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 | blackboard | kiss | john f. kennedy assassination | 

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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:

The Wanderers

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

Richard Price grew a mustache and cut his hair so he could play one of the bowling bankrollers in the movie.

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Goofs

Perry and his friends are driving after Nina, when they get lost and are found to be in the place of the Ducky Boys. After that, Perry goes out from his car to fight with them, when one of the Ducky Boys hit him with a baseball club until it breaks up. When the same guy is seen again in a different scenery, the baseball club is back to normal.

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Quotes

Perry: Leave the kid alone.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Movie Gang Fights (2015)

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Soundtracks

Stand By Me
Performed by Ben E. King
Licensed by Atlantic Records
Written by Ben E. King (uncredited), Jerry Leiber (uncredited), Mike Stoller (uncredited)

User Reviews

Gritty and wonderful. A fantastic recent re-discovery.

This film made a BIG impression on me when I was growing up. More than any other film, it captured the timelessness of the transition from being a boy to becomming a man and how you leave childish things behind. Funny, raucous and, at times, both disturbing and moving,this film has it all. If you've never seen "The Wanderers", please do yourself a favour- you won't regret it.