The Violent Years
| The Violent Years | |
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theatrical poster
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| Directed by | William Morgan |
| Produced by | Roy Reid |
| Written by | Ed Wood |
| Starring | Jean Moorhead |
| Cinematography | William C. Thompson |
| Edited by | Gerard Wilson |
| Distributed by | Headliner Productions |
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Release date
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Running time
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65 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $38,000 |
The Violent Years is a 1956 American exploitation film starring Jean Moorhead as Paula Parkins, the leader of a gang of juvenile delinquent high school girls. The film is notable for the input of Ed Wood as author of its screenplay.
Paula Parkins, the spoiled daughter of a well-to-do newspaper editor father and a socialite mother, gets her kicks by organizing and directing a gang of bored young women like herself. The gang dresses in men's attire, robs gas stations, and terrorizes habitués of a local lovers' lane—even raping a young gentleman (off camera) after tying up his girlfriend.
As a newspaperman, Paula's father has some inside information on police plans to capture the gang, so the girls are able to avoid capture with Mr. Parkins' unwitting complicity. After a make-out party with a few local gangsters, Paula and her pals agree to wreck a few classrooms — and destroy the American flag — in a public school at the behest of Shelia, a female crime boss. (It is implied that this is part of an anti-American Communist plot.) The girls perform the job with gleeful competence until the police arrive and a deadly shootout takes place, claiming the lives of two of Paula's gang while Paula shoots and kills a policeman. Seeking refuge from the police, the girls return to Shelia's house and demanding their payment for wrecking the school. But Sheila, not wanting to be involved or arrested for their crime, betrays the girls by calling the police until Paula fatally shoots her. While escaping the policemen in a car chase, Paula crashes the car into a store's glass window; injuring her but killing her last gang member. Paula is captured, convicted, and dies in the hospital giving birth to the child she conceived during the rape. The judge in Paula's case denies her parents custody of their granddaughter, based on the neglectful way they raised Paula.
The cynical tag line "So what?" is used repeatedly by the girls to underscore their uncaring, nihilistic attitude.
The film's working title was "Teenage Killers". Although the opening credits indicate that Headliner Productions copyrighted the film in 1956, it is not included in the Copyright Catalog. The Violent Years was actually based on the story by Roy Reid.
The film was mocked on a 1994 episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. Subjects for jokes included the occasionally wooden acting, the same car-on-road shots being repeated, and the judge's rambling closing monologue.
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