mlraymond Review of The Young Lovers

The Young Lovers (1964)

Dated movie filled with annoying characters and stupid attitudes

[2/10 · 28 November 2006]

I was astounded by the insensitivity, narrow mindedness ,and downright cruelty exhibited in this movie by the older generation toward the title couple. SPOILERS AHEAD: When the young woman discovers she's pregnant, she gets a patronizing lecture from a doctor ,who basically tells her that pregnancy is a punishment for premarital sex. I wanted to throw a brick through the television. Her mother is stern and unsympathetic. Of course, the idea of a safe, legal abortion was unthinkable in 1964, so the young woman has to give birth and then live with the shame and stigma of unwed motherhood, according to the older generation a-holes that surround her. I was angered by the wretched, callous attitudes toward unwed mothers that this film displays, without a moment's doubt that these beliefs are the right ones. The girl should be shamed and punished, and her life "ruined", all because she got pregnant out of wedlock. One wonders why the young couple didn't use birth control, but considering that there were still laws on the books not too long ago that forbade the sale of contraceptives to unmarried people, maybe that's just another sign of when the film was made. The other irritating scene, besides the pompous ass doctor's finger-wagging lecture, is where the girl's friend delivers a bitchy lecture about saving herself for marriage, not letting her boyfriend go too far, because when she walks down the aisle wearing that white dress, it's going to mean something. What a benighted movie. I was appalled to think that there were probably viewers in 1964 who were in total agreement with these judgmental, puritanical ideas. I don't often get roused to anger by a movie, but this thing just made my blood boil. Watch it for sociological curiosity if you like, but you'll be in for a miserable two hours "entertainment".