Laura and Katy White are the teenage daughters of a humble bank security guard. As a single father, Mr. White struggles to keep the girls on the straight and narrow. While Katy is engaged to the town football hero, Laura has started dating the secretive Al Simpson. Despite the fact that the young man has no visible means of support, he treats the wholesome girl to expensive lingerie and all-nighters at the jive bar. Suspecting that Simpson is a criminal, Laura worries that her sister may be in danger. When Al asks Katy to steal Mr. White’s gun, the stage is set for tragedy.
Director: Elmer Clifton. AKA Youth Aflame
Stars: Joy Reese, Warren Burr, Kay Morley, Michael Owen, Rod Rogers, Edwin Brian, Julie Duncan, Sheila Roberts, Ed Cassidy, Mary Arden, Duke Johnson, Johnny Duncan, Laverne Thompson, Betty Phares.
I really like this film. I think part of my affection for it rests on how much of it is perennially relevant. Many lines of dialogue are as relevant in the 21st Century as in the WWII era: “The problems of youth confront the world today” and “Every generation has always blamed the one before it.” I found Joy Reese wonderfully winsome as nice girl Katy and Kay Morley interesting as the “bad girl” who is stretching her wings — and doesn’t realize the trouble that awaits her. The film moved along at a fast clip and I cared about both young ladies. I wonder if either actress might still be alive?
I also really liked the way Sheilah Roberts and Johnny Duncan jitterbugged!