High-school girl from a wealthy family falls for a fellow student from a poor family. Both families disapprove; unable to stand the pressure, the couple quit school and flee to Mexico.High-school girl from a wealthy family falls for a fellow student from a poor family. Both families disapprove; unable to stand the pressure, the couple quit school and flee to Mexico.High-school girl from a wealthy family falls for a fellow student from a poor family. Both families disapprove; unable to stand the pressure, the couple quit school and flee to Mexico.
- Bob Williams
- (as Alan Dinehart III)
- Saleslady
- (uncredited)
- Aunt Martha
- (uncredited)
- Mr. Gordon
- (uncredited)
- Student
- (uncredited)
- Biff Vernon
- (uncredited)
- Student
- (uncredited)
- High School Science Teacher
- (uncredited)
- Uncle Harry
- (uncredited)
- Mrs. Belosi
- (uncredited)
- High School History Teacher
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- John Howard Lawson(originally as Edward Lewis)
- Mitch Lindemann(originally as Edward Lewis)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaArthur Hiller's feature film directorial debut.
- GoofsWhen Jerry arrives for his date and gets out of his car holding flowers it's daytime. By the time he gets to the door it's night and all the lights are on in the house.
- Quotes
Sam Vernon: [talking to Jerry about Jerry wanting to marry Emily] Uhh, I remember how I felt when I was your age, I have respect for it. It was 1929... I was 18 and graduated from high school back in Kentucky. I remember saying goodbye to your mother when I went away looking for work. I went clear to Alaska trying to find a job... I knew she was waiting for me... so she waited 8 years. That's how times were then.
Jerry Vernon: [looks puzzled] Well, what's that got to do with it?
Sam Vernon: Now at least it's better, your girl won't have to wait so long.
Jerry Vernon: No, Emily and I don't want to wait at all.
Sam Vernon: We better never have anything like 1929 again. Just the same, you *learn* from it... money's a whip. Sometimes it gets to be like a whip on your bare back.
Jerry Vernon: [looks puzzled] Well, why do you keep going back over that? Things are different now, it's easy to get a job.
Sam Vernon: Yeah, but what kind of a job...
Jerry Vernon: Any kind.
Sam Vernon: Oh, no! No, not any kind. Kind where you make something of yourself. That's why I done what I could to have something in the bank for you... when you go to Tech.
[Jerry turns away]
Sam Vernon: Er, you're not thinkin' of givin' it up?
Jerry Vernon: It depends on whether my grades are good enough.
Sam Vernon: Well, you're not studying as much as you were.
Jerry Vernon: So what?
Sam Vernon: So what! Well, what are yuh gonna do, get some two-bit job and stick to it your whole life?
Jerry Vernon: No, I'm not gonna do that.
Sam Vernon: Well, that's what you'll end up doin' if you don't get some *sense* in your head!
Jerry Vernon: Look, Pa, there's no sense in getting sore.
Sam Vernon: You *think* you know all the answers, don't you, Jerry, just bec...
Jerry Vernon: [with attitude] I'm sorry, Dad. You say you know how I feel but you don't. I *love* her, that's what's important.
[Sam looks at him glaringly and walks away]
But, The Careless Years deserves an honorable mention.
Produced four years earlier, from a John Howard Lawson script, this film feels like a short character study of two teens falling in love and having difficulty repressing their physical attraction for one another.
The Careless Years is aptly directed by Arthur Hiller. Even though he was directing his first film, Hiller took a firm hold of the material and told it without grandiosity, focused on the sexual mores of the time and the misery experienced by young people.
Some might be bothered by the methodical (slow-moving) nature of Hiller's direction. But, Dean Stockwell and Natalie Trundy, who, reportedly, was only 16 during filming, handle the material well.
Stockwell, offers a James Dean-like performance as the lower-middle class teen whose intense sexual feelings lead him to make poor decisions.
The script, predictably, given the screenwriter, introduces class differences, however, without making a political statement. Lawson was a member of the Hollywood Ten, a group of moviemaking professionals blacklisted because of their affiliation with the Communist Party. This was his last script.
Stockwell's father, played well by John Larch, is a hard-working blue collar man who has toiled to save money to have his son go to college. When reason with his son fails the two have an intense physical confrontation. When Trundy's parents, the mother is played by Barbara Billingsley (Leave It To Beaver), try reason with their daughter and when that fails they suggest they go to their summer home. But, they never take on the cliched snobbish suburban elites' approach.
Approach the film with low expectations and, maybe, like me, you'll be surprised by its nuanced approach to the topic.
- aldo-49527
- Jun 7, 2021
- How long is The Careless Years?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Nuoruuden huuma
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 10 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1