Home
search
more | tips
IMDb > Blue Denim (1959) > IMDb user comments

IMDb user comments for
Blue Denim (1959) More at IMDbPro »

Filter: Hide Spoilers:
Index 9 comments in total 

16 out of 19 people found the following comment useful :-
See Dick. See Jane. See Dick and Jane..., 20 July 2004
Author: Poseidon-3 from Cincinnati, OH

Based upon a stage play, this drama about teen angst regarding sex and it's consequences comes close at times to resembling a situation comedy, but fortunately the performances of the cast bring out its feeling and drama as well. De Wilde is a tender teen who's just had his lifelong pal, his dog, put to sleep while he was at school. He seems adrift as his parents fuss over his older sister's pending nuptials. He tries to act tough around best friend Berlinger and soon finds himself captivated by lovely neighbor girl Lynley. Lynley has a meek, overly refined father who can't seem to get in touch with his young child. Eventually, De Wilde and Lynley take their relationship to the next level and a mystifying and unwanted pregnancy is the result. They agonize over what to do while the parents seem to exist on another plane, entirely. De Wilde was already a showbiz veteran at 17, having played hundreds of Broadway performances and starring in "Shane". He brings a lot of depth and feeling to his role. Lynley is also fine as the sensitive good girl who bites off more than she can chew. The best performance is that of Berlinger as both friend and conscience of De Wilde. He gives his role a jolt of energy and sincerity that really helps sell the film. As De Wilde's parents, Carey and Hunt give very good performances, balancing humor and concern. Unfortunately, due to the sometimes jokey nature of the script and the film's setting, this occasionally threatens to become "Dennis the Menace Knocks Up Margaret!" Some of the dialogue and situations are corny and cartoonish, robbing the film of a chance to be as realistic as it might have been. However, by the time the kids have learned their lesson, some authentic and touching emotions have come through. It must be noted that Lynley has perhaps the flattest, most oily-looking ponytail of the '50's. It's also hard to picture what De Wilde and Lynley's awkward first encounter must have been like as they both exude such charming innocence in the film. Bernard Herrmann's "Vertigo-on-the-Playground" score is pretty, but also a bit overwhelming for a story with this subject matter and these small town characters. It can be a little preachy and more than a little pat, but it's definitely worth watching and at 89 minutes, doesn't overstay its welcome.

Was the above comment useful to you?

13 out of 14 people found the following comment useful :-
Two Thumbs UP; Where IS it?, 6 December 2004
Author: Richard Bennett from Irving, Texas

I saw this black & white film back in the early 70's on television, when they used to show movies in the afternoon, and not hours of info-mercials...!

It's stuck with me all of these years; I'd like to see it again. Where IS it? Carol Lynley is a be-a-u-tiful little thing, and Brandon De Wilde was good also (it was good to see him in something besides SHANE).

I was a young teenager when I viewed the film; it did play like a "Father Knows Best" episode, but I didn't expect it to go so far, even to include an unexpected teenage pregnancy...! We barely understood the consequences of that issue in the public school at the time, quite a surprise to see it on television (then).

It made an impression on me as a youth; I'd like to see it again, but don't know why it's not available... if the movie studios can put "Killer Klowns from Outer Space" on DVD (or even VHS), why can't they put this nice little play on plastic? What's the hold-up?

Was the above comment useful to you?

10 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
Dated but in a time capsule sort of way., 4 March 2001
10/10
Author: JOHN (mrbear13@hotmail.com) from NEW JERESY USA

Things are just about the way they were for young people at the time just before choice. It may not have had today's broad slice of life in your face stance, but it was not the order of the day.It reflects the last days of a total lack of knowledge and misunderstood truths among the teenagers of that most recent time. Attractive actors may have brought a few more young people to see and think about the films' moral.

Was the above comment useful to you?

