spoiler well make and interesting film about the alienated youth of america back in the 1950 . back in those day many parent catch up with make big buck and live high on the hog forget that their child and especially teen agers and need a lot more then a car and and hefty allowance in order to feel part of the family . they also need love and attention and to their grow up problem and which be what 16 year old hal ditmar and james macarthur never get from his successful movie producer dad mr. tom ditmar and james daly . never really connect with his dad hal grow more and more distant from both him and his care mom helen ditmar and kim hunter and as well a from society . after his dad put hal down about him want to borrow his car and a late model luxury sedan and he and his friend jerry and jeffery silver and drive in hal beat up and barley operational 1930 jalopy to the local treater to catch the late western flick . feel like strike out at the world hal act like a real first class jerk stick his smelly foot almost into the face of a couple and eddie ryder and jean corbett and sit in front of him and jerry try to watch the movie . this lead hal and as well a his friend jerry and to not only be kick out of the theater but with him belt the theater manager mr. grebbs and whit bissell . it turn out that at least hal be willing to leave the theater and without even get his money back and but when grebbs try to grab him hal wheel around and belt him right in the kisser . hal now in real hot water and he charge with assault and battery and put on his james dean act and at the local police station and make like he either too cool or just plain stupid to realize what he do while almost knock mr. grebbs teeth out . it when sgt . shipley and james gergory and tell hal that his dad be come to pick him up when he finally sober up to the fact of what he do . the rest of the film have hal try to straighten himself out but be unable to do that because the low esteem that his dad have of him . beg his father to understand that what he do and in belt mr. grebbs and be in self defense hal father act as if he be there and at the theater and and saw the whole incident with his son hal act like a street thug instead of of a young man be grab and push without provocation . not excuse what hal do and in lay out mr. grebbs and he in fact be willing to admit his hooligan behavior but he want both mr. grebbs and his dad to at least treat him with an iota of consideration while gebbs in the fact that he provoke hal and mr. ditmas in not even bother to hear him out . feel like a wanted criminal without anyone and but his mom and to really turn too hal slowly lose it only to later have both sgt . shipley and mr. grabbs agree to drop the assault charge . you would think that by now hal have finally learn his lesson but the real lesson and more then a stretch behind bar and that hal so desperately need be a lesson that his father totally ignore . be there when his son need him most and in that mr. ditmar fail with fly color . thing do in fact straighten out for everyone in the movie only after mr. grebbs get belt and end up with a butte of a shiner and again by hal who and go back to grebbs theater and try to get him to phone his dad and tell him that hal be only defend himself when he first and not the second time around and clobber him . in the end hal learn a real lesson in get along with people an not let his problem become other people problem . but most of all hal father mr. ditmar learn the most valuable lesson of all in how to understand his frustrated and alienated son and act like a father toward him instead of a combination jail keeper and a sugar daddy . like the song say all you need s love to get thing on the right track and it be both love and understanding for his son hal that mr. ditmar and until the very end of the movie and lack the most off .