Teen Movies from 1945-Present
by estella2 | created - 02 Oct 2013 | updated - 25 Oct 2017 | PublicBefore the 20th century you were considered either an adult or child; there was no time to be somewhere in-between. With all the war and disease around, you were considered an adult the moment you were found useful for ANY kind of work, which could be as young as 9 (and sometimes even younger)! It didn't help that the average life expectancy was less than 50, and that if you were female, you were already preparing for marriage by the time you hit puberty.
It wasn't until the more care-free and prosperous 1920s that a noticeable distinction started to develop between the child and adult (God Bless Henry Ford!). The affordable automobile made it possible for a boy and girl to escape the watchful eye of mama and papa. It was no longer courting, it was dating. The motion pictures added fuel to the fire, because young people were inspired by the rebellious behavior they saw on screen.
Sadly, this age distinction would slowly recede back after the Great Depression and for most of World War II. It wasn't until the ending of the second world war that this distinction would return, and when it did - it would have a name: 'teen-age.'
Though the word 'teen-ager' appeared before the end of the war in a 1941 issue of "Popular Science" (coincidently in an article on 'Movie Making') it wasn't in the same connotation.
In a 1944 LIFE magazine article the word 'teen-age' was defined as: "There is a time in the life of every American girl when the most important thing in the world is to be one of a crowd of other girls and to act and speak and dress exactly as they do. This is the teen age."
This definition made 'teen-ager' appear as a type of phase that a girl went through--not what a boy went through. It was as if the term 'bobby-soxer' had suddenly become synonymous with 'teen-ager.'
In a December 20, 1948 LIFE magazine, the cover story is 'Teen-Agers'. The article is all about teen-agers and their 'customs.' What is different about this use of the word is the fact that it starts to include boys as well as girls.
Then, in a July 1950 issue of 'Boy's Life' we see it: "teenager" The word teenager is used without a hyphen!
We then see "Teen" Magazine (1954), "Seventeen" Magazine, "Teen Screen" Magazine, etc.
Starting in the 1950s, the media (mostly through films, Television, and music) transformed 'teenage' into the confusing and rebellious stage of adolescence that we associate with today. It wasn't really until the late 50s/early 60s, that teenage sexuality began to be explored in the scripts (notably 'Peyton Place', 'A Summer Place', 'Splendor in the Grass', 'Lolita'). Usually these story lines were more about sexual frustration, especially coming from the female character, which was still a pretty taboo thing at the time.
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1. The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947)
Approved | 95 min | Comedy, Romance
A high school girl falls for a playboy artist, with screwball results.
Director: Irving Reis | Stars: Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, Shirley Temple, Rudy Vallee
Votes: 9,609
2. The Wild One (1953)
Approved | 79 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
Two rival motorcycle gangs terrorize a small town after one of their leaders is thrown in jail.
Director: Laslo Benedek | Stars: Marlon Brando, Mary Murphy, Robert Keith, Lee Marvin
Votes: 17,595
At this time we begin to see teenagers viewed as troublemakers aka 'Juvenile Delinquents.'
3. Susan Slept Here (1954)
Approved | 98 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A Hollywood screenwriter takes in a runaway girl who's more woman than he can handle.
Director: Frank Tashlin | Stars: Dick Powell, Debbie Reynolds, Anne Francis, Glenda Farrell
Votes: 2,168
I don't exactly know why, but it became very fashionable for the teenage girl to be swooning over an older man in the 1950s. And Susan is of course a 'Juvenile Delinquent.'
4. Sabrina (1954)
Passed | 113 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A playboy becomes interested in the daughter of his family's chauffeur, but it's his more serious brother who would be the better man for her.
Director: Billy Wilder | Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn, William Holden, Walter Hampden
Votes: 70,363
5. East of Eden (1955)
PG | 118 min | Drama
Two brothers in 1910s California struggle to maintain their strict, Bible-toting father's favor as an old secret about their long-absent mother comes to light.
Director: Elia Kazan | Stars: James Dean, Raymond Massey, Julie Harris, Burl Ives
Votes: 48,828
It was James Dean who was the first to portray the real emotion of the teenager (in both 'Rebel' and 'Eden'), and not just some stereotype.
6. Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
PG-13 | 111 min | Drama
A rebellious young man with a troubled past comes to a new town, finding friends and enemies.
Director: Nicholas Ray | Stars: James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, Jim Backus
Votes: 97,982
This was the first movie to define 'teen angst'
7. Teen-Age Crime Wave (1955)
Approved | 77 min | Crime, Drama
A delinquent girl involves an innocent friend in an armed robbery followed by a jail-break and hostage-taking with her equally delinquent boyfriend.
Director: Fred F. Sears | Stars: Tommy Cook, Molly McCart, Sue England, Frank Griffin
Votes: 673
8. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
Approved | 80 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
A small-town doctor learns that the population of his community is being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates.
Director: Don Siegel | Stars: Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter, Larry Gates, King Donovan
Votes: 54,778
a warning about conformity? you make the call.
9. The Girl Can't Help It (1956)
Approved | 98 min | Comedy, Music
A gangster hires a down-and-out press agent to make his airheaded girlfriend a singing star.
Director: Frank Tashlin | Stars: Tom Ewell, Jayne Mansfield, Edmond O'Brien, Julie London
Votes: 3,919
Rock n' Roll musical comedy with a teenager subplot. showcase for performers like Little Richard and Fats Domino.