5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
What a Trip back in Time!, 22 April 2007
7/10
Author: lauren_solo from Magna, Utah

I must admit I TiVOed this movie because of the description of it. I was intrigued on how a movie made back then could tackle the subject of abortion. If you couldn't even say a word about it, how could you base a whole movie on it? First and foremost, MacDonald Carey did a fantastic job as your typical dad from that era (imagine Fred MacMurray dealing with Robbie knocking a girl up on My Three Sons). Seeing as how he was just about the only one in the movie who could act, I realize how underrated he was at the time (and I guess altogether). The women in the movie (mother and sister of the boy in "trouble") are you typical dingbat "ask the husband what YOUR opinion is" people from that era, which makes it all the more entertaining. The highlights for me are the girl in trouble, the boy's best friend, and of course Mac C. The story is great for the time in which it was acted. Definitely entertaining and worth checking out. Not as dark as "Love with the Proper Stranger" if even that could be considered dark. But good luck finding it. I watched the premiere of it of the FMC. Who knows if it'll be on again.

Was the above comment useful to you?

6 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
The "Ozzie and Harriet" episode they couldn't show., 28 June 2002
Author: TxMike from Houston, Tx, USA, Earth

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I only had vague recollections of "Blue Denim" from my seeing it as a teenager over 40 years ago, but I did recall that it stuck with me all these years as an important memory of my eventually "reaching 18 and knowing everything." (Carol Lynley line) I watched it again today, and it brought back pleasant memories.

Sound and photography were not what they are now. Microphones were relatively insensitive, so all the characters sound like they are on stage, talking to the back of the auditorium. Camera angles were stock, and camera panning or changing elevation during a scene was unknown. By today's standards the script is dated and simplistic. It was much easier back then for a teenager to "act rude" to parents.

SPOILERS - This 90-minute film plays out much like an "Ozzie and Harriet" episode, but one they never would have shown. Art (Brandon DeWilde) and Ernie (Warren Berlinger, the best actor here) are high school buddies who act big by playing poker, smoking cigarettes, drinking beer, and "cussing" (used 'damn' a lot) in Art's basement that has a door directly to the outside. Janet (Carol Lynley) and Art like each other, find themselves alone in a corner of the basement, and the next thing we know she is in the library reading a chapter titled "Pregnancy." "But they don't tell you how to make it go away", she pines.

Ernie is the mature one through all this. He tells Art "You gotta talk to your parents, don't be afraid. You can't help her have an abortion, that's murder." Art doesn't want the burden of thinking about that, but finally tries to talk to mom, then dad, but they are so wrapped up in older daughter's wedding plans that they never let him have his say.

Art and Ernie find a man in a bar who can arrange a back-room abortion at a secluded house in the woods, but they need to raise $150, a lot more difficult in the 50s. The last $92 they get by forging Art's dad's signature to a blank check. Janet is taken away in the night, blindfolded, accompanied by a woman who looks a bit like the wicked witch of the west.

The wedding happens, dad becomes aware of the $92 check, confronts Art, gets the whole story, in the best quick scene dad literally grabs and pulls the bartender half-way over the bar to get him to reveal the location of the girl, they arrive in time, she is sedated but fine, they take her home, her dad is angry, his dad is angry, his mom concludes "we never gave him a chance to talk to us."

Finding out that Janet was put on a train to go away and have her baby, which was the norm back then, Art finds out, dad says "here,you'll need this money, and permission to get married." The film ends as Art finds Janet at the first train stop, he sits, they hug, and we know they will live happily ever after as gas station attendants instead of the doctors, lawyers, or engineers they could have become if they had not foolishly done the "sex" thing.

The whole story is a morality play for teenagers. Sex is tempting, you don't know everything at 17, backroom abortions are dangerous, abortions are murder, you put your lives in a straightjacket and virtually give up your dreams of college and a better life. By today's standards this would be a very poor film, but for its time was very risque' I recall, and a fairly popular movie. Inconsistent, for me, was how quickly the parents went from an angry mode to "you need permission to marry her", as if they were saying marriage solves everything, even though you're not even 18 yet and there is a shotgun involved.

Carol Lynley has first billing and she sure was a cute, sexy starlet when this film was made. She had the looks, and acted well enough, I still wonder why she wasn't a bigger star. This will always remain the film that influenced my formation as a teenager, I'm glad I now have my own copy on VHS.

Was the above comment useful to you?

