***SPOILERS*** A pre "Leave it to Beaver" 8 year old Jerry Mathers as Petey Atlas finds himself in the middle of a murder & kidnapping when he stumbles across these three juvenile delinquents, which they were known as back in the 1950's, who after beating the owner of the house Ben Canfield, Watson Downs, to death took his mom Linda Atlas, Betty Garerett, who was there looking for a job hostage. Traumatized by what he saw Petey loses both his voice & memory of the tragic incident and is picked up, aimlessly walking down the highway, by a couple of truckers who take him to the nearest truck depot in order to both identify him and find his parents. As it turned out the cop who's in charge, or better yet took charge, in finding Petey's mom is non other that his dad Officer Tony Atlas, no relations as far as I can see to Charles, played by that handsome hunk or a man Phil Carey.
Back at the Canfield house the three juveniles lead by psycho Jess Reber, John Barrymore Jr, and his two pals the sensitive but at the same time maniacal Joey Gomaz, Gerald Sarracini, who in fact brained Mr. Canfield to death and all American looking Gil Ramsby, Cory Allen, try to make their way out with the $6,000.00 they ripped off the murdered Mr. Canfield. But with them facing the San Quentin gas chamber, for murder & kidnapping, their chances of surviving a major police as well as FBI manhunt aren't that good.
****SPOILERS**** It's the crazed jess Reber who tries to take command of the trio who's crazy actions ends up doing both Gomez & Ramsby in with them never living long enough to see the end of the movie. Gomaz ended up getting killed, by him trying to protect Mrs. Atlas, by Reber and Ramsby getting shot by the police in refusing to give himself up when surrounded by them! Reber the one who planned to go down in a blaze of glory ended up meekly giving himself up and releasing Mrs. Atlas when he saw that his goose was cooked with her husband Officer Tony Atlas pointing a gun to his head after slapping him silly! As for the "Beaver" or Petey Atlas in the end he was not only reunited with his parents, who also reunited after being divorced, but also got his voice and memory back as well.
P.S Actor Cory Allen who co-stared with James Dean in "Rebel without a Cause" had the unenviable distinction of not only having his co-star James Dean in the movie die tragically in a car accident a week before the film was released but also had his co-star here Gerlad Sarracini tragically die in trying to prevent a mugging outside a Manhattan night-club restaurant some eight months after the movie "the Shadow in the Window"-that he stared in with Sarracini-was also released!
Back at the Canfield house the three juveniles lead by psycho Jess Reber, John Barrymore Jr, and his two pals the sensitive but at the same time maniacal Joey Gomaz, Gerald Sarracini, who in fact brained Mr. Canfield to death and all American looking Gil Ramsby, Cory Allen, try to make their way out with the $6,000.00 they ripped off the murdered Mr. Canfield. But with them facing the San Quentin gas chamber, for murder & kidnapping, their chances of surviving a major police as well as FBI manhunt aren't that good.
****SPOILERS**** It's the crazed jess Reber who tries to take command of the trio who's crazy actions ends up doing both Gomez & Ramsby in with them never living long enough to see the end of the movie. Gomaz ended up getting killed, by him trying to protect Mrs. Atlas, by Reber and Ramsby getting shot by the police in refusing to give himself up when surrounded by them! Reber the one who planned to go down in a blaze of glory ended up meekly giving himself up and releasing Mrs. Atlas when he saw that his goose was cooked with her husband Officer Tony Atlas pointing a gun to his head after slapping him silly! As for the "Beaver" or Petey Atlas in the end he was not only reunited with his parents, who also reunited after being divorced, but also got his voice and memory back as well.
P.S Actor Cory Allen who co-stared with James Dean in "Rebel without a Cause" had the unenviable distinction of not only having his co-star James Dean in the movie die tragically in a car accident a week before the film was released but also had his co-star here Gerlad Sarracini tragically die in trying to prevent a mugging outside a Manhattan night-club restaurant some eight months after the movie "the Shadow in the Window"-that he stared in with Sarracini-was also released!