10. The Delinquents (1957)
Not Rated | 72 min | Drama
A frustrated young man, separated from his younger girlfriend, gets involved in a juvenile gang.
Director: Robert Altman | Stars: Tom Laughlin, Peter Miller, Richard Bakalyan, Rosemary Howard
Votes: 669 | Gross: $1.00M
11. Love in the Afternoon (1957)
Not Rated | 130 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A middle-aged playboy becomes fascinated by the daughter of a private detective who has been hired to entrap him with the wife of a client.
Director: Billy Wilder | Stars: Gary Cooper, Audrey Hepburn, Maurice Chevalier, John McGiver
Votes: 17,070
12. Jailhouse Rock (1957)
Not Rated | 96 min | Drama, Music, Musical
After serving time for manslaughter, young Vince Everett becomes a teenage rock star.
Director: Richard Thorpe | Stars: Elvis Presley, Judy Tyler, Mickey Shaughnessy, Vaughn Taylor
Votes: 9,833 | Gross: $4.00M
The Rock n' Roll musicals became all the rage with Elvis.
13. Teenage Thunder (1957)
78 min | Drama
Eighteen-year-old Johnnie, chafing under his father's authority, seeks to get a job, buy a hot-rod, woo his girl, and stand up to the local bully.
Director: Paul Helmick | Stars: Chuck Courtney, Melinda Byron, Robert Fuller, Tyler McVey
Votes: 81 | Gross: $1.00M
14. Peyton Place (1957)
Approved | 157 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A peaceful New England town hides secrets and scandals.
Director: Mark Robson | Stars: Lana Turner, Lee Philips, Lloyd Nolan, Arthur Kennedy
Votes: 6,615 | Gross: $25.60M
an important movie based off of a book that addressed very racy subject matter. the biggest theme is hypocrisy, but also addressed is suicide, incest, rape, homicide, and sex. The main character is a teenage girl who aspires to be an author and expose all the hypocrites that live in the small town of Peyton.
Apparently the author of the book was angered by the 'cleaned up' adaptation of her story into the film, which I find sort of surprising because when I first saw it I thought it was pretty darn risque for the 1950s- but I guess Grace Metalious envisioned something more graphic and less innuendo.
The movie became more popular after the daughter of actress Lana Turner, Cheryl, was charged with murdering her mother's abusive lover and placed in Juvenile hall.
15. Juvenile Jungle (1958)
Passed | 69 min | Action, Adventure, Crime
A planned kidnapping goes awry when the gang leader falls for the victim.
Director: William Witney | Stars: Corey Allen, Rebecca Welles, Richard Bakalyan, Anne Whitfield
Votes: 83
16. High School Confidential! (1958)
Approved | 85 min | Crime, Drama
A tough kid comes to a new high school and begins muscling his way into the drug scene. This is a typical morality play of the era, filled with a naive view of drugs, nihilistic beat poetry, and some incredible '50s slang.
Director: Jack Arnold | Stars: Russ Tamblyn, Jan Sterling, John Drew Barrymore, Mamie Van Doren
Votes: 1,172
17. The Blob (1958)
Approved | 86 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
An alien lifeform consumes everything in its path as it grows and grows.
Directors: Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr., Russell S. Doughten Jr. | Stars: Steve McQueen, Aneta Corsaut, Earl Rowe, Olin Howland
Votes: 29,389
A cautionary tale to those who don't take the gossip of teenagers seriously. The teenagers TRIED to warn everyone, but the adults thought they were just trying to pull their leg. little did they know!
Some see The Blob as symbolism of the spreading of Communism or STDs.
Interesting fact: The story of the Blob was actually based off of a true story. This is coming from an article on FeartNet.com:
"The Blob is based on a true police report. Whether or not the event actually happened has never been confirmed. In 1950 in Pennsylvania, two veteran police officers saw something fall from the sky. They described it as a 'large, glittering mass drifting to earth,' and when they found the landing spot in a field, they discovered a 'quivering purple mound of jelly' that glittered in the light of their flashlights. It seemed to pulsate on its own, and when the cops turned off their flashlights, the mass seemed to glow on its own. For fear that no one would believe them, the cops radioed for backup. Two more police officers showed up, and one decided to try to lift it. It instantly broke apart, with tiny globules sticking to his hands. The purple goo quickly evaporated, leaving nothing behind but an 'odorless residue' on the one cop's hand. The glob had evaporated completely before anyone else could arrive to see it, but a police report was filed and the newspapers ate the story up. "
18. Gidget (1959)
Not Rated | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A young girl discovers surfing and love (in that order) during one transitive summer.
Director: Paul Wendkos | Stars: Sandra Dee, James Darren, Cliff Robertson, Arthur O'Connell
Votes: 3,824
19. Imitation of Life (1959)
Not Rated | 125 min | Drama
An aspiring white actress takes in an African American widow whose mixed-race daughter is desperate to be seen as white.
Director: Douglas Sirk | Stars: Lana Turner, John Gavin, Sandra Dee, Susan Kohner
Votes: 18,225 | Gross: $13.99M
racial tensions in the 1950s. two teenagers, one is the white, blonde, blue eyed daughter of Lana Turner, and the other is the light-skinned daughter of a black housekeeper and a white man. The one daughter struggles with her identity because she wants to pretend she is all white, but she also doesn't want to hurt her mother who is black. What is black? what is white? Why should it matter? Well, it did in the 1950s unfortunately.
