Supposedly teenage delinquents played by John Cassavetes, (John Cassavetes was actually closer to age 30 than 16 in this film) Sal Mineo, and Mark Rydell, who appear to be acting in a stage play rather than on the grimy streets of a New York city neighborhood in the late 1950's. The story takes place in a lower/middle class neighborhood where the teenage boys run in a gang named the Hornets who run amok and live to rumble with an opposing teenage gang named the Dukes. A social worker named Ben Wagner (James Whitmore) is persistent in trying to cut off the head of the snake symbolized by the Hornet's gang leader Frankie Dane (John Cassavetes) but Frankie has his own demons and he only sees this social worker Ben Wagner as another enemy.
I won't even try to compare it to (1955) Rebel Without a Cause and/or (1954) On the Waterfront, but it does instill in young boys who come from broken homes with a single parent and little income or opportunity may be easier to influence to have a more cautionary eye before joining a local street gang and to stay out of trouble.
The musical score with horns to symbolize the poverty and futility run throughout the film and Its not a bad film, nor is it a classic film either. I give it a 6 out of 10 IMDB rating.
I won't even try to compare it to (1955) Rebel Without a Cause and/or (1954) On the Waterfront, but it does instill in young boys who come from broken homes with a single parent and little income or opportunity may be easier to influence to have a more cautionary eye before joining a local street gang and to stay out of trouble.
The musical score with horns to symbolize the poverty and futility run throughout the film and Its not a bad film, nor is it a classic film either. I give it a 6 out of 10 IMDB rating.