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Dudley Pictures Corp.Boy with a Knife (1956)

Jerry, an "at-risk" young man, uses his knife as an "equalizer" to solve his frustrations stemming from his unhappy home, which is dominated by his stepmother. A group worker reaches Jerry and helps him to transcend his anger. Director: Laslo Benedek. Narrator: Richard Widmark. With Chuck Connors.


This movie is part of the collection: Prelinger Archives

Producer: Dudley Pictures Corp.
Sponsor: Los Angeles Community Chest (United Way)
Audio/Visual: Sd, B&W
Keywords: Juvenile delinquency; Teenagers; Psychology

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: Meatpies - - September 25, 2008
Subject: Reading 5 year old reviews
Makes me glad that Spuzz isn't around now... or if he is, he's not reviewing much anymore. What a child. Grow up.

This was a well done educational film from the 50s. I've always enjoyed Chuck Connors, and it's refreshing to know he did something for the community.

Reviewer: 5chevy7 - - November 15, 2006
Subject: Boy with a Knife
I have noticed throughout Archive.org that there is a lot of criticism about these films that were made in the 40's and 50's, but you have to remeber one thing, when they showed these movies in school it got us out of doing school work and sometimes we were even able to take a nap.

Reviewer: hoosier101 - - April 14, 2006
Subject: Boy with a Knife has a famous little brother
Check out the younger brother of the kid in this story (the "boy with the knife"). Look closely - it's Eddie Haskell, aka Ken Osmond.

Reviewer: ERD - - April 10, 2006
Subject: Simplistic, but a try.
Well acted and directed, viewers must remember this was the 1956 generation, before drugs and a more cynical time. Perhaps the script was a bit too simplistic, but it brought out some good points.

Reviewer: Love thy neighbour - - April 2, 2006
Subject: In agreement
I completely agree with Steve Nordby on this subject. The guy was obviously a pervert in disguise. And he would have made a great one in Boys beware. It's a shame he wasn't in it

Reviewer: Steve Nordby - - September 3, 2003
Subject: Beware
Previous reviews cover the basics, so a spin: A single man with a woody (the kind you drive) befriends teenage boys, tries to recruit them to his club, invites them to a ball game, gives them food, and asks them to go swimming. A primer for the sick homos in "Boys Beware" and a shame that Chuck Conners wasn't in that one too!

Reviewer: Christine Hennig - - August 31, 2003
Subject: Boy with a Knife
Chuck Connors plays a social worker who helps a group of troubled, potentially delinquent boys by forming them into a club at a youth center. The "boy with a knife" is Jerry, a kid with a bitchy stepmother and a wimpy father who won't stand up to her verbal diatribes against him. Jerry takes out his rage by periodically threatening other kids with a knife, when he's not using it to carve up other people's property. When he finds out through the grapevine that his stepmother is planning to send him away to live with his grandmother, he takes out his rage by carving up all the sofa cushions into ribbons. Somehow, this makes his dad finally stand up to his stepmom. "Jerry's not going anywhere," he says to her and this totally cures Jerry of his rageÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂhe immediately goes outside and turns over his knife to Chuck. This is a well-intentioned film that makes a few valid points about delinquency, but mostly it's incredibly simplistic and cliched. Most realistic is how much time and patience it takes for Chuck to win the boys' trust, and how fragile that trust continues to be. Least realistic is the story about Jerry, especially the ending. Jerry has the classical cliched Hollywood Freudian version of a dysfunctional familyÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂbitchy stepmom, wimpy dad who doesn't wear the pants in the family (though the actress playing the stepmom does do an excellent job of making you hate her). The ending is laughably pat and unrealisticÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂin any real situation like this, you just know that carving up the sofa cushions is just the thing that will get Jerry sent away, and probably to a place a lot worse than his grandmother's. And, of course, there's an instant cureÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂmaybe the filmmakers were just running out of time after all the long sequences of Chuck's trust-building attempts. It all ends up being maddeningly unsatisfyingÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂyou want to like the film for its intentions, but it's just too much of a fantasy. For a much more realistic look at the problem of deliquency, and the "club" solution, see Ask Me, Don't Tell Me.
Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.

Reviewer: autoguy - - July 4, 2003
Subject: Very good doc!
A young Chuck Conners does a good job in this film. Sad that young Jerry has such a rotten bag for a step mother. She's lucky her couch cushions got sliced up instead of her. Jerry's pop finally grows a backbone and tells the bag what for! (Sort of) Chuck drives a cool woody wagon in this film that follows the lines of the old Dead End Kids theme. Strange how the clubs do not promote any constructive activities like auto mechanics or something, but it's a start. An excellent effort and certainly worth my download!

Reviewer: Spuzz - - February 11, 2003
Subject: Boy with a knife, an annoying Stepmom, a aloof Dad, etc..
Boy with A Knife tells the story of Jerry, punk-ass kid who is growing up with the most ANNOYING mother imaginable, and a meek father. He then start hanging around other mean kids, and swinging a knife around when the time seems fit. Soon, Chuck Conners (Woo!) arrives on the scene asking the boys to join his 'club' to play games, watch movies and get off the street.
Okay acting all around, the stepmom actress just chews the scenery though.
Finally, am I wrong, or is this film subtly homo-erotic? Especially the end (watch Chuck Connors in the car (was he really wanting the knife?)

Shotlist

SHOWS HOW A GROUP WORKER REACHES A GANG OF BOYS WHO HAVE EMOTIONAL CONFLICTS. TELLS STORY OF JERRY, WHO DEPENDS UPON HIS KNIFE AS AN EQUALIZER TO SOLVE HIS FRUSTRATIONS. PICTURES JERRY IN UNHAPPY HOME DOMINATED BY HIS STEPMOTHER. HAPPY ENDING.

Ken Smith sez: Even though this film is narrated by Richard Widmark and stars Chuck Connors (as "Bud Williams," the social worker), it's too much of a melodrama to be entertaining.
Teenaged brat "Jerry" and his gang of irritating delinquents are the focus of Chuck's efforts, but this maddeningly liberal film (sponsored by Chicago community fund organizations) blames everybody but the boys for their "dangerous, seething hostility." Don't miss the dramatic finale, where Jerry disembowels his mother's sofa cushions with his switchblade.

JUVENILE DELINQUENCY CRIME KNIVES GROUPS BOYS STEPMOTHERS FAMILIES FRUSTRATION EMOTIONAL PROBLEMS CONFLICTS CONNORS, CHUCK ACTORS ADOLESCENTS SOCIAL WORK TEENAGERS HOMES HOUSES BEHAVIOR
Danger Lurks Safety