Something Wild (1961)

A young rape victim tries desperately to pick up the pieces of her life, only to find herself at the mercy of a would-be rescuer.

Director:

Jack Garfein

Writers:

Jack Garfein (screenplay), Alex Karmel (screenplay),

Stars:

Carroll Baker, Ralph Meeker, Mildred Dunnock

Cast

Cast overview:
Carroll Baker	...	Mary Ann Robinson
Ralph Meeker	...	Mike
Mildred Dunnock	...	Mrs. Gates
Jean Stapleton	...	Shirley Johnson
Martin Kosleck	...	Landlord
Charles Watts	...	Warren Gates
Clifton James	...	Detective Bogart
George L. Smith	...	Store Manager
Doris Roberts	...	Mary Ann's Co-Worker
Ken Chapin	...	Policeman
Anita Cooper	...	Girl in 5 & 10
Ginny Baker	...	Shopgirl
Tanya Lopert	...	Shopgirl

Storyline

Mary Ann Robinson, a young woman living in The Bronx, New York, with her neurotic, overbearing mother and kindly but ineffectual stepfather, is raped while walking home one night. Keeping the attack to herself, Mary Ann runs away, seeking to lose herself in Manhattan by renting a seedy flat and taking a job in a dime store. Overwhelmed by people's hostility and her own despair, Mary Ann tries to jump off the Manhattan Bridge, only to be stopped by Mike, a garage mechanic who takes her back to his modest basement apartment nearby. At first appreciative of Mike's kindness, Mary Ann becomes terrified when he refuses to let her leave. Is Mike really Mary Ann's rescuer - or is he another rapist?

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Plot Keywords:

rape victim | rape | marrying | kidnapping | suicide | 

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Taglines:

She couldn't say 'NO' ... She couldn't say anything!

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 July 1962 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Something Wild in the City

Filming Locations:

Manhattan Bridge, New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Prometheus Enterprises Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Did You Know?

Trivia

Carroll Baker was married to director Jack Garfein at the time they made this film (they divorced in 1969).

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Quotes

Mike: Don't try to jump again!

User Reviews

Why isn't this underrated classic on DVD???

Filmed in moody black and white with a jumpy early-60's score by Aaron Copland, a young Carroll Baker plays a college student raped on her way home from school one Spring evening in a scene being racy for its time. The rape triggers an anxiety neurosis of some kind and Baker suddenly seeks to escape her domineering mother by running away into the depths of New York City, renting a room in a seedy boarding house and getting a menial job at the local Woolworth's. Obviously superior to her surroundings, she doesn't fit in and the rejection increases her nervous state till, on the verge of a breakdown, she meets a well-meaning man with similar needs who forces her to unite with him.