Product: The Wild Ride (1960)
Rating: 3.0
Heeere's (young) Johnnny!!
Fans of Jack Nicholson will want to include this budget DVD in their collection as if features young Jack in one of his earliest starring roles, circa 1960. While Nicholson is pretty good, I found the film more interesting as a cultural artifact, one of large number of low budget youth films done in the wake of Marlon Brando's "The Wild Ones" and James Dean's "Rebel Without A Cause." All of the ususal elements are here . . . juvenile delinquents in trouble with the law, hot cars, alcohol, the "good girl," etc. Nicholson refers to himself as "the Number One Stud."Brentwood Communications' DVD checks in at around 59 minutes and I've seen one source that says the running time for this film is 63 minutes, suggesting that there is some missing footage. The New Concorde Home Video version possibly may be more complete, but it costs three times as much. Regardless, the short running time for this feature (originally released as part of a double feature) definitely works to the film's advantage; the story telling is concise and to the point. Brentwood also includes what appears to be the very first "Casper, the Friendly Ghost" cartoon in a washed out, but serviceable version, an interactive movie trivia game, a dictionary of DVD terms, and chapter stops for the main feature. All in all, not a bad package for a budget price.