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)
