BORN TO RUN

When the adults are away the delinquents will play.

Above are two posters for Running Wild, a drama fitting loosely into the juvenile delinquency sub-genre, and these promos certainly impart that, with their somewhat chaotic background elements. The movie stars William Campbell as a bad attitude in hipster clothes who turns out to be an undercover cop sent to implode a smalltown car theft ring. Though we didn’t suspect the troublemaker-as-cop plot twist, the movie otherwise has no surprising elements at all, from the older criminal ringleader, to the arm candy he controls and mistreats, to the member of the theft clan that almost but doesn’t quite recognize Campbell as a cop.

The kingpin recruits recalcitrant youth to do his bidding, and that’s the entry point for rock music—that reliable soundtrack to ’50s crime and mayhem. There’s also the pro forma soda shop packed with rowdy teens, and vampy Mamie Van Doren performing a jukebox dance number. Later she’d dance in the women-in-prison flick Untamed Youth, so we presume her juvie delinquency bona fides were established here.

Eventually Campbell is invited into the theft ring, has a few close calls, romances the ringleader’s girl—the stunning Kathleen Case—and brings everything to its expected conclusion during a final showdown, which we can tell you because there’s no other outcome in a movie from this era, as they still adhered to the old production code dictating that criminals couldn’t win. In the final analysis, Running Wild falls into the “not bad” category, which is to say we’ve seen better juvie delinquency flicks, but we’ve also seen far worse. It premiered today in 1955.

Femme Fatale Image

ABOUT

SEARCH PULP INTERNATIONAL

PULP INTL.
HISTORY REWIND

The headlines that mattered yesteryear.

1960—Woodward Gets First Star on Walk of Fame

Actress Joanne Woodward receives the first star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Los Angeles sidewalk at Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street that serves as an outdoor entertainment museum. Woodward was one of 1,558 honorees chosen by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce in 1958, when the proposal to build the sidewalk was approved. Today the sidewalk contains more than 2,300 stars.

1971—Paige Enters Baseball Hall of Fame

Satchel Paige becomes the first player from America’s Negro Baseball League to be voted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Paige, who was a pitcher, played for numerous Negro League teams, had brief stints in Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the Major Leagues, before finally retiring in his mid-fifties.

1969—Allende Meteorite Falls in Mexico

The Allende Meteorite, the largest object of its type ever found, falls in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. The original stone, traveling at more than ten miles per second and leaving a brilliant streak across the sky, is believed to have been approximately the size of an automobile. But by the time it hit the Earth it had broken into hundreds of fragments.

1985—Matt Munro Dies

English singer Matt Munro, who was one of the most popular entertainers on the international music scene during the 1960s and sang numerous hits, including the James Bond theme “From Russia with Love,” dies from liver cancer at Cromwell Hospital, Kensington, London.

1958—Plane Crash Kills 8 Man U Players

British European Airways Flight 609 crashes attempting to take off from a slush-covered runway at Munich-Riem Airport in Munich, West Germany. On board the plane is the Manchester United football team, along with a number of supporters and journalists. 20 of the 44 people on board die in the crash.

Five covers for football pulp magazines illustrated by George Gross.
Rare Argentinian cover art for The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells.

VINTAGE ADVERTISING

Things you'd love to buy but can't anymore

Vintage Ad Image

Around the web