20. A Summer Place (1959)
Approved | 130 min | Drama, Romance
A self-made businessman rekindles a romance with a former flame while their two teenage children begin a romance of their own with drastic consequences for both couples.
Director: Delmer Daves | Stars: Richard Egan, Dorothy McGuire, Sandra Dee, Arthur Kennedy
Votes: 3,853
21. Splendor in the Grass (1961)
Not Rated | 124 min | Drama, Romance
The love of high school sweethearts Deanie and Bud is weighed down by the oppressive expectations of their parents and society in smalltown Kansas in 1928, threatening the future of their relationship.
Director: Elia Kazan | Stars: Natalie Wood, Warren Beatty, Pat Hingle, Audrey Christie
Votes: 22,649 | Gross: $8.72M
This is one of my favorite movies of all time. It is very interesting because it is a teenager story set in the 1920s and (if you read the description I wrote for this IMDB list) you should know it was in the 1920s that the idea of a 'teen-age' started to develop.
Because there weren't really any films in the 1920s that addressed teenagers the same way more modern films have, this film was really a great way of going back in time and telling the story from the 1920s teenager perspective.
This was one of those movies that had to wrestle with the censors. The only way that it could be agreed to be shown in theaters was to have an age-restriction(16 and over).
Someone once told me about how they had to sneak in with their cousin to see this movie at the theater because they weren't old enough (keep in mind this was before the establishment of the mpaa ratings system).
This was also one of the first movies to address sexual frustration in young women, though 'peyton place' and 'a summer place' also addressed this....though I feel 'Splendor in the Grass' was pushing the envelope a bit more. The story really explored the 'Madonna/whore complex' scenario.
In fact there is one scene in 'a summer place' that is almost exactly like one in 'Splendor in the grass.' see if you can spot it out.
Not only was sexual frustration in women addressed, but also in young men. Notably in one scene where Warren Beatty's character is trying to ask his family doctor some questions about sex, only to be told with a few "no, no. (nervous chuckles)," or "well I don't know what to tell you Bud." or 'Well, I'll see you next week Bud." Not only was this exploring a young man's frustration, but in general everyone's frustration. The fact that you couldn't even find guidance from a physician! Like sex was so dirty that you couldn't even talk about it, even though it was happening all around you. Which then led young people to make their own, maybe unwise decisions based on being so ill-informed. Perhaps changing their entire life's course!
Also addressed was mental health. The stigma of mental illness and the stigma against people who sought therapy. There was very little knowledge on depression and anxiety. It was as if a normal person was expected to just suck up and move on no matter what. If you couldn't do it on your own, you were somehow defective and tossed aside so that you didn't bother others or contagiously spread your defectiveness. There was no knowledge of chemical imbalances in the brain. The cause was usually seen as either bad parenting, or bad breeding.
22. West Side Story (1961)
Approved | 153 min | Crime, Drama, Musical
Two youngsters from rival New York City gangs fall in love, but tensions between their respective friends build toward tragedy.
Directors: Jerome Robbins, Robert Wise | Stars: Natalie Wood, George Chakiris, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn
Votes: 121,224 | Gross: $43.66M
23. Lolita (1962)
Not Rated | 153 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
A middle-aged college professor becomes infatuated with a 14-year-old girl.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: James Mason, Shelley Winters, Sue Lyon, Gary Cockrell
Votes: 108,829 | Gross: $9.25M
Here is another movie with the young girl and the older man, except this time it is the older man who is swooning after the young girl...of course he thinks she is flirting with him...but yeah. Based on the book by Nabokov. In the book Lolita is only 12 and of course there was no way that the 1960s censors would allow that, so the age was increased to 14...hence making it a teen movie. I also consider this to be a teen movie because of the teen beat music in the film, the teen fashion, lingo, etc.
24. Bye Bye Birdie (1963)
Approved | 112 min | Comedy, Musical
A rock singer travels to a small Ohio town to make his "farewell" television performance and kiss his biggest fan before he is drafted.
Director: George Sidney | Stars: Dick Van Dyke, Ann-Margret, Janet Leigh, Maureen Stapleton
Votes: 9,333 | Gross: $13.13M
25. Beach Party (1963)
Not Rated | 101 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
A bearded anthropologist studies the habits of swingin' American teens while they enjoy the summer surfing, loving, and partying at the beach.
Director: William Asher | Stars: Robert Cummings, Dorothy Malone, Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello
Votes: 2,341
26. Viva Las Vegas (1964)
Approved | 85 min | Comedy, Musical
A race-car driver preparing for the Grand Prix wiles his time in Las Vegas working as a waiter to pay for his new engine and soon strikes up a romance with a beautiful young woman.
Director: George Sidney | Stars: Elvis Presley, Ann-Margret, Cesare Danova, William Demarest
Votes: 9,228 | Gross: $5.13M
27. A Hard Day's Night (1964)
G | 87 min | Comedy, Musical
Over two "typical" days in the life of The Beatles, the boys struggle to keep themselves and Sir Paul McCartney's mischievous grandfather in check while preparing for a live TV performance.
Director: Richard Lester | Stars: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr
Votes: 48,106 | Gross: $13.78M
28. Kitten with a Whip (1964)
Approved | 83 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A rising political star faces scandal and blackmail when the young woman he tries to help turns out to be a juvenile delinquent.
Director: Douglas Heyes | Stars: Ann-Margret, John Forsythe, Peter Brown, Patricia Barry
Votes: 1,530
29. Pajama Party (1964)
Passed | 82 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
Sent to Earth to prepare for an invasion, a Martian scout lands amidst a swim party and tries to convince everyone that he really is who he says.
Director: Don Weis | Stars: Tommy Kirk, Annette Funicello, Elsa Lanchester, Harvey Lembeck
Votes: 1,298
30. Beach Blanket Bingo (1965)
Unrated | 98 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
Frankie, DeeDee, and the gang meet singing sensation Sugar Kane in a publicity stunt; they all get introduced to skydiving and get caught up in love.
Director: William Asher | Stars: Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello, Deborah Walley, Harvey Lembeck
Votes: 3,156
31. Help! (1965)
G | 92 min | Adventure, Comedy, Musical
Sir Ringo Starr finds himself the human sacrifice target of a cult, and his fellow members of The Beatles must try to protect him from it.
Director: Richard Lester | Stars: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr
Votes: 21,126 | Gross: $13.08M
32. The Trouble with Angels (1966)
PG | 112 min | Comedy, Family
Two high-spirited young students at St. Francis Academy keep things hopping for the challenged Mother Superior and her staff of bewildered Sisters.
Director: Ida Lupino | Stars: Rosalind Russell, Hayley Mills, Binnie Barnes, Camilla Sparv
Votes: 5,780
33. Georgy Girl (1966)
Approved | 99 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A traditional girl (Lynn Redgrave) resists the advances of a swinger (James Mason) who wants her as his mistress in 1960s London.
Director: Silvio Narizzano | Stars: James Mason, Alan Bates, Lynn Redgrave, Charlotte Rampling
Votes: 4,245 | Gross: $16.87M
34. Romeo and Juliet (1968)
PG | 138 min | Drama, Romance
When two young members of feuding families meet, forbidden love ensues.
Director: Franco Zeffirelli | Stars: Leonard Whiting, Olivia Hussey, John McEnery, Milo O'Shea
Votes: 34,783 | Gross: $38.90M
35. Where Angels Go Trouble Follows! (1968)
G | 93 min | Comedy
An old-line Mother Superior is challenged by a modern young nun when they take the girls of St. Francis Academy on a bus trip across the United States.
Director: James Neilson | Stars: Rosalind Russell, Stella Stevens, Binnie Barnes, Mary Wickes
Votes: 1,819
36. Butterflies Are Free (1972)
PG | 109 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
A blind man moves into his own apartment against the wishes of his overprotective mother and befriends the freethinking young woman next door.
Director: Milton Katselas | Stars: Goldie Hawn, Edward Albert, Eileen Heckart, Paul Michael Glaser
Votes: 5,961 | Gross: $0.25M
I would first just like to say here at this point while we enter the 1970s that I found very little of the 'teen' movie genre in this decade. Well, maybe I should be more clear: certainly nothing I'd EVER let my teen son or daughter watch. It seems that most of the movies in the 1970s that had 'teens' were either soft-core porn, hard-core porn, heavy drug use mixed with porn, teenagers who were in adult situations (Deer-Hunter, Apocalypse Now, The Last Detail, Coming Home). I believe it was a reflection of the times: 'teenagers' were being sent off to war where they were no longer boys-they were men. There was a loss of innocence that had not really been seen since the beginning of the use of the term 'teenager.' Sometimes I really couldn't make up my mind if the movie was in fact a teen movie, for example--"Easy Rider?" How old were they supposed to be, again? 'Woodstock' the documentary....was that a teen movie? umm.....'Love Story'? Weren't they in college?? I chose 'Butterflies are Free' because the young blind man is supposed to be in his teens, which if you watch the movie now you kind of feel weird because most teens these days can't afford their own pad in San Francisco.
37. American Graffiti (1973)
PG | 110 min | Comedy, Drama
A group of teenagers in California's central valley spend one final night after their 1962 high school graduation cruising the strip with their buddies before they pursue their varying goals.
Director: George Lucas | Stars: Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat, Charles Martin Smith
Votes: 98,183 | Gross: $115.00M
1950s nostalgia became very big in the 1970s, perhaps because it was a way of remembering the innocence that was now lost from Vietnam. This way they could feel like a teenager watching this movie and remembering what it was once like; when the biggest problem was your car or your girlfriend, or trying to figure out if you wanted to go to college.
38. Tommy (1975)
PG | 111 min | Drama, Musical
A psychosomatically blind, deaf, and mute boy becomes a master pinball player and, subsequently, the figurehead of a cult.
Director: Ken Russell | Stars: Roger Daltrey, Ann-Margret, Oliver Reed, Elton John
Votes: 22,635 | Gross: $34.25M
39. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
R | 100 min | Comedy, Horror, Musical
A newly-engaged couple have a breakdown in an isolated area and must seek shelter at the bizarre residence of Dr. Frank-n-Furter.
Director: Jim Sharman | Stars: Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick, Richard O'Brien
Votes: 166,980 | Gross: $139.88M
40. Carrie (1976)
R | 98 min | Horror, Mystery
Carrie White, a shy, friendless teenage girl who is sheltered by her domineering, religious mother, unleashes her telekinetic powers after being humiliated by her classmates at her senior prom.
Director: Brian De Palma | Stars: Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Amy Irving, John Travolta
Votes: 206,741 | Gross: $33.80M
teen bullies beware!
