatory, as they were certainly given full access to the site! Recommended fun! James Bell,the farmer, is immediately recognizable from the dozens of TV and film roles he's had over the years!
Michael_Elliott
Teen-age Crime Wave (1956) ** (out of 4) Good girl Jane (Sue England) gets mixed up with bad girl (Molly McCart) and soon both of them are headed to jail even though Jane is innocent. On the way to jail June's boyfriend (Tommy Cook) kills the cop and takes the girls with him where they land at a farm house where they hold an elderly couple hostage. This is yet another juvenile delinquent movie from this era, which seemed to have at least ten per month. This one here comes from director Sears who's best known for the laughable The Giant Claw and thankfully this one here features just as many laughs. Yes, if you're expecting Citizen Kane then you're going to be disappointed but if you want some cheap, exploitation laughs then this is a decent little time killer. The movie runs at a pretty fast pace except for the final twenty-minutes where things slow up a tad too much. I think knocking off ten-minutes of the 77-minute running time would have helped things. As for the actual film, you get girls fighting and bad guys Cook and McCart acting tough. All of this makes for some pretty good laughs but McCart actually manages to be very entertaining with her seduction/tough girl image. The scene where she tries to seduce the farmer's son in the barn is priceless. Cook doesn't give what I'd consider a good performance but it is campy enough to deliver some fun. The production values aren't too bad and the supporting players do decent enough of work but in the end this film is all about nostalgia and laughs and it has plenty of both.
bkoganbing
It must have been impossible for tourists and even working astronomers to study the stars from Griffith Park Observatory in Los Angeles that year with two films being done on location there. One of them became a classic and of course that's Rebel Without A Cause.Then there's Teenage Crime Wave which seems to have been based somewhat on the Charles Starkweather/Caril Ann Fugate story. Starkweather and Fugate were a pair of thrill kill seeking young people who went a murder spree around this same period. Tommy Cook who was trying to establish himself in adult roles at the time plays a kid who sets his girl friend, Molly McCart free as she's going to jail for robbery. A second girl, Sue England, is also freed and she becomes the Patty Hearst of the piece, ostensibly trapped by circumstances with these two punks. The film is about their escapades and eventual downfall at Griffith Park Observatory.Cook and McCart are really a pair without any redeeming value unlike even the hoodlum kids in Rebel Without A Cause. The dialog and the situation will give you a chuckle and at times border on the hilarious.It's like Reefer Madness with guns.
AD
