''Teen-Age Crime Wave'' (aka ''Teenage Crime Wave'') is a 1955 American

juvenile delinquency Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is the act of participating in unlawful behavior as a minor or individual younger than the statutory age of majority. In the United States of America, a juvenile delinquent is a person ...

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

directed by

Fred F. Sears Frederick Francis Sears (July 7, 1913 – November 30, 1957) was an American film actor and director. Biography Sears, formerly based in Boston as a dramatic director and instructor, was hired as a dialogue director by Columbia Pictures i ...

and starring Tommy Cook and Molly McCart. It was released by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

. The plot concerns a pair of delinquent teens who go on a statewide shooting spree after escaping from reform school. It was featured on a 1994 episode of ''

Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. ...

''.

Plot

Jane Koberly, accidentally present during a robbery, is falsely convicted of being an accessory. While being transferred to an industrial school with her cellmate Terry Marsh, Terry's boyfriend Mike Denton springs them, killing a deputy in the process. With the police hot on their trail, they take over a farmhouse owned by the Grants and terrorize the family while waiting for their friend Al to arrive with money and transport. The Grants' son Ben arrives for Thanksgiving, and is also held hostage. As time passes, Mike becomes more unhinged as Terry flirts with Ben. The criminals are forced to flee after killing a neighbor of the Grants. The fugitives are cornered at the

Griffith Observatory Griffith Observatory is an observatory in Los Angeles, California on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood in Griffith Park. It commands a view of the Los Angeles Basin including Downtown Los Angeles to the southeast, Hollywood to the south, ...

, where Terry is fatally shot by the police, and Mike is subdued by Ben. Before she dies, Terry confesses to the police that Jane is innocent. When Mike is taken to Terry's dead body, he breaks down and cries hysterically.

Cast

* Tommy Cook as Mike Denton * Molly McCart as Terry Marsh (as Mollie McCart) * Sue England as Jane Koberly * Frank Griffin as Benjamin David 'Ben' Grant * James Bell as Thomas Paul Grant * Kay Riehl as Sarah Wayne Grant *

Guy Kingsford Guy Duncan Kingsford (September 30, 1911 – November 9, 1986) was an English-born American film, television, and radio actor. Biography Born in Redhill, Surrey in the United Kingdom, he was the son of British actor Walter Kingsford who mov ...

as Mr. Koberly *

Larry J. Blake Larry J. Blake (April 24, 1914 – May 25, 1982) was an American actor. Career A native of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, New York, he started his career in vaudeville as an impersonator, working his way to a headliner. After appearing at the Roxy Theatr ...

as State Police Sgt. Connors (as Larry Blake)

''Mystery Science Theater 3000''

''Teen-Age Crime Wave'' was shown as episode #522 of ''Mystery Science Theater 3000''. The episode debuted January 15, 1994.Episode guide: 522- Teen-Age Crime Wave.
Satellite News. Retrieved on 2017-11-18. Among fans, the episode has a middling reputation. It did not make the Top 100 list of episodes as voted upon by MST3K Season 11 Kickstarter backers. Writer Jim Vorel ranked the episode #82 (out of 191 total MST3K episodes), judging it a solid episode; he claims, "The film is quite solid, a melodramatic 'teens in trouble' flick ... and it receives a thorough riffing. But every one of the sketches is memorable, and indicative of the wilder, more high-energy tone that came into the show after Mike became the host." The MST3K version of ''Teen-Age Crime Wave'' was included as part of the ''Mystery Science Theater 3000 Volume XXXIII'' DVD collection, released by

Shout! Factory Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...

in July 2015. The other episodes in the four-disc set include ''

Daddy-O ''Daddy-O'' is a 1958 B-movie starring Dick Contino, Sandra Giles and Bruno VeSota. It was directed by Lou Place and written by David Moessinger. The film is notable for its soundtrack as being the debut film score for John Williams. The fil ...

'' (episode #307), ''

Earth vs. the Spider ''Earth vs. the Spider'' (a.k.a. ''The Spider'') is an independently made 1958 American black-and-white science fiction horror film produced and directed by Bert I. Gordon, who also provided the plot upon which the screenplay by George Worthin ...

'' (episode #313), and ''

Agent for H.A.R.M. ''Agent for H.A.R.M.'' is a 1966 science fiction spy thriller directed by Gerd Oswald and starring Mark Richman, one of a number of spy thrillers of the era having conspicuous sci-fi elements. Here it is the deadly spores which turn human flesh ...

'' (episode #815).MST3K: Volume XXXIII.
Shout! Factory. Retrieved on 2017-11-18.

References

External links

* {{Sam Katzman 1955 films Columbia Pictures films American crime drama films 1955 crime drama films Films directed by Fred F. Sears Films about juvenile delinquency 1950s English-language films 1950s American films American black-and-white films