41. Saturday Night Fever (1977)
R | 118 min | Drama, Music
Anxious about his future after high school, a 19-year-old Italian-American from Brooklyn tries to escape the harsh reality of his bleak family life by dominating the dance floor at the local disco.
Director: John Badham | Stars: John Travolta, Karen Lynn Gorney, Barry Miller, Joseph Cali
Votes: 87,536 | Gross: $94.21M
42. Thank God It's Friday (1978)
PG | 89 min | Comedy, Music
A Friday in the life of the disco club The Zoo, where the staff and clients meet and dance their lives away.
Director: Robert Klane | Stars: Donna Summer, Valerie Landsburg, Terri Nunn, Chick Vennera
Votes: 3,123 | Gross: $7.30M
43. Grease (1978)
PG | 110 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
Good girl Sandy Olsson and greaser Danny Zuko fell in love over the summer. When they unexpectedly discover they're now in the same high school, will they be able to rekindle their romance?
Director: Randal Kleiser | Stars: John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, Jeff Conaway
Votes: 300,671 | Gross: $188.76M
44. Roller Boogie (1979)
PG | 103 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
Skaters band together to keep their roller-disco open.
Director: Mark L. Lester | Stars: Linda Blair, Jim Bray, Beverly Garland, Roger Perry
Votes: 2,060 | Gross: $13.25M
45. Rock 'n' Roll High School (1979)
PG | 93 min | Comedy, Music
Ramones fanatic and delinquent Riff Randell battles it out with the strict new principal of Vince Lombardi High School, Miss Togar, with help from the Ramones.
Directors: Allan Arkush, Joe Dante | Stars: P.J. Soles, Vincent Van Patten, Clint Howard, Dey Young
Votes: 11,207
46. Foxes (1980)
R | 106 min | Drama
A group of four teenage girls come of age in the asphalt desert of Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley arranged with a blazing soundtrack and endless drinking, drugs and sex.
Director: Adrian Lyne | Stars: Jodie Foster, Cherie Currie, Marilyn Kagan, Kandice Stroh
Votes: 5,024
47. Little Darlings (1980)
R | 96 min | Comedy, Drama
Two fifteen year-old girls from different sides of the tracks compete to see who will be the first to lose their virginity while at a summer camp.
Director: Ron Maxwell | Stars: Tatum O'Neal, Kristy McNichol, Armand Assante, Matt Dillon
Votes: 6,578 | Gross: $34.33M
This movie is interesting for several different reasons. For one, it is the GIRLS who are the ones making the bet on who can lose their virginity first, not the guys; this role would be permanently switched throughout the following decades in teen movies (guys always making the bet). Also, this movie was given an R rating because of the subject of virginity (roll of the eyes).
48. Fame (1980)
R | 134 min | Drama, Music, Musical
A chronicle of the lives of several teenagers who attend a New York high school for students gifted in the performing arts.
Director: Alan Parker | Stars: Eddie Barth, Irene Cara, Lee Curreri, Laura Dean
Votes: 24,705 | Gross: $0.12M
49. The Blue Lagoon (1980)
R | 104 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance
In the Victorian period, two children are shipwrecked on a tropical island in the South Pacific. With no adults to guide them, the two make a simple life together, unaware that sexual maturity will eventually intervene.
Director: Randal Kleiser | Stars: Brooke Shields, Christopher Atkins, Leo McKern, William Daniels
Votes: 76,581 | Gross: $58.85M
50. Xanadu (1980)
PG | 96 min | Fantasy, Musical, Romance
A struggling artist living in Los Angeles meets a girl who may hold the key to his happiness.
Director: Robert Greenwald | Stars: Olivia Newton-John, Gene Kelly, Michael Beck, James Sloyan
Votes: 15,392 | Gross: $22.76M
51. My Bodyguard (1980)
PG | 102 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
When a boy comes to a new school and gets harassed by a bully, he acquires the services of the school's most feared kid as a bodyguard.
Director: Tony Bill | Stars: Chris Makepeace, Adam Baldwin, Matt Dillon, Paul Quandt
Votes: 10,846 | Gross: $22.48M
52. Endless Love (1981)
R | 116 min | Drama, Romance
Parental disapproval of a passionate romance between two teenagers leads to arguments, circumstance, insanity and tragedy.
Director: Franco Zeffirelli | Stars: Brooke Shields, Martin Hewitt, Shirley Knight, Don Murray
Votes: 9,576 | Gross: $31.18M
53. Porky's (1981)
R | 94 min | Comedy
In 1954, a group of Florida high-school guys try to help their buddy lose his virginity, which leads them to seek revenge on a sleazy nightclub owner and his redneck sheriff brother for harassing them.
Director: Bob Clark | Stars: Dan Monahan, Mark Herrier, Wyatt Knight, Roger Wilson
Votes: 45,759 | Gross: $111.29M
54. The Last American Virgin (1982)
R | 92 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Pizza delivery boy Gary, loudmouth David and hunky Rick are three high school students out to lose their virginity any way they can. Gary falls for transfer student Karen, who gets involved with Rick.
Director: Boaz Davidson | Stars: Lawrence Monoson, Diane Franklin, Steve Antin, Joe Rubbo
Votes: 9,783 | Gross: $5.83M
55. Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
R | 90 min | Comedy, Drama
A group of Southern California high school students are enjoying their most important subjects: sex, drugs and rock n' roll.
