A film made for those scared of juvenile delinquents – Alan Ladd is an engineer who runs out of petrol one night and is beaten up by a bunch of teenagers (led by Michael Callan). The gang keep hassling him, throwing bricks through windows and calling up his wife. It’s time for Ladd to kick arse.
Only now he’s fat, alcoholic Ladd – puffy faced, seemingly slurring in some speeches. And he doesn’t ever kick arse except for a bit at the end. This actually makes it a more interesting film – this washed up pathetic looking middle aged man. It’s a shame they couldn’t have gone with this a bit more – made the character alcoholic, etc. Ladd can’t convey rage but he does do frustration quite well.
It’s not an uninteresting film. There’s Ladd’s appearance; Michel Callan is effective and has an intriguing relationship with his apathetic mother; the film noir black and white photography works well; and there’s some good work from Rod Steiger as a weary cop who specialises in juveniles and tries to get Ladd not to do anything rash.
To be honest, he’s entitled to do stuff rashly the way these kids hassle him – maybe Steiger is just being a public servant not wanting anyone to show him up. It’s a potentially interesting issue, one that’s not really explored. You could say this for most of the script.
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