THE WANDERERS (1979) Screens This Weekend at Webster University

“I don’t blame you. When I was your age, I was knockin’ ’em off left and right; but I never did it with nobody’s daughter.”

THE WANDERERS (1979) screens Friday December 16th through Sunday December 18th at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium (470 East Lockwood). The movie starts at 7:30 all three evenings. 

The Bronx, 1963. The 50’s style greaser gang the Wanderers find themselves becoming obsolete as the world changes all around them. The beginning of the Vietnam war and the assassination of President Kennedy signify the end of innocence while these lovably macho and rugged Italian-American lugs deal with gang fights, racial conflicts, finishing high school, and the awkward, yet inevitable transition from adolescence to adulthood. With the 1979 film THE WANDERERS, based on Richard Price’s cult novel, Director/co-writer Philip Kaufman delivered a vivid, funny, moving and sometimes even surreal evocation of a magical period in time. He made especially inspired use of the authentically gritty urban locations and a fantastic golden oldies soundtrack. The uniformly terrific acting from the top-drawer cast featured stand-out work from Ken Wahl as proud, charismatic gang leader Richie, John Friedrich as brash, excitable shrimp Joey, Karen Allen as the sassy Nina (read my recent interview with Karen Allen HERE), Toni Kalem as Richie’s sweet, but overbearing girlfriend Despie Galasso, Alan Rosenberg as the bumbling Turkey, Tony Ganios as the intimidating, but good-hearted and protective Perry, Linda Manz as scrappy tomboy Peewee, Erland van Lidth as fearsome, hulking behemoth Terror, Dolph Sweet as smooth, hearty bowling alley owner Chubby Galasso, William Andrews as Joey’s abusive, muscular pop Emilio, and Val Avery as decent, but ineffectual history teacher Mr. Sharp.

Among THE WANDERERS’ many memorable moments are: the Wanderers hassling attractive women on the street with a raunchy pastime called “elbow titting”, an erotic strip poker game, the Wanderers getting lost in a rival gangs’ neighborhood (this particular set piece is very eerie and nightmarish), a football game which degenerates into a savage brawl with the scary and strange gang the Ducky Boys, and the mass a cappella rendition of Dion’s classic song “The Wanderers” at Richie’s bachelor party. Michael Chapman’s slick cinematography gave the picture an attractive bright and glossy look. THE WANDERERS was a gloriously rough’n’ready gem that did not find much success in the U.S. upon its initial release (I wonder if people confused it with THE WARRIORS, which came out the same year), but it’s been a cult film in Europe for decades and deserves to be rediscovered.

Admission is:

$6 for the general public
$5 for seniors, Webster alumni and students from other schools
$4 for Webster University staff and faculty

Free for Webster students with proper I.D.

Advance tickets are available from the cashier before each screening or contact the Film Series office (314-246-7525) for more options. The Film Series can only accept cash or check.

The Webster University Film Series site can be found HERE

http://www.webster.edu/film-series/