Mit Siebzehn am Abgrund (1958)

Mit Siebzehn am Abgrund: Directed by Jack Arnold. With Russ Tamblyn, Jan Sterling, John Drew Barrymore, Mamie Van Doren. A tough kid comes to a new high school and begins muscling his way into the drug scene. This is a typical morality play of the era, filled with a naive view of drugs, nihilistic beat poetry, and some incredible ’50s slang.

“Perhaps the coolest movie ever made! Itu0026#39;s worth watching for the lingo alone, you sound me? And itu0026#39;s a movie with a lesson… u0026quot;You flake around with the weed and youu0026#39;re gonna end up using hard stuff!u0026quot; Yes, itu0026#39;s just that cheesey.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eHot-shot Tony Baker (Russ Tamblyn) is the new kid at Santo Bello High School and he makes everyone aware of his arrival. He muscles his way into the Wheelers u0026amp; Dealers, run by J.I. Colridge (John Drew Barrymoore – Drewu0026#39;s dad) and not only tries to push him out of the picture, but also goes after his girl, Joan Staples (Diane Jergens).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eTony lets it be known that heu0026#39;s looking to u0026quot;graze on some grassu0026quot;, but not just a few u0026quot;sticksu0026quot;, he wants five pounds! Not only that but he also wants to score some coke, H, goofballs and caps. He is soon humbled when he finds he has to score 100 sticks from J.I. at the big race. While haggling for the weed Tony learns that J.I. is pushing for the mysterious Mr. A. (Jackie Coogan). Tony wants to meet Mr. A. so he can score a kilo of heroin. Eventually, a meeting is set up between Tony and Mr. A.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSchool teacher Miss Williams (Jan Sterling) takes a liking to Tony and sets out to save him from himself. Tony takes a liking to his teacher, but with different intentions.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe comedy (unintentionally) abounds in this 50s flick. Check out Barrymooreu0026#39;s hep-cat slang rendition of Columbusu0026#39; voyage to America or the Beat Poetessu0026#39; poetry reading or Michael Landon as a dorky student Tony mocks, or the slinky, Mamie VanDoren as Tonyu0026#39;s drunken, slutty aunt or the cop explaining the difference between a real cigarette and marijuana.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI could go on for days about this movie, but instead, Iu0026#39;m going to stop writing and pop the tape in my VCR and watch it for the five billionth time. I suggest you do the same.”