Wild in the Streets

Ambitious 60’s teensploitation satire is amusing, but with dull storytelling

A new band in SoCal rises to popularity led by the charismatic Max Frost (Christopher Jones). He uses his position to unite youths and enters politics with the intent of granting teens the right to vote during the turbulent Vietnam era. Shelley Winters plays Max’ wacky mother, Hal Holbrook a supportive senator and Millie Perkins his wife.

"Wild in the Streets" (1968) is a cult flick that satirizes the serious issues of the psychedelic 60s. It doesn't choose sides between young and old or liberal and conservative, but is a mocking jibe at both. It inspired the short-lived DC comic Prez from 1973.

There are some catchy 60’s tunes written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil for Max’s band, such as “Shape of Things to Come” and “Fourteen or Fight,” along with several amusing bits, like the wild acid sequence in the old people's camp. Plus, it’s interesting to see Richard Pryor at 27 as the drummer of the band. Unfortunately, the ambitious story isn’t compelling, which explains the movie’s obscurity. "Lord Love a Duck" (1966) and “Village of the Giants” (1965) are overall more entertaining for this zany fare.

Reeducation camps and top-down commandments, such as ordering the dragging of aged people to concentration camps and rejecting their human rights are traits of Leftist governments, like Communism, Socialism and Naziism. But it’s okay ’cuz it's all for the greater good, man. (Rolling my eyes).

The film runs 1 hour, 37 minutes, and was shot in the Los Angeles area with some sequences done in DC (probably just second unit work).

GRADE: C