Most teenage films from the 50's and 60's portray the children as much more innocent than they actually were; and, usually the boy is more mature than the girl, which we always knew was the opposite. Yes, Dick is the most mature, but Dorothy (Dodie) is right up there with him, which is why they click. Ginger is very svelte in the film, yet older than when she danced with Fred Astaire in the 40's. Ginger, as well as the rest of the cast, is excellent and the script is not your usual Hollywood teenage oriented tripe. I assume the Fallon's lived in L.A. and I know from experience that kids were faster than portrayed. I grew up in the Great Lakes area and we were even more mature than the kids in southern Cal; girls in 1956 started having sex with older boys (18, 19) because they had cars and those 'farmers daughters' were hot to trot. Whatever the case may be, this film, despite such extreme parental interference, was the best Hollywood could do in the late 50's. Notice that the Fallon's (Ginger & Michael) beds were not separated by a nightstand, but rather side by side. I guess the censors were becoming more realistic.
Review of Teenage Rebel
