THE WANDERERS (54)

Directed by: Philip Kaufman (1979)

Starring: Ken Wahl, John Friedrich, Karen Allen, Linda Manz

The Pitch: Teenage gangs in the Bronx, circa 1963.

Theo Sez: Obviously a cult movie - disappointing with extraordinary patches, which is practically a definition of the breed. Presumably trying for the vivid quality of a comic-book, hence the comic-book effects - a montage of big-breasted women, our hero flattening a dozen baddies with a few well-aimed punches, tiny Linda Manz standing in front of a 350-lb. skinhead in the film's most famous image - and the sudden shifts in tone, going from AMERICAN GRAFFITI-style comedy to a kind of weird quasi-horror movie (Kaufman sometimes seems to be reworking his INVASION OF THE BODYSNATCHERS from the year before). The titular gang seems to be made up entirely of losers, giving the proceedings a nicely self-deprecating edge, and it's certainly an intelligent film, redeeming even the cliché of a period soundtrack as the rock'n roll standards shift, poignantly and significantly, into "The Times They Are A-Changing" at the very end ; but the powerful bits get lost in the mix, the characters never ignite, and the belated attempt at conventional uplift ("Wanderers forever!") in the final scenes doesn't work at all - plus of course (as Kaufman doesn't always seem to realise) it's a fine line between evoking a culture of violence via jaunty, stylised devices and unwittingly celebrating it. Memorable faces in the supporting cast, though : take a bow Scott Rudin, 21-year-old casting director and uber-producer in embryo.