Let the experiment begin!
Experiment #112 ~ UNTAMED YOUTH (1957)Original Air Date: February 6, 1990
Genre: Drama
Studio: Aubrey Schenck Productions (as Devonshire Productions) ~ (Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures)
Starring: Mamie Van Doren, Lori Nelson, Jon Russell, Don Burnett, Eddie Cochrane, Lurene Tuttle, Robert Foulk
Directed By: Howard W. Koch
Theatrical Running Time: 80 Minutes
Tagline: "TURNS A SEARING SPOTLIGHT ON TEEN-AGE 'CONS' IN A HOUSE OF CORRECTION!"
Film Synopsis: Two sisters and musical performers Janey (
Lori Nelson) and Penny Low (
Mamie Van Doren) are hitchhiking to Hollywood, when they are arrested by corrupt Sheriff Mitch Bowers (
Robert Foulk), after the siblings are caught skinny dipping in a pond outside of a small rural Southern town.
County Judge Cecile Steele (
Lurene Tuttle) sentences the pair to thirty days confinement, which they can either serve in prison or at a local work farm. The girls choose the latter and are taken to a cotton farm run by ag entreprenure and sleaze-ball Russ Tropp (
Jon Russell).
At the same time Judge Steele's son Bob (
Don Burnett), returning home from service in the Navy, agrees to take a full-time job at the farm (which Tropp bought from the widow Steele)!
Though the work in the fields is grueling, the young inmates find entertainment in the evenings in the mess hall, swing dancing to music provided by tweaky Bong (
Eddie Cochran) and with vocals sung by the talented Penny.
Pinky, the cook with a heart-of-gold suggests that Tropp arrange an audition for Penny at a local television station. Tropp says to send her up to the main house. When Penny doesn't return, a worried Janey tells Bob who goes to the house to retrieve her. While Tropp is distracted, Penny escapes but is chased and cornered by Tropp's viscious dogs. Bob comes to her rescue and, after seeing her safely back to the mess hall, he witnesses the workers being overcharged for clothing and other services. He also finds a large quantity of dog food cans in the trash and realizes that it is being fed to the workers.
Bob confronts his Mom and insists that Tropp is well aware of these abuses. Cecile reveals to Bob that she has been secretly married to Tropp for about four months.
Devastated, Bob thinks about quitting the farm but decides to stay on as he realizes he is falling in love with Janey. Judge Steele has Janey brought to her office where Janey not only affirms Bob's accusations, but also adds that Tropp sexually abuses the female inmates as well.
Later, Bob discovers that Tropp is planning to bring in Mexican immigrants to work illegally on the farm. When Tropp finds out that Bob knows about his plan, he orders Mitch to drive Bob across the border into Mexico and "take care of him" (get it!). Penny convinces the inmates to confront Tropp and they prevent the car from leaving the farm.
Judge Steele and Janey arrive at the farm and the Judge orders Mitch to search Tropp. Upon finding Tropp in possession of documents that confirm his illegal plan, Judge Steele orders Tropp be put under arrest. Realizing that the county failed to treat the inmates to humane conditions, Cecile Steele commutes all of their sentences to time already served and resigns her official post.
Janey stays to marry Bob and the two of them, along with Cecile, watch a TV variety show featuring Penny in a musical number. After her performance, the television announcer predicts that she will "go a looong way"!
Intro: Joel explains the premise of the show. Tom Servo's head has been removed and Joel extracts a magnetic tapeworm from Tom's torso! (
Joel): "We'll be right back. Don't go away, 'cause you'll be
real gone!" Commercial sign!
Invention Exchange: Joel presents the 'Never-light pipe', a smoking pipe with a "sophisticated sprinkler system built in with a smoke detector" so that when someone tries to light-up, it puts itself out. Lar and Clay have observed that children like to put things in their mouths, and that kids love puppets, hence... 'Tongue puppets'. Laurence demonstrates.
Host Segments:Host 1: The Satellite of Love salutes Greg Brady with a tribute entitled, "Greg Brady: An American Legacy".
Host 2: What Gypsy thinks.
While Gypsy lies dormant, her central nervous sympac shut down, Joel, along with Tom's instructions attempt to "align by adjusting her left horizontal gyro and synchronizing the output signal with the 'B' input signal on Cambot's digital array motherboard." This will link her to Cambot's visual output device, allowing them to see what Gypsy is thinking!
No surprise... Richard Basehart and 'ramchips'!
... or was it all just a dream of Crow's?!
Host 3: Gypsy is sick and regurgitates cotton, styrofoam, paper towels and (upon Tom's suggestion) another Tom Servo onto the bridge of the SOL!
End: Understanding the goofy guy from the movie, who's purpose is is never explained. Joel reads a couple of fan letters. Larry thinks the Mads should keep the Mamie Van Doren films for themselves. Dr. F. thinks Larry should 'file this'!
Items of Note:~ This is the first time that the MST3K Fan Club is referred to as the 'Information Club'!
~ Gypsy actually enters the auditorium in the film segment between Host 2 and 3!
Personal Notes:~ The film's soundtrack includes Eddie Cochran song titles including "Cottonpicker", "Salamander", "Go, Go, Calypso", "Rolling Stone" and "Oobala Baby"!
~ Hoodlums 'swing dancing'?!
The 'Riffs':~ (
Crow): "Tire farming. It's hard, but it's worth it!"
~ (
Crow): "Hey, it's the 'Body Snatcher' pod wagon!"
~ (
Joel): "Strange alliances are made in a hot cotton field!" (
Servo): "There's not enough girls there!"
~ (
Joel): "Interestingly enough, this clip was included in the film 'Scared Straight'!"
~ (
Servo): "They call her 'coffee', 'cause she grinds so fine!"
~ (
Crow): "Mmmm. You taste like 'Juicy Fruit' and pizza!"
~ Pop culture references ranging from There's a Girl in My Soup!, Tom Waites, the Tijuana Brass and Lou Gossett, Jr., to the Mouseketeers, Hogan's Heroes, Eli Whitney and Rosemary Clooney. Some good riffing, but no noteable quotes. Completely watchable being just a drama, not a SciFi or otherwise.
Rating: 3-1/2 'cotton bales' out of 5
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