The Young Savages

1/7/2025

Burt Lancaster turns in quite a considered performance here as the assistant DA charged with prosecuting three lads for the murder of a blind fifteen year old boy who was sitting on the steps outside his home. There's no jeopardy as to the crime, nor to it's perpetrators - we all see that at the start, but what does now ensue is a reasonable foray into the psychology of urban living in a city rise with racism, bigotry, sexism, mental illness and intimidation. With his boss (Edward Andrews) going for the state Governor's job, there's political pressure on him to deliver a clear and concise result, but the more he explores their respective living environments, he begins to appreciate a little more of the causes of the never ending cycle of violence, poverty and crime that exists in so many c