13 West Street (Widescreen)

Walt Sherill (Alan Ladd) is brutally beaten by a gang of angry teenagers, but the police are unable to make headway in the case and Detective Sergeant Koleski (Rod Steiger) doesn't seem terribly concerned about catching the perpetrators. The only suspects are wealthy kids who are well protected by their parents. When Walt and his young wife Tracey (Dolores Dorn) continue to feel threatened, he decides to track the teens himself -- hiring a private detective, buying a gun, and stalking potential suspects. But Det. Koleski isn't sure that Sherill's interest in the case isn't more about vengeance than justice. The two come head to head as the teens and their cool, cold-blooded leader (Michael Callan) keep trying to strike fear into the heart of the Sherill's suburban neighborhood. Newly remastered.

Leaning heavily on violence to ostensibly deliver a pacifist message, this standard drama by Philip Leacock looks at the problem of teen gangs from a slightly different angle -- these teens are all wealthy. Everything starts off when aerospace engineer Walt Sherill (Alan Ladd) is accosted and severely beaten by a group of young punks. The victimized man decides to hunt down the thugs on his own, at first just for curiosity and then increasingly for vengeance. His actions spark retaliatory measures, and before the credits roll, the body count is elevated by a few more victims in what amounts to nothing more than a blood feud. In the end, justice of the legal and politically correct sort makes a token appearance.

Crime | Criminals | Death | Detective | Gangsters | Injustice | Revenge | Vengeance | Violence

Genre:

• Drama Movies

Product Series:

• Sony Screen Classics by Request