THE WANDERERS

Publicity poster for The Wanderers (© Philip Kaufman/Orion Pictures/Warner Bros. Pictures – reproduced here on a strictly non-commercial Fair Use basis for educational/review purposes only)

Back in the day as a late teenager, one of the very first then X-rated (now 18-rated) movies that I remember seeing at the cinema was The Wanderers. Sporting what would be the first in a very long line of black leather biker jackets, but a couple of years before I bought my first motorbike, I sat there and thoroughly enjoyed this latest addition to the then very popular film genre of 'coming-of-age' comedy/drama/jukebox movies, amply supplied as it was with classic 1950s rock'n'roll tracks, gang scuffles, and love-struck angst.

Originally released in 1979, it followed closely on the heels of the previous year's offering in this same genre, the Israeli-produced Lemon Popsicle, which in turn would beget a direct sequel with Going Steady in 1979. And let's not forget the American Porky's movie franchise too.  Like I say, a very popular genre, all of which I enjoyed viewing – and listening to – on the big screen. Indeed, it was these movies that introduced me to a number of rock'n'roll songs and stars that I had never heard – or heard of – before but which have ever afterwards remained firm favourites of mine. Also worth name-checking here is the slightly later movie Jocks, released in 1987 and slotting into this same genre despite having a much less notable soundtrack – check out my review of Jocks here.

(I subsequently discovered that a third Lemon Popsicle movie, entitled Hot Bubblegum, had been released in 1981, but I never saw that one at the cinema; equally, in 2009 a remake of the first Porky's movie was released, entitled Porky's Pimpin' Pee Wee, but I've never seen that film at all.)

The smartest street gang jacket that I have ever seen, to be sure! (© Philip Kaufman/Orion Pictures/Warner Bros. Pictures – reproduced here on a strictly non-commercial Fair Use basis for educational/review purposes only)

When video rentals came about, I hired all of these movies to rewatch at home. I was even able to buy the first two Lemon Popsicle and the three original Porky's movies on video (the first two in big box format, the other three in small box sell-thru format), but I never succeeded in tracking down The Wanderers on video. Recently, however, after obtaining the Porky's trilogy on DVD (I'm holding on to the two big box videos of the Lemon Popsicle movies as they are apparently quite collectable nowadays), I was able to do the same with The Wanderers too, after which I sat down and watched it again. Unlike some youth-oriented movies, which pall when rewatched decades later, this one lived up to my 40-year-old memories of it.

Directed by Philip Kaufman, based on Richard Price's acclaimed debut novel, and set in 1963, The Wanderers takes its name from an Italian-American street gang in the Bronx, New York, instantly recognizable by virtue of their very striking gold and red jackets with their Wanderers logo richly embroidered across the back (back in 1979 I so coveted those jackets!). Their leader is Richie Gennaro (played by Ken Wahl), whose fellow Wanderer and best friend is Joey Capra (John Friedrich); another fellow Wanderer and good friend is Buddy (Jim Youngs). Their deadliest rivals are the Fordham Baldies, a leather-jacketed street gang named after their characteristic shaved heads.

One day, the Baldies corner Richie and some of the other Wanderers in a blind alleyway opening up into a hemmed-in square with no exits, and things do not look good for them. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a tall, dark stranger (played by Tony Ganios – also starring in the Porky's movies) who would have been Clint Eastwood's enigmatic Man With No Name had this been a Western movie suddenly appears and single-handedly makes short work of the Baldies – swiftly putting them to flight before vanishing just as abruptly and mysteriously as he had appeared.

An official DVD of The Wanderers depicting the Fordham Baldies on the front cover (© Philip Kaufman/Orion Pictures/Warner Bros. Pictures – reproduced here on a strictly non-commercial Fair Use basis for educational/review purposes only)

Eventually, however, he turns up again, identifies himself to the Wanderers as Perry LaGuardia, reveals that he has recently moved to the Bronx from New Jersey, and, albeit reluctantly, eventually agrees to become a member of their gang. Another gang skirmish occurs soon after, this time pitting the Wanderers against an African-American street gang named the Del Bombers, added to which Perry and some of the Wanderers are attacked in an alley by an Irish-American street gang named the Ducky Boys, and a football match arranged between the Wanderers and the Del Bombers to settle their dispute in a non-violent manner goes horribly wrong when the Ducky Boys arrive en masse and instigate a colossal brawl, involving everyone there, including yet another street gang, the Asian-American Wongs, while the inebriated Fordham Baldies get tricked into signing up with the Marines! I do hope that you're all keeping up here! If not, the various gangs are all handily identified here in this short trailer.

Finally, and hardly surprisingly in view of all of this hassle, when Richie is forced into a shotgun marriage with the local mafia boss's daughter Despie after putting her in the family way Perry decides that it is high time he moved back to what is no doubt his much saner – and safer – New Jersey stomping ground (albeit finally choosing California instead), duly departing while Richie's engagement party is in full swing. He is accompanied by Joey, who after he (and Perry) have a showdown with his father decides to be a wanderer further afield, travelling beyond the battles and bruises in the Bronx.

Ironically, when I originally watched The Wanderers at the cinema back in 1979, I mistakenly thought that Ken Wahl was the actor playing Perry rather than Richie – it was some years later before I realized my mistake! And even when rewatching it recently on DVD, I had to actively remind myself who was playing who when following Richie and Perry on screen.

Richie (Ken Wahl), second, and Perry (Tony Ganios), third – and no, not the other way round! Plus Joey (John Friedrich), far left, and Buddy (Jim Youngs), far right (© Philip Kaufman/Orion Pictures/Warner Bros. Pictures – reproduced here on a strictly non-commercial Fair Use basis for educational/review purposes only)

Ken Wahl went on to star in a number of other commercially-successful and highly-acclaimed movies, but tragically his longterm acting career was curtailed after he accidentally lost his footing and fell down a flight of hard, slippery marble stairs at a friend's home in August 1992, breaking his neck and damaging his spine. Although he recovered, the physical demands of acting led him to retire in 1996.

Although it contains more violence than the other movies mentioned here (hence its X/18 certificate in the cinema), for me The Wanderers unequivocally remains a superior example in the coming-of-age/jukebox movie genre, which I recommend to anyone who enjoys such films. Indeed, there is only one that I rate even higher – and that is The Lords of Flatbush, which is among my all-time favourite films from any genre, so I shall definitely be reviewing it on Shuker In Movieland.

Meanwhile, click here to view a thrilling official trailer for The Wanderers, and make sure that you're humming Dion's classic song while you do!

And to view a complete listing of all of my Shuker In MovieLand blog's other film reviews and articles (each one instantly accessible via a direct clickable link), please click HERE! 

The extremely talented Ken Wahl, star of The Wanderers (photo found online, but © owner unknown to me, despite having sought its source/ownership information online – reproduced here, therefore, on a strictly non-commercial Fair Use basis for educational/review purposes only)