Teenagers and Teenpics: The Juvenilization of American Movies in the 1950s

by Thomas Doherty

Teenagers and Teenpics tells the story of two signature developments in the 1950 the decline of the classical Hollywood cinema and the emergence of that strange new creature, the American teenager. Hollywood's discovery of the teenage moviegoer initiated a progressive "juvenilization" of film content that is today the operative reality of the American motion picture industry. The juvenilization of the American movies is best revealed in the development of the 1950s "teenpic," a picture targeted at teenagers even to the exclusion of their elders. In a wry and readable style, Doherty defines and interprets the various teenpic film rock 'n' roll pictures, j.d. films, horror and sci-fi weirdies, and clean teenpics. Individual films are examined both in light of their impact on the motion picture industry and in terms of their important role in validating the emerging teenage subculture. Also included in this edition is an expanded treatment of teenpics since the 1950s, especially the teenpics produced during the age of AIDS.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction

272 pages, Paperback

First published October 13, 1988

Reviews

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a favorite of mine, and I liked it so much that I considered adapting its methods for my M.A thesis. It is a wonderful cultural study of 1950s youth movies, one that covers all conceivable aspects of artistic production and reception. The writing is clear and amusing, yet always fully researched and insightful. The book Doherty wrote after this one, "Projections of War" was also successful and respected. It is the same type of study, but about how the World War II effort was expressed in the American cinema of the era.

What is remarkable about this is its balance and inclusion of historical and sociological elements that are usually lacking in critical studies. In fact, what it lacks is serious criticism, but this is appropriate given the aesthetic thinness of the art involved. Snippets of business news, anecdotes, sociological studies, and a variety of viewpoints find their way into Doherty's work. In fact, business news plays a large part in this and rightly so, for information about the highly changeable climate in the land of moving images is essential to a comprehension of its aesthetic aspects. Doherty examines the overall situation in the first few chapters, and then devotes a chapter each to four subgenres: rock and roll teenpics, dangerous youth teenpics, horror teenpics, and clean teenpics.

This was a marvelous book, and the proof is that it had me reading avidly despite my lack of interest in the subject.

[Jared Anderson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like good enough. It has so lacking conventions of interesting writing. Who would read this for pleasure?

[A. Bowdoin Van Riper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic 1950s films about teens like The Blackboard Jungle and Rebel Without a Cause were the tip of a very large cinematic iceberg. Major studios and (especially) small-time independent production companies cranked out dozens of teen-oriented films a year: rock-and-roll films, juvenile-delinquent films, surfing films, high-school melodramas, hot-rod films, and science-fiction/horror films. Most of them were shot with low budgets, no-name casts, and tight schedules . . . and most of them fell somewhere between competently formulaic and jaw-droppingly awful. Teens were the most reliable movie-going audience in 1950s America, however, and even formulaic teenpics drew substantial audiences and turned respectable profits.

Thomas Doherty’s Teenagers and Teenpics is, by far, the best book available on 1950s teenpics. It traces the changes in Hollywood, and the changes in the wider culture, that made them a viable genre, and breaks down each of the major teen subgenres that flourished in the 1950s. Doherty is more interested in analyzing the films than in cataloging them, to the book and reader’s benefit. The book doesn’t list every significant teen film of the era (or try) but it covers enough ground to clearly set the teenpics in the context of 1950s Hollywood and 1950s culture in general. The last chapter – the only one that breaks from this pattern – is, tellingly, also the weakest. Trying to survey the development of teenpics from the end of the fifties into the then-present day (late 1990s), it sacrifices insightful analysis for mere base-covering, and feels unsatisfying by comparison.

The book as a whole, though, is both analytically satisfying and smoothly, accessibly written. It’s a rewarding read for anyone with even a passing interest in Hollywood film or 1950s culture, and a must-own for anyone with a serious interest in either.

[Malcolm · Rating 3 out of 5]

An impressive exploration of the relationship between the 1950s invention of the teenager and the changing character of the US film industry and films themselves where the impact of television privatised visual entertainment and leading to film/cinema becoming increasingly dependent on young people for its survival.

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is full of great information about the popular cinema in the 1950s. However, it was a dull-read at times. If you're looking for a fact-filled book about the classic teenpics, this is the book for you.