Curfew Breakers (1957)

Police Lieutenant Lacey, with aid from Coach Bettger, heads a crack-down on dope-peddling to high-school athletes. One kid dies from an overdose, two more kill a gas station attendant in an... See full summary »

Director:

Alexander J. Wells

Writer:

Alexander J. Wells (original screenplay)

Stars:

Paul Kelly, Cathy Downs, Regis Toomey

Cast

Cast overview:
Paul Kelly	...	Police Lieutenant Lacey
Cathy Downs	...	Mrs. Bowman
Regis Toomey	...	Coach Bettger
Sheila Urban	...	Julie Bishop
Byron Foulger	...	School Principal
Alexander J. Wells	...	Anderson (as Alex Wells)
Jack Edwards	...	Dope Addict
Larry Getz	...	Dope Pusher
Roy Irwin	...	Coroner
Cullen Wheelas	...	Dick Williams
Henry Younge Jr.	...	Hoodlum
Marilyn Madison	...	Amy
Michael Henry	...	Reagan

Storyline

Police Lieutenant Lacey, with aid from Coach Bettger, heads a crack-down on dope-peddling to high-school athletes. One kid dies from an overdose, two more kill a gas station attendant in an aborted hold-up attempt to get money to buy dope, and a third dies in a fall in a condemned empty building while fleeing from the law. With the aid of some outraged students, the dope pusher is brought to justice. Sheila Urban plays a character named Julie Bishop.

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Plot Keywords:

high school | coach | pusher | gas station | narcotics | 

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Taglines:

Pent Up Punks on a Penthouse Binge!

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Music | Sport

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 March 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hooked

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min 83 min (original release) 70 min (video)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Did You Know?

Connections

Edited into Sleazemania! (1985)

User Reviews

A little good, a little bad...

The film is about drug problems among teens in an unnamed town. A lot of nice looking kids are out getting their thrills--and dying as a result. So it's up to the cops to try to work their way up the chain to the dealers supplying this stuff--and there is a lot of legwork and tree shaking to get the break they need.

This is a very uneven movie. On one hand, the excellent and under-appreciated actor Paul Kelly is in the film and, as usual, he does a good job--playing a strong-jawed detective in the Narcotics Unit. Also, the film has a lot of realism and a grittiness that I liked--making it seem like a cheap Film Noir movie. However, the film also has a lot of bad. The acting and dialog of many of the teenagers in the film is just terrible. Poor delivery, occasionally dumb characters (such as the guardian who is totally clueless) and wooden acting all the way. I think the good outweighs the bad, though, as the overall package isn't bad despite a very, very low budget and a lot of amateur actors. Sort of like a poor man's "Dragnet".