Director: Amy Heckerling | Stars: Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold, Robert Romanus
Votes: 115,798 | Gross: $27.09M
56. The Outsiders (1983)
PG | 91 min | Crime, Drama
In a small Oklahoma town in 1964, the rivalry between two gangs, the poor Greasers and the rich Socs, heats up when one gang member accidentally kills a member of the other.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: C. Thomas Howell, Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio, Patrick Swayze
Votes: 97,586 | Gross: $25.60M
57. Valley Girl (1983)
R | 99 min | Comedy, Romance
Julie, a girl from the valley, meets Randy, a punk from the city. They are from different worlds and find love. Somehow they need to stay together in spite of her trendy, shallow friends.
Director: Martha Coolidge | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Deborah Foreman, Elizabeth Daily, Michael Bowen
Votes: 18,443 | Gross: $16.80M
58. WarGames (1983)
PG | 114 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
A young man finds a back door into a military central computer in which reality is confused with game-playing, possibly starting World War III.
Director: John Badham | Stars: Matthew Broderick, Ally Sheedy, John Wood, Dabney Coleman
Votes: 110,794 | Gross: $79.57M
59. Risky Business (1983)
R | 99 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A Chicago teenager is looking for fun at home while his parents are away, but the situation quickly gets out of hand.
Director: Paul Brickman | Stars: Tom Cruise, Rebecca De Mornay, Joe Pantoliano, Richard Masur
Votes: 99,878 | Gross: $63.50M
60. Footloose (1984)
PG | 107 min | Drama, Music, Romance
A city teenager moves to a small town where rock music and dancing have been banned, and his rebellious spirit shakes up the populace.
Director: Herbert Ross | Stars: Kevin Bacon, Lori Singer, John Lithgow, Dianne Wiest
Votes: 92,361 | Gross: $80.04M
61. Sixteen Candles (1984)
PG | 93 min | Comedy, Romance
A girl's "sweet" sixteenth birthday is anything but special: her family forgets about it, and she suffers from every embarrassment possible.
Director: John Hughes | Stars: Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Justin Henry, Michael Schoeffling
Votes: 126,398 | Gross: $23.69M
The first 'teen' movie done by John Hughes. I find it ironic that John Hughes was born in 1950, around the time that the term 'teenager' was really first identified (as teenager and not teen-ager).
some say this movie is full of politically incorrect and disgusting humor. yep--welcome to the 80s.
62. The Karate Kid (1984)
PG | 126 min | Action, Drama, Family
A martial arts master agrees to teach karate to a bullied teenager.
Director: John G. Avildsen | Stars: Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elisabeth Shue, Martin Kove
Votes: 244,566 | Gross: $90.82M
63. The Breakfast Club (1985)
R | 97 min | Comedy, Drama
Five high school students meet in Saturday detention and discover how they have a great deal more in common than they thought.
Director: John Hughes | Stars: Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy
Votes: 436,685 | Gross: $45.88M
64. Girls Just Want to Have Fun (1985)
PG | 90 min | Comedy, Music, Romance
Janey is new in town and soon meets Lynne, who shares her passion for dancing in general and "Dance TV" in particular.
Director: Alan Metter | Stars: Biff Yeager, Kristi Somers, Richard Blade, Ian Michael Giatti
Votes: 12,944 | Gross: $6.33M
65. Seven Minutes in Heaven (1986)
PG-13 | 88 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
When her father goes out of town, beautiful A-student Natalie lets best friends Jeff and Polly move in. Separately and together, the trio of young teens learn much about life, love, and growing up.
Director: Linda Feferman | Stars: Jennifer Connelly, Byron Thames, Maddie Corman, Alan Boyce
Votes: 2,063 | Gross: $0.03M
66. Back to the Future (1985)
PG | 116 min | Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi
Marty McFly, a 17-year-old high school student, is accidentally sent 30 years into the past in a time-traveling DeLorean invented by his close friend, the maverick scientist Doc Brown.
Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover
Votes: 1,307,330 | Gross: $210.61M
67. Weird Science (1985)
PG-13 | 94 min | Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi
Two high-school nerds use a computer program to literally create the perfect woman, who promptly turns their lives upside-down.
Director: John Hughes | Stars: Anthony Michael Hall, Ilan Mitchell-Smith, Kelly LeBrock, Bill Paxton
Votes: 97,457 | Gross: $23.83M
68. Teen Wolf (1985)
PG | 91 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
An ordinary high school student discovers that his family has an unusual pedigree.
Director: Rod Daniel | Stars: Michael J. Fox, James Hampton, Susan Ursitti, Jerry Levine
Votes: 59,692 | Gross: $33.09M
69. Better Off Dead (1985)
PG | 97 min | Comedy, Romance
After his girlfriend ditches him for a boorish ski jock, Lane decides that suicide is the only answer. However, his increasingly inept attempts bring him only more agony and embarrassment. Filled with the wildest teen nightmares.
Director: Savage Steve Holland | Stars: John Cusack, David Ogden Stiers, Kim Darby, Demian Slade
Votes: 49,389 | Gross: $10.30M
70. Labyrinth (1986)
PG | 101 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Sixteen-year-old Sarah must solve a labyrinth to rescue her baby brother when he is taken by the Goblin King.
Director: Jim Henson | Stars: David Bowie, Jennifer Connelly, Toby Froud, Shelley Thompson
Votes: 149,630 | Gross: $12.73M
71. Pretty in Pink (1986)
PG-13 | 97 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A poor girl must choose between the affections of dating her childhood sweetheart or a rich but sensitive playboy.
