Runaway Daughters


1h 30m 1956

Film Details

Genre
Drama
Release Date
Oct 31, 1956
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Golden State Productions
Distribution Company
American International Pictures
Country
United States

Technical Specs

Duration
1h 30m
Sound
Mono
Color
Black and White
Film Length
8,200ft (10 reels)

Synopsis

When Audrey Barton, the teenage daughter of George and Ruth Barton, returns home from a date with boyfriend Tommy Burns, she and Tommy find one of her parents' parties in full swing and see Ruth kissing neighbor Henry Stevens. Audrey, who despises her parents for their materialism and their neglect, is almost ready to leave home. Audrey's two school friends, Mary Rubeck and Angela Forrest are in similar situations. Seventeen-year-old Mary lives with her very strict father who disapproves of her twenty-year-old boyfriend, Bob Harris, and fears that Mary is becoming like her mother, who abandoned the family. Angie, whose mother is almost never at home and is currently in Acapulco with her third husband, breaks up with her boyfriend, Joe, when he finds her too sexually aggressive. When Angie is visited by her older brother Tony, a con man, and his tawdry girl friend, Dixie Jackson, she lends Tony some money in the hope that he will take her with him when he leaves town. At school the next day, the girls discover that Tommy has told other students about Audrey's mother's indiscretion. Audrey becomes involved in a brawl when Maureen, one of the girls, taunts her about it. When Audrey informs her parents that, because of the fight, she will not be allowed to graduate that year, they are unconcerned. Audrey's mother even suggests that school is unimportant and that Audrey should really be looking for a suitable husband. Later, Angie introduces Audrey to Tony, but warns him that Audrey is jailbait. Meanwhile Bob, who has joined the army, tries to convince Mary to elope with him, but she is ambivalent about leaving her father and wants to wait. When Audrey's parents leave for a weekend, she agrees to go on a date with Tony and soon they are seeing each other regularly, until Dixie finds out and ends the relationship. Later, Ruth insists upon giving Audrey a birthday party in conjunction with one of their adult parties. Mary's father refuses to allow her to attend Audrey's party as he regards her parents as rich trash. When Tony and Dixie decide to leave for Los Angeles, Angie decