''Mad Youth'' is a 1940 American film directed by

Melville Shyer Melville Jacob Shyer (September 28, 1895 – September 14, 1968)According to the State of California. ''California Death Index, 1940–1997''. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. Searc ...

. The film is also known as ''Girls of the Underworld'' (American reissue title).

Plot summary

Divorcée Marian Morgan (Compson) hires a male escort Count DeHoven (Willy Castello), who has an affair with her teenage daughter, Mary (Ainslee). After her wild parties, with

jitterbug Jitterbug is a generalized term used to describe swing dancing. It is often synonymous with the lindy hop dance but might include elements of the jive, east coast swing, collegiate shag, charleston, balboa and other swing dances. Swing dan ...

s and strip poker, Helen's grandmother (Fealy), locks her out of the house, and she runs away to marry a man she met through correspondence. Marian gets fed up with her daughter and her friends. She laments that she never got to be young, and free, like they are; and, tells her daughter to go live with her father for a while. Mary doesn't get along with his new wife; so, she decides to go visit Helen, after getting a letter, from her. The "Count" is furious with Marian, for letting her daughter traipse across the country, without knowing who she is with; and, warns her that mail-order marriage scams can be one of the worst traps there is. Together they track down an address, and he hurries to try to save Mary and Helen (Atkinson). The girls have been imprisoned in a prostitution and white slavery ring, in a big old mansion. It was all a ruse; and, Helen was beaten until she gave in, and wrote to send for her friend. Time is running out. It looks like there's going to be a fight, if the “Count” is going to save Mary, and marry her, before she disappears into the underworld, forever.IMDB entry
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Cast

Mary Ainslee Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

as Marian Morgan *

Betty Compson Betty Compson (born Eleanor Luicime Compson; March 19, 1897 – April 18, 1974) was an American actress and film producer who got her start during Hollywood's silent era. She is best known for her performances in ''The Docks of New York'' and ...

as Lucy Morgan *

Willy Castello Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to: People Given name or nickname * Willie Aames (born 1960), American actor, television director, and scree ...

as Count DeHoven * Betty Atkinson as Helen Johnson * Tommy Wonder as Harry * Lorelei Readoux as Beth *

Margaret Fealy Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...

as Helen's Grandmother *

Donald Kerr Donald MacLean Kerr, Jr. (born April 8, 1939) served as the Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence from 2007 to 2009. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Thursday, October 4, 2007. In March 2009, he received the National Intelli ...

as Taxi Driver *

Ray Hirsch Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (gra ...

as Jitter Bug *

Patti Lacey Patti may refer to: People * Patti (name) * Patti caste, a group of people Places * Patti, Iran (disambiguation) * Patti, Punjab, India * Patti, Punjab Assembly constituency, India * Patti, Sicily * Patti, Uttar Pradesh, India * Patti, Uttar Prad ...

as Jitter Bug *Eugene Taylor as Jitter Bug *

Aileen Morris Aileen is a feminine given name. Its common used in Ireland. It comes from the Turkish name Aylin, which means "Halo of the moon". Notable people with the name include: * Aileen Adams (born 1923), British consultant anaesthetist *Aileen Allen (1 ...

as Jitter Bug *

Maxine Taylor Maxine may refer to: People Maxine is a feminine given name. * Maxine Andrews (1916–1995), member of The Andrews Sisters singing trio * Maxine Audley (1923–1992), English actress * Maxine Brown (country singer) (1932-2019), American country ...

as Jitter Bug *

Pearl Tolson A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carbo ...

as Jitter Bug *

Monte Collins Monte Collins (also credited as Monty Collins; December 3, 1898 – June 1, 1951) was an American film actor and screenwriter. He appeared in more than 160 films between 1920 and 1948. He also wrote for 32 films between 1930 and 1951. Career ...

as Melancholy Brige Player

Soundtrack

*"I'd Rather Be a Bum on Broadway Than an Angel in the Sky"

References

External links

* * 1940 films American crime drama films 1940s exploitation films American black-and-white films 1940 crime drama films Films directed by Melville Shyer 1940s English-language films 1940s American films {{exploitation-film-stub