Review of High School Confidential! (1958) by Will "The Thrill" V — 08 Sep 2005

High School Confidential (1958) a.k.a. Young Hellions - ?Okay, chick, I guess I dialed the wrong number.? ? Tony.

An uncover cop named Tony (Russ Tamblyn ? West Side Story) infiltrates a high school as the new hard-nosed transfer kid from Chicago. He wastes no time making "friends" and in the space of two or three hours (I?m not sure ? I kind of went numb), Tony flashes ?large? and soon finds his way to the top drug supplier to the high school pushers (Mr. A ? Jackie Coogan). Tony makes the big buy and has it all on tape. Afterwards, Tony gets sloppy and soon the bad guys are on to him.

?Confidential? is a teen (h)exploitation film in the spirit of ?Reefer Madness? a movie that carried a remarkably similar message 22 years earlier: marijuana use leads directly to heroine addiction. The heavy use of teen-lingo (spoken by high school kids that looked like they were in their late twenties) sounded like adults trying to sound like kids. The writer, Robert Blees (born in 1925) put on so much jive that it made today?s rappers sound like English teachers.

The film is loaded with priceless quotes (although obviously dated):

?How bad can it be? A marijuana cigarette was found on the floor of a classroom, another in the girl?s gym.? ? Police Commissioner communicating the gravity of the situation to the teachers.

?I?m dyin? to blast, but I?m clean. How about it, Tony, you holdin??? ? Joan (hot chick who would do anything for a "stick" of weed).

?If ya flick around with the weed, ya end up using the hard stuff.? - Tony (he liked Joan, but not enough to keep from using her).

?Joan now confines herself to smoking ordinary cigarettes.? ? disembodied official voice in epilogue.

It?s a terrifying movie: kids driving without seatbelts, parents smoking with kids in the room, girls wearing one-piece bathing suits, guys wearing slacks belted above their belly buttons, coffee shops that play jazz :: shivers involuntarily:: , I?m pretty sure this movie messed me up. I?ll be snapping my fingers and calling all the boys ?kittens.?