Popular reviews

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  Review by Ziglet_mir ★★★ 1

  PROJECT FRANKENHEIMER
  Nick's review

  The Young Stranger is John Frankenheimer’s debut theatrical film, and it’s a solid one at that. Perhaps a 50s teenage melodrama that lays on the angst a bit too much, but one that just barely breaks that threshold as a self-reflective film. As much as we are enthralled and agitated and feel for James MacArthur’s character, the film becomes a commentary on parenting, one that is best highlighted when the mother of the accused young man speaks to his father and says (paraphrasing), “We know he isn’t lying because we raised him to be that way.” What a slam dunk. No, this isn’t a perfect argument, but it preaches a great message of trust and loyalty…

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  Review by Nick Langdon ★★ 8

  Part 20 of Frankenheimer Fest, a retrospective being undertaken by myself, Ziglet_Mir and MushiMinion.

  John Frankenheimer's first film was actually a remake of an episode of the CBS television anthology series Climax! he'd directed in 1955. This came about because William Dozier, who had previously been head of CBS in California, was hired to run RKO, and since that episode, Deal a Blow, had been written by his son, well perhaps the old man wanted to help his kid out more than he wanted to promote Frankenheimer as a motion picture director. (This familial relationship is also amusing given the plot is about the disappointed and disappointing son of a big time Hollywood producer: I was going to say "projection…

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  Review by MushiMinion ★★

  Watched as part of PROJECT FRANKENHEIMER, along with Ziglet_mir and Nick Langdon. Check our their reviews as well!

  You can feel the iron grip of the Hayes Code loosening in John Frankenheimer's maiden voyage into movie making after a few years working the television circuit (with which he'd continue until his two breakout films in 1962). Suddenly, stories were allowed to acknowledge there are better ways to parent than "father knows best", and that "till death do us part" isn't all it takes to make a marriage work, with divorce finally on the table for discussion. These themes aren't all explored much deeper than surface level, but it adds texture which keep the film from feeling too much like Leave…

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  Review by Kristof Szabó ★★ 2

  Man, these "My parents and the world don't understand me!" type of teen angst movies were really part and parcel of the 50's weren't they?

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  Review by Chris ★★★★

  Typical father-son '50s angst bullshit enhanced by some really good acting.

  Usually the kid in these movies comes off as a whiny asshole but James MacArthur manages to give a somewhat sympathetic performance, I mean he's still an idiot but at least you feel a little sorry for him at times. Rest of the cast delivers but not enough Kim Hunter.

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  Review by MovingPictures ★★★½

  THE YOUNG STRANGER (1957) 80m. USA, b/w, 82m.
  Directed by John Frankenheimer.

  John Frankenheimer's feature debut was made and released in the wake of Nicholas Ray's REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (1955) and moves in that territory.

  James MacArthur has serious teenage existential problems in his relation to the father, James Daly. Kim Hunter is very sharp as the mother and wife in the middle of the battlezone.

  James Gregory is a world-weary police sergeant, fed-up with youth problems.

  Whit Bissell is a stuck-up cinema manager.

  I thought this was engaging and enjoyable despite feeling a little brief and stagey, as filmed theatre. I really wanted to smack both the father and the son.

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  Review by Alex Botchko ★★★½

  This is John Frankenheimer's first film and no doubt is a response to Rebel Without A Cause. It may not be as good as Rebel, but it's a very strong film. It's directed very Noire and, at times, like a horror movie. James MacArthur provides a good performance. I didn't know if I hated him or was rooting for him. I also didn't know where the plot was headed. Sadly, the finale is very weak. It's so close to being a classic.

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  Review by Dan Santelli ★★½

  Frankenheimer's debut, and it feels like one. The reliable, if uneven, director gravitated toward movies from television, and one can sense he's still getting a feel for the medium. There are some crafty setups and well-staged moments -- the scenes in the police station constitute some of the picture's better drama and visual orchestration -- but The Young Stranger still feels like an extended television special. As a 1950s social problem picture, it represents another entry in the Rebel Without A Cause sweepstakes, but lacks that picture's grace and nuance when delving into the protagonist's dilemma. James MacArthur (usually a solid performer) tries on some of Dean's emphatic mannerisms, yielding a performance which vacillates between brooding quietude and empty outbursts;…

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  Review by buttguts

  some white ppl shit
  *actually not bad satire on the expectations and subsequent shortcomings of morality in post war america. father son relationship stories are mostly boring to me though.

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  Review by oscarcl ★★★

  What we have here is a failure to communicate. Teen angst in Beverly Hills. James McArthur in an early role. He is sorely in need of a father's love but his producer dad (James Daly) has little time for his son or his wife. Hard-boiled and successful, he wants to avoid the problems that beset his wife, who feels unloved, and his son, who is in the midst of growing up and needs love and attention. Plot is a little contrived but makes its point in the end. James Gregory stands out as a local policeman trying to help the boy and his father communicate. Kim Hunter is the mom. Typical 1950's melodrama with a good message.

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  Review by Joel Mandelkorn ★★½

  Uncut 1950s teenage angst, parents don't understand drama. John Frankenheimer's debut film is an amusing entry to into uptight family paranoia. Most of this is after-school special material but there are a few good back-and-forth shit talking scenes.

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  Review by Lou ★★★

  There were some good parts to this directorial debut from Frankenheimer, there was also some over the top melodramatic parts, the whole thing felt like some after school special, just trying to teach the youth what not to do in certain situations, but for a first film it wasn’t that bad.