''Life Begins at 17'' is a 1958 American
drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...
film starring
Dorothy Johnson,
Mark Damon
Mark Damon (born April 22, 1933) is an American film actor and producer. He became noted for roles in films like Roger Corman's ''House of Usher'', before moving to Italy and becoming a notable Western star and member of the 1960s Dolce Vita ...
,
Edd Byrnes
Edward Byrne Breitenberger (July 30, 1932 – January 8, 2020), known professionally as Edd Byrnes, was an American actor, best known for his starring role in the television series '' 77 Sunset Strip.'' He also was featured in the 1978 film '' Gr ...
and
Luana Anders
Luana Anders (born Luana Margo Anderson, May 12, 1938 – July 21, 1996) was an American film and television actress and screenwriter.
Career
Anders began her career with supporting roles for American International Pictures. Some of the early f ...
.
Plot
Carol Peck, a 17-year-old from
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
, has an older sister, Elaine, who is a beauty queen. Carol wins a local pageant, to the delight of her parents Virginia and Harry and her dependable, mild-mannered boyfriend, Jim.
A smug, prep-school boy, Russ Lippincott, openly declares during the beauty contest his intention to date the winner. Elaine is intrigued, but declines. Russ is determined to make a conquest, so he uses her little sister Carol, pretending to be interested in her instead. Elaine wins the title of Miss Indianapolis, then takes up with Russ, insisting he tell Carol the truth.
A misunderstanding leads to a false assumption that Russ and Carol have been intimate, compounded by a broken-hearted Carol claiming she is pregnant. Russ is threatened with expulsion from school and possible arrest for sex with a minor. When she confesses her lie, Carol wins newfound respect from Russ, who becomes genuinely interested in her while Elaine returns to Jim.
Cast
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Dorothy Johnson as Elaine Peck
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Mark Damon
Mark Damon (born April 22, 1933) is an American film actor and producer. He became noted for roles in films like Roger Corman's ''House of Usher'', before moving to Italy and becoming a notable Western star and member of the 1960s Dolce Vita ...
as Russ Lippincott
*
Edd Byrnes
Edward Byrne Breitenberger (July 30, 1932 – January 8, 2020), known professionally as Edd Byrnes, was an American actor, best known for his starring role in the television series '' 77 Sunset Strip.'' He also was featured in the 1978 film '' Gr ...
as Jim Parker
*
Luana Anders
Luana Anders (born Luana Margo Anderson, May 12, 1938 – July 21, 1996) was an American film and television actress and screenwriter.
Career
Anders began her career with supporting roles for American International Pictures. Some of the early f ...
as Carol Peck
*
Ann Doran
Ann Lee Doran (July 28, 1911 – September 19, 2000) was an American character actress, possibly best known as the mother of Jim Stark (James Dean) in ''Rebel Without a Cause'' (1955). She was an early member of the Screen Actors Guild and serv ...
as Virginia Peck
*
Hugh Sanders
Hugh Howard Sanders (March 13, 1911 – January 9, 1966) was an American actor, probably best known for playing the role of Dr. Reynolds in the movie ''To Kill a Mockingbird''.
Biography
Born in Illinois, Sanders graduated from Northwestern U ...
as Harry Peck
Production
It was known as ''The Teenage Story'' during production.
References
External links
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1958 films
Columbia Pictures films
American drama films
1958 drama films
Films directed by Arthur Dreifuss
1950s English-language films
1950s American films
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