Scott LeBrun "The Young Savages" is a social-conscience drama showcasing its star, Burt Lancaster, to good effect. Burt plays Hank Bell, a district attorney who is handed the case of three Caucasian youth gang members who murdered a Puerto Rican youth in cold blood. But is that what really happened? As Bell does a lot of his own sleuthing, he discovers, predictably enough, that things may not be as they appeared. He embarks on a bull headed quest for the "truth" of the matter.Bell conducts himself in an unprofessional matter often enough, at least during the climactic trial, that it may lose some viewers due to lack of complete believability. But it's still a reasonably engrossing story, well told by screenwriters Edward Anhalt and J.P. Miller (based on the novel "A Matter of Conviction" by Evan Hunter) and director John Frankenheimer. Frankenheimer doesn't concern himself with being overly cinematic, concentrating mostly on just spinning this racially charged yarn. We are subject to some speechifying and philosophizing on the nature of criminal youth, and the nature of the justice system. For one thing, Hanks' wife Karin (Dina Merrill) is a bleeding heart liberal.The main thing that really holds all of this together is an exceptional cast. Lancaster handles himself with great dignity, playing a character who considers himself fortunate to have escaped slum surroundings (partly due to his father changing the family name, which was actually Bellini). The film co-stars Edward Andrews, Vivian Nathan, Shelley Winters, Larry Gates, Telly Savalas (in his first substantial role), Pilar Seurat, and Milton Selzer, with juicy parts for the younger generation: Stanley Kristien as the defiant Danny, John Davis Chandler as the volatile Arthur, Neil Nephew as the none too bright Anthony, and Luis Arroyo as the passionate Zorro.While not all that satisfying when all is said and done, "The Young Savages" is compelling enough to keep a viewer watching for 103 minutes.Seven out of 10.

JasparLamarCrabb A liberal's fantasy film though it tries mightily to pretend it isn't. Burt Lancaster is a NYC D.A. investigating the stabbing of a blind Puerto Rican boy in Spanish Harlem. The gang members who may or may not have been responsible include the son of Lancaster's childhood girlfriend. Director John Frankenheimer tries mightily to show both sides of the coin with this film, but in the end, cops out with what is tantamount to a "happy ending." This may have had more to do with the famously liberal Lancaster's leftist leanings than with Frankenheimer's filmmaking choices. Nevertheless there is some very good acting, not only by Lancaster, but by Shelley Winters, Vivian Nathan, Pilar Seurat (as the dead boy's sister) and Telly Savalas as Lancaster's highly cynical, Greek chorus associate. David Amram provided the inflammatory music score and Lionel Lindon did the shot on location cinematography.

MartinHafer Uggghhh! This movie was perhaps the worst "social commentary" film I have ever seen--much worse than the very, very preachy KNOCK ON ANY DOOR and incredibly embarrassing and completely unbelievable towards the end. It's really a shame, as the first 85% of the film was excellent--offering many different perspectives on how to prosecute young urban hoodlums. Some are pushing for restraint and a liberal approach to the "misunderstood youths" while others are pushing for the "thugs" to get the chair. This debate was worth exploring, though I must admit that at times, the film didn't take a middle ground. And, in a movie full of "black and white thinking", you are left without any real answers--just diatribe and propaganda.However, despite this unevenness, the last 15 minutes or so completely destroyed the film--making it 100% ridiculous and schmaltzy! Instead of pushing for the death penalty (which at least one of the accused CLEARLY deserved or at least 150 years in prison), the District Attorney, in mid-trial, begins campaigning for the Defense!!! And, he concludes by declaring that they are all victims of society and should not face 1st degree murder charges!!!!! If this REALLY happened, the D.A. would most likely be before a disciplinary committee or get sent to a sanitarium! Sure, Burt Lancaster was seeking "truth", but the only truth I saw was a completely one-sided bleeding- heart film that made me want to wretch. DON'T pretend to offer both sides and then conclude the movie with nothing but pure preachy propaganda!! To me, this made the film seem very dishonest and contrived. Avoid this movie and watch most any other courtroom drama!The saddest part of this film is that it was directed by John Frankenheimer. Around this same time period, he gave us some of the greatest films of the 60s (Seven Days in May, The Manchurian Candidate and Seconds). This, on the other hand, was just too cheap and poorly written--why did he agree to do this bad film?!

moonspinner55 It was almost predictable that this story about teenage tensions between Harlem's Italian and Puerto Rican sides would end up in the courtroom. Director John Frankenheimer, who came from TV, structures everything like an episode of "Playhouse 90". It's all laid out in pretty elementary terms, and even the victim of the story, a blind boy with a harmonica, is not seen so much as a player in the violence as he is a willing pawn (there is an interesting flashback showing the boy's involvement with the gangs, but it's not used as crucial information and is just shucked off). Burt Lancaster is the conflicted assistant DA prosecuting the case (he too came from the slums) and his best scenes are back in his old neighborhood; his marriage to wealthy blonde Dina Merrill is undernourished--even their apartment, with the tiny entry way and window-blinds, looks like an overlit set that nobody could afford to spend much money on. Frankenheimer actually directed another theatrical film before this one ("The Young Stranger"), yet this is often cited as his debut. It's not bad, it certainly means well, but the themes are compressed for one big showdown in court, and nobody's really thinking about tomorrow. ** from ****