Summary

Gang Boy

Source Archive Films by Getty Images
Title: Gang Boy
File Number: PA-2322 Beta SP; PA-4161 (excerpt) Beta SP
Color: Color
Type: Educational
Year: 1959
Subjects: Gangs Mexican Americans Chicanos Los Angeles area, California Southern California Rumbles Fights Chains Racism Battles Police Fighting Social guidance Juvenile delinquency
Description: Gang Boy Produced and photographed by Sid Davis. Written and directed by Arthur Swerdloff. Featuring Curly Riviera as Danny. "We gratefully acknowledge the valuable contributions made to this film by the following clubs: Red Hearts, Red Dragons, Sharkies, Vikings, Lancers by Karl Holton, Probation Officer, Judge William B. McKesson, by Pomona Board of Education and The Pomona Police Department." It begins sensationally, with the torching of a palm tree. But this flashy introduction isn't typical of this thoughtful and compassionate film. Unlike many of Sid Davis's films from the Fifties, where theatrics often seem to triumph over reason, the two he made with writer director Arthur Swerdloff (Gang Boy and Age 13) explore the inner world of troubled adolescent boys with sensitivity and liberalism. "The gang boy is a phenomenon of youth. He belongs to every race, every creed, and every color. He is a symptom of a sickness in society." Said to have been based on a true incident that occurred in the city of Pomona, Calif., Gang Boy shows how one young man (Danny) comes to terms with "the angry world around him" and renounces violence. Using real Chicano and white working-class gang members as actors, the film shows vignettes of late-fifties gang culture. Compared to the present, this was an innocent time. There are no hints of guns or drugs in this film. But there are also no hints of pathology or demonization unlike today, gang boys are considered worthy of redemption.
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