FORMAT: DVD
Shortly after WWI, a young couple are forced to give their daughter up for adoption. Years later, the mother (Helen MacKellar) becomes a judge presiding over a juvenile court. Meanwhile, Carol (Doris Weston), the daughter she gave away becomes infatuated with a boy who’s constantly in trouble with the law. When her cousin gets jealous, she breaks the news that Carol was adopted. Reeling from the revelation, she tries to make it on her own in the world and gets a job as a nightclub singer. Carol soon gets mixed up with gangsters and the judge tries to help her out. However, the question remains: Will Carol learn the identity of her mother?
Directed by Nick Grinde (who went on to make a bunch of Boris Karloff thrillers), Delinquent Parents begins like a juvenile delinquent movie. Since this was an early example of the genre, that means instead of teens running around town with leather jackets and switchblades, the teens just drink alcohol and jitterbug into the night. Heathens!
However, as the movie progresses, a funny thing begins to happen. You start to care about the characters and get caught up in the drama. I wasn’t expecting that from a set of films that featured wild-eyed reefer smokers and test tube babies.
In fact, of all the films in the Exploitation Madness box set, Delinquent Parents feels the closest to an actual movie that a studio would put out, despite its low budget. While it’s not nearly as tawdry as some of the flicks featured on the set, it’s briskly paced, well-acted, and entertaining. Although the stuff involving the gangsters is wrapped up a little too pat, the drama between the judge and Carol is surprisingly compelling. Their relationship is what makes this flick a cut above the rest and the bittersweet finale ends things on just the right note.
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