The Wanderers (1979)

Set against the urban jungle of 1963 New York's gangland subculture, this coming of age teenage movie is set around the Italian gang the Wanderers. Slight comedy, slight High School angst ... See full summary »

Director:

Philip Kaufman

Writers:

Richard Price (novel), Rose Kaufman (screenplay)

Stars:

Ken Wahl, Karen Allen, John Friedrich

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ken Wahl	...	Richie
John Friedrich	...	Joey
Karen Allen	...	Nina
Toni Kalem	...	Despie Galasso
Alan Rosenberg	...	Turkey
Jim Youngs	...	Buddy
Tony Ganios	...	Perry
Linda Manz	...	Peewee
William Andrews	...	Emilio
Erland van Lidth	...	Terror (as Erland Van Lidth De Jeude)
Val Avery	...	Mr. Sharp
Dolph Sweet	...	Chubby Galasso
Michael Wright	...	Clinton
Burtt Harris	...	Marine Recruiter
Samm-Art Williams	...	Roger

Storyline

Set against the urban jungle of 1963 New York's gangland subculture, this coming of age teenage movie is set around the Italian gang the Wanderers. Slight comedy, slight High School angst and every bit entertaining with its classic 1950's Rock n' Roll soundtrack such as "Walk Like a Man", "Big Girls Don't Cry" by The Four Seasons and "My Boyfriend's Back" by The Angels. Focusing around a football game where the different gangs play with and against each other, then at its grand finale, come together in a mass of union to defend their honour and their turf. Nostalgic stuff and above all a Rock n' Roll retrospective on a grand musical era. Timeless.

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Plot Keywords:

ethnic slur | racial slur | black american | blackboard | urban setting | 

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Taglines:

It's 1963. Meet The Wanderers... They were the hottest guys in town.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 July 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

Los pandilleros

Filming Locations:

Fordham Road, Bronx, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,937, 18 November 2016, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$11,827, 2 December 2016

Company Credits

Production Co:

Film Finance Group,Orion Pictures,Polyc International BV

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Ducky Boys, an actual Bronx gang that was portrayed in the movie, continued in existence through the 1970s. Though portrayed in the movie and Richard Price novel as "killers", neighborhood residents recall the gang as annoying rather than criminal.

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Goofs

The Fordham Baldies are portrayed as bald. The real "Baldies" were in fact named for the American Bald Eagle, and the gang sported elaborate "D.A." hairstyles. Dion DiMucci was a member as a teenager, and he alludes to this mistake in his autobiography, The Wanderer.

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Quotes

Joey: Twenty seven guys with the last name "Wong' all know Jujitsu and kill you with one judo chop.

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Connections

Referenced in Dissecting the Pod: A Conversation with Annette Insdorf (2013)

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Soundtracks

Runaround Sue
Performed by Dion DiMucci (as Dion)
Courtesy of Laurie Records
Written by Ernie Maresca and Dion DiMucci (uncredited)

User Reviews

Screenplay Notes - Part 1

Interestingly enough, most of the gangs portrayed in the film were neither symbolic nor imaginary, but were based on various real gangs who existed at different periods throughout the fifties and early sixties.

Many of these gangs were not real gangs in the common theatrical sense, but were specific ethnic groups of teens from different Bronx and Manhattan neighborhoods. Of course, each group developed its own mythical idea of what the other groups were like, and in his novel, Richard Price used much of this teenage myth and lore.

Of all the well-embellished epics common to the teens in the Wanderers' neighborhood , those dealing with the Duckies were the most detailed and commonly accepted. The Duckies, whether or not they were truly an organized group with such a name, were "the guys across the tracks", insofar as The Wanderers were concerned (the tracks being the NY Central's Harlem Line). They lived in the predominantly Irish neighborhood directly across Bronx Park. I believe their frightening, near demonic quality in the movie was based on a single actual event when two of the Wanderers were actually attacked in the park. Since The Wanderers had never really engaged in any real "gang wars" (or any significant fighting for that matter), that particular episode was the source of most of their perceptions of the Duckie Boys' penchant for unbridled violence.