Director: Howard Deutch | Stars: Molly Ringwald, Jon Cryer, Harry Dean Stanton, Annie Potts
Votes: 88,611 | Gross: $40.47M
72. Lucas (1986)
PG-13 | 100 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A socially inept fourteen-year-old experiences heartbreak for the first time when his two best friends - Cappie, an older-brother figure, and Maggie, the new girl with whom he is in love - fall for each other.
Director: David Seltzer | Stars: Corey Haim, Kerri Green, Charlie Sheen, Courtney Thorne-Smith
Votes: 17,535 | Gross: $8.20M
73. Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
PG-13 | 103 min | Comedy
A popular high school student, admired by his peers, decides to take a day off from school and goes to extreme lengths to pull it off, to the chagrin of his Dean, who'll do anything to stop him.
Director: John Hughes | Stars: Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck, Mia Sara, Jeffrey Jones
Votes: 386,590 | Gross: $70.14M
74. Stand by Me (1986)
R | 89 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
A writer recounts a childhood journey with his friends to find the body of a missing boy.
Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O'Connell
Votes: 441,770 | Gross: $52.29M
75. Modern Girls (1986)
PG-13 | 84 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A pair of women decide to prank their roommate's nerdy blind date after she stands him up, but end up developing a friendship with him after their practical joke sends them on an all-night odyssey through the 1980s club scene.
Director: Jerry Kramer | Stars: Daphne Zuniga, Virginia Madsen, Cynthia Gibb, Clayton Rohner
Votes: 1,717 | Gross: $0.60M
76. Some Kind of Wonderful (1987)
PG-13 | 95 min | Drama, Romance
When Keith goes out with Amanda, the girl of his dreams, Amanda's ex-boyfriend plans to get back at Keith. Meanwhile, Keith's best friend, tomboy Watts, realizes she has feelings for Keith.
Director: Howard Deutch | Stars: Eric Stoltz, Mary Stuart Masterson, Lea Thompson, Craig Sheffer
Votes: 34,669 | Gross: $18.55M
77. Wish You Were Here (1987)
R | 88 min | Comedy, Drama
In a staid English seaside town after the Second World War, young Lynda grows up with her widowed father and younger sister. She eventually becomes pregnant by an acquaintance of her father.
Director: David Leland | Stars: Emily Lloyd, Trudi Cavanagh, Clare Clifford, Barbara Durkin
Votes: 3,337 | Gross: $3.28M
78. The Lost Boys (1987)
R | 97 min | Comedy, Horror
After moving to a new town, two brothers discover that the area is a haven for vampires.
Director: Joel Schumacher | Stars: Jason Patric, Corey Haim, Dianne Wiest, Barnard Hughes
Votes: 161,225 | Gross: $32.22M
79. Can't Buy Me Love (1987)
PG-13 | 94 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
An outcast secretly pays the most popular girl in school one thousand dollars to pretend to be his girlfriend for a month.
Director: Steve Rash | Stars: Patrick Dempsey, Amanda Peterson, Courtney Gains, Tina Caspary
Votes: 42,018 | Gross: $31.62M
80. Dirty Dancing (I) (1987)
PG-13 | 100 min | Drama, Music, Romance
Spending the summer at a Catskills resort with her family, Frances "Baby" Houseman falls in love with the camp's dance instructor, Johnny Castle.
Director: Emile Ardolino | Stars: Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey, Jerry Orbach, Cynthia Rhodes
Votes: 256,505 | Gross: $0.62M
81. Heathers (1988)
R | 103 min | Comedy, Crime
At Westerburg High where cliques rule, jocks dominate and all the popular girls are named Heather, it's going to take a Veronica and mysterious new kid to give teen angst a body count.
Director: Michael Lehmann | Stars: Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Shannen Doherty, Lisanne Falk
Votes: 115,916 | Gross: $1.11M
82. For Keeps? (1988)
PG-13 | 90 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
After she gets pregnant, a teenage girl must decide whether she should keep the baby or not.
Director: John G. Avildsen | Stars: Molly Ringwald, Randall Batinkoff, Kenneth Mars, Miriam Flynn
Votes: 5,151 | Gross: $17.51M
prepare to see teen pregnancy addressed a lot more in films starting at this point on.
83. Hairspray (1988)
PG | 92 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
A 'pleasantly plump' teenager teaches 1962 Baltimore a thing or two about integration after landing a spot on a local TV dance show.
Director: John Waters | Stars: Sonny Bono, Ruth Brown, Divine, Debbie Harry
Votes: 23,450 | Gross: $6.67M
84. Stand and Deliver (1988)
PG | 103 min | Biography, Drama
The story of Jaime Escalante, a high school teacher who successfully inspired his dropout-prone students to learn calculus.
Director: Ramón Menéndez | Stars: Edward James Olmos, Estelle Harris, Mark Phelan, Virginia Paris
Votes: 22,343 | Gross: $13.99M
Let's see a show of hands from anyone who was forced to watch this movie at least once in high school. Okay. Now let's see a show of hands from anyone who was also forced to write an essay about the movie.
85. Dance 'Til Dawn (1988 TV Movie)
Unrated | 100 min | Comedy
Will prom night live up to the high school seniors' expectations? Will they have the right date? Can they avoid their parents?
