Teenagers and Teenpics: The Juvenilization of American Movies in the 1950's
This is a book especially aimed at film students and buffs, but it will appeal also to a wider audience. The facts are well-researched and heavily footnoted, but in spite of these scholarly trappings, Doherty manages to present a fascinating view of Hollywood's decision-making process and the evolution of "teenpics." It was the sheer numbers of the baby boomers that made adolescents an obvious target for the movie industry during the "economic desperation" of the television-tuned 1950s. Blackboard Jungle and Rebel Without a Cause were two of the most significant early teenpics. One introduced rock music and the other James Dean"It wasn't Dean's sex appeal that made him the movies' first authentic cult figure since Rudolph Valentino. It was his stance, his representative power as a teenager." Together the films spawned the "delinquent" movie. Whether art imitates life or vice versa, juvenile delinquency became an obsession in America and a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee investigation ended in harsh comments about teenpics, especially Blackboard Jungle , but the days when politics dictated movie content were over. Discussions on horror and "clean" teenpics and a filmography are included as well. Doherty is an assistant professor of humanities at Boston University. Photos not seen by PW.Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.