Back to trending
The Young Savages

The Young Savages

Crime · Drama · Thriller · 1961

A district attorney investigates the racially charged case of three teenagers accused of the murder of a blind Puerto Rican boy.

Movie details

The Young Savages

“Here is Raw Truth… Nailed to the Screen!”

1961 Crime · Drama · Thriller 1h 43m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.5 / 10

Community rating

A district attorney investigates the racially charged case of three teenagers accused of the murder of a blind Puerto Rican boy.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Young Savages?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

The Parts You Lose

The Parts You Lose

Drama · 2019

An unlikely friendship unfolds between a young deaf boy, Wesley, and a fugitive criminal who takes refuge in an abandoned barn on the family’s rural North Dakota farm.

New Jersey Drive

New Jersey Drive

Crime · 1995

Jason and Midget are two young, black teenagers living in Newark, New Jersey, the unofficial car theft capital of the world. Their favourite pastime is that of everybody in their neighbourhood: stealing cars and joyriding. The trouble starts when they steal a police car and the cops launch a violent offensive that involves beating and even shooting suspects.

A Perfect World

A Perfect World

Drama · 1993

A kidnapped boy strikes up a friendship with his captor: an escaped convict on the run from the law, headed by an honorable U.S. Marshal.

Islands

Islands

Thriller · 2025

In this twisty thriller, a tennis coach at a tropical resort finds himself at the center of a missing persons mystery. Tom teaches tennis during the day and parties at night. When an enigmatic tourist arrives, Tom is unable to shake the feeling he has met her before. Tension and attraction grow, until her husband disappears, and the police suspect Tom.

Roman J. Israel, Esq.

Roman J. Israel, Esq.

Drama · 2017

Hard-nosed liberal lawyer Roman J. Israel has been fighting the good fight forever while others take the credit. When his partner – the firm's frontman – has a heart attack, Israel suddenly takes on that role. He soon discovers some unsettling truths about the firm – truths that conflict with his values of helping the poor and dispossessed – and finds himself in an existential crisis that leads to extreme actions.

Brute Force

Brute Force

Crime · 1947

Timeworn Joe Collins and his fellow inmates live under the heavy thumb of the sadistic, power-tripping guard Captain Munsey. Only Collins' dreams of escape keep him going, but how can he possibly bust out of Munsey's chains?

Devil's Knot

Devil's Knot

Crime · 2013

The savage murders of three young children sparks a controversial trial of three teenagers accused of killing the kids as part of a satanic ritual.

Five Minutes of Heaven

Five Minutes of Heaven

Crime · 2009

The story of former Ulster Volunteer Force member Alistair Little. Twenty-five years after Little killed Joe Griffin's brother, the media arrange an auspicious meeting between the two.

The Outsiders

The Outsiders

Crime · 1983

In 1960s Tulsa, class divisions ignite a violent rivalry between the working-class Greasers and the privileged Socs. When a deadly encounter forces two Greasers, Ponyboy and Johnny, to flee, their struggle for survival and redemption exposes the fragile innocence and enduring bonds of youth on the wrong side of town.

Richard Jewell

Richard Jewell

Drama · 2019

Richard Jewell thinks quick, works fast, and saves hundreds, perhaps thousands, of lives after a domestic terrorist plants several pipe bombs and they explode during a concert, only to be falsely suspected of the crime by sloppy FBI work and sensational media coverage.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

John Frankenheimer

Written by

Edward Anhalt · J.P. Miller

Burt Lancaster

Burt Lancaster

Hank Bell

Dina Merrill

Dina Merrill

Karin Bell

Edward Andrews

Edward Andrews

R. Daniel Cole

Vivian Nathan

Vivian Nathan

Mrs. Escalante

Shelley Winters

Shelley Winters

Mary diPace

Larry Gates

Larry Gates

Randolph

Telly Savalas

Telly Savalas

Detective Lt. Gunderson

Court is in session

Put The Young Savages on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Big-Idea Head

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.