7 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
The film isn't really about teen-pregnancy at all--it's about the pain of telling your parents you made a big mistake, 10 August 2001
5/10
Author: moonspinner55 from redlands, ca

Trouble in Ozzie & Harriet-land: moody suburban teen begins an awkward sweetheart-relationship with the pretty blonde bobbysoxer down the street. After a couple of tender embraces, we learn she is three months pregnant. An issue movie, and an unfortunately timeless one, but the film is extremely flawed: Brandon de Wilde looks too young and too puny in stature for Carol Lynley (probably a teenager, but looking a lot older with her large face and small features). The two don't match up, with de Wilde coming off more like Lynley's younger brother. It is based on a play and the writing hasn't been reworked for the screen (the dialogue sounds stilted, not flowing in a realistic manner). The director sets up his shots as if he were filming a play, and he has the actors occasionally shouting their lines. The adults are portrayed fairly (a nice change for a teen-oriented movie) and the intentions are heartfelt, but do you believe that happy ending? And IS it a happy ending? A pessimist might point out that, had there been a "Blue Denim II", these characters' lives might not continue in such a spotless fashion. In fact, the results might've been quite bleak. ** from ****

Was the above comment useful to you?

2 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
A ageless trip in time when America was still "the Beautiful...", 13 August 2007
8/10
Author: nowlang (nowlang@gwi.net) from Small Town, New England, USA

Yes, this movie is dated along with many faults that the discriminate movie watcher can point out. It does not have the artistic value of another "dated movie" such as "The Best Years of our Lives, 1946" but this was America in 1959. Yes, it was "risque" just like "Summerplace" of the same era. Unwanted pregnancies were a big problem that our ancestors preferred to keep under silence, Hollywood included. Unwanted/unplanned pregnancies still are, except that many teenagers/young adults just get an abortion(s) or simply swell the ranks of single parents. Sadly enough, the cost to our American society is disastrous: poverty, violence, pain, abuse, drugs, etc. Worst of all, this tragedy is self-perpetuating. Art (the star teenager) had the chance of having parents he finally went to, who supported and helped him. Most teenagers nowadays won't have a parent or a mentor to confide in. I know, given up to relative as a child in the fifties, I spent part of my life helping teenagers in distress until the problem got overwhelming. This movie teaches a lesson and spreads a message for teenagers, parents, families and educators. The props may be "dated", the feelings, our human needs and man/woman's quest for love are not. I highly recommend "Blue Denim" as I pursue my journey to find such a place where values and principles of dignity are still practiced.

"Good is he who learns from his mistakes but much better is the one who learns from someone else's errors" was the moral message that "Blue Denim's" Director was telling us.

Was the above comment useful to you?

0 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Biology Should Have Been Studied, 18 October 2008
7/10
Author: whpratt1 from United States

This film was probably a shocker for audiences in the Year 1959 when teens getting pregnant was a horrible thing and the parents never explained anything to their children about sex and just figured they would all be educated through biology classes in school. This story is about a young innocent boy, Arthur Bartley, (Brandon DeWilde) who likes the girl next door, Janet Willard, (Carol Lynley) who liked Arthur and Janet decided to give Arthur a good lesson about love making and sex which usually starts a big event in people's lives, babies. Malcolm Bartley, (Macdonald Carey) Arthur's dad had great hopes for his son and he found out that his son was failing in Biology Classes and had straight A's in all his other subjects. Jessie Bartley, (Marsha Hunt) plays the role as Arthur's mother, who is a very calm woman and is very supportive of her family and gives an outstanding performance. By the way, Marsha Hunt had her 91st Birthday on Oct. 17, 2008, she was born on October 17, 1917 and was a great actress on the big screen and also on the New York City Stage. This film was entertaining, enjoy.

Was the above comment useful to you?

2 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Quite A Period Piece, 19 June 1999
6/10
Author: Catline from Ontario, Canada

When watching this movie I was overcome with equal urges to both laugh and squirm. Unfortunately, they happened at the same time, which eliminated any emotional punch this movie may have once had. The main issue that this movie tackles is both universal and timeless, but the problems encountered by the three teenage leads are dated and quite foreign to today's youth. This picture could have very likely been compelling and controversial when it first came out in 1959, but today it stands as a cautionary guide for film makers not to make their pictures subject to the time. Overall, a light way to look at an era not too far gone.

Was the above comment useful to you?

Add another comment

Related Links

Plot summary Ratings External reviews
Plot keywords Main details Your user comments
Your vote history