Director: Paul Schneider | Stars: Christina Applegate, Tempestt Bledsoe, Brian Bloom, Cliff De Young
Votes: 1,206
86. Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)
PG | 90 min | Adventure, Comedy, Music
Two rock-'n-rolling teens, on the verge of failing their class, set out on a quest to make the ultimate school history report after being presented with a time machine.
Director: Stephen Herek | Stars: Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, George Carlin, Terry Camilleri
Votes: 141,703 | Gross: $40.49M
87. Say Anything (1989)
PG-13 | 100 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A noble underachiever and a beautiful valedictorian fall in love the summer before she goes off to college.
Director: Cameron Crowe | Stars: John Cusack, Ione Skye, John Mahoney, Lili Taylor
Votes: 95,958 | Gross: $20.78M
88. Cry-Baby (1990)
PG-13 | 85 min | Comedy, Musical
In 1950s Baltimore, a bad boy with a heart of gold wins the love of a good girl, whose boyfriend sets out for revenge.
Director: John Waters | Stars: Johnny Depp, Ricki Lake, Amy Locane, Susan Tyrrell
Votes: 64,843 | Gross: $8.27M
89. Mermaids (1990)
PG-13 | 110 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
An unconventional single mother relocates with her two daughters to a small Massachusetts town in 1963, where a number of events and relationships both challenge and strengthen their familial bonds.
Director: Richard Benjamin | Stars: Cher, Bob Hoskins, Winona Ryder, Michael Schoeffling
Votes: 35,888 | Gross: $35.42M
90. Edward Scissorhands (1990)
PG-13 | 105 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
The solitary life of an artificial man - who was incompletely constructed and has scissors for hands - is upended when he is taken in by a suburban family.
Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Dianne Wiest, Anthony Michael Hall
Votes: 523,980 | Gross: $56.36M
In an interview with Johnny Depp, when asked if he could personally relate to the character of Edward he said: 'it's the feeling of not being able to fit in. Or the feeling of wanting to touch something, but not being able to...because you'll hurt it...everything will crumble if you touch it. um, kind of an early teens type of feeling.'
91. Career Opportunities (1991)
PG-13 | 83 min | Comedy, Romance
Jim is the dorky son of a local cement contractor who lives at home and has no direction. Josie is the gorgeous daughter of a wealthy businessman who dreams of leaving town. They find they have a lot in common.
Director: Bryan Gordon | Stars: Frank Whaley, Jennifer Connelly, Dermot Mulroney, Kieran Mulroney
Votes: 17,412 | Gross: $11.34M
92. Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead (1991)
PG-13 | 102 min | Comedy
Five siblings are left alone all summer when their mom leaves town and the evil babysitter bites the dust.
Director: Stephen Herek | Stars: Christina Applegate, Joanna Cassidy, John Getz, Josh Charles
Votes: 38,023 | Gross: $25.20M
93. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992)
PG-13 | 86 min | Action, Comedy, Fantasy
Flighty teenage girl Buffy Summers learns that she is her generation's destined battler of vampires.
Director: Fran Rubel Kuzui | Stars: Kristy Swanson, Donald Sutherland, Paul Reubens, Rutger Hauer
Votes: 49,476 | Gross: $16.62M
94. Dazed and Confused (1993)
R | 103 min | Comedy
The adventures of high school and junior high students on the last day of school in May 1976.
Director: Richard Linklater | Stars: Jason London, Wiley Wiggins, Matthew McConaughey, Rory Cochrane
Votes: 199,654 | Gross: $7.99M
95. Clerks (1994)
R | 92 min | Comedy
A day in the lives of two convenience clerks named Dante and Randal as they annoy customers, discuss movies, and play hockey on the store roof.
Director: Kevin Smith | Stars: Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Marilyn Ghigliotti, Lisa Spoonauer
Votes: 232,409 | Gross: $3.15M
96. Clueless (1995)
PG-13 | 97 min | Comedy, Romance
Shallow, rich and socially successful Cher is at the top of her Beverly Hills high school's pecking scale. Seeing herself as a matchmaker, Cher first coaxes two teachers into dating each other.
Director: Amy Heckerling | Stars: Alicia Silverstone, Stacey Dash, Brittany Murphy, Paul Rudd
Votes: 245,991 | Gross: $56.63M
97. Mallrats (1995)
R | 94 min | Comedy, Romance
Both dumped by their girlfriends, two best friends seek refuge in the local mall.
Director: Kevin Smith | Stars: Shannen Doherty, Jeremy London, Jason Lee, Claire Forlani
Votes: 128,886 | Gross: $2.12M
98. Now and Then (1995)
PG-13 | 102 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Four 12-year-old girls grow up together during an eventful small-town summer in 1970.
Director: Lesli Linka Glatter | Stars: Christina Ricci, Demi Moore, Rosie O'Donnell, Thora Birch
Votes: 32,437 | Gross: $27.40M
99. The Craft (1996)
R | 101 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
A newcomer to a Catholic prep high school falls in with a trio of outcast teenage girls who practice witchcraft, and they all soon conjure up various spells and curses against those who anger them.
Director: Andrew Fleming | Stars: Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk, Neve Campbell, Rachel True
Votes: 107,754 | Gross: $24.88M
100. Romeo + Juliet (1996)
PG-13 | 120 min | Drama, Romance
Shakespeare's famous play is updated to the hip modern suburb of Verona still retaining its original dialogue.
Director: Baz Luhrmann | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Claire Danes, John Leguizamo, Harold Perrineau
Votes: 244,853 | Gross: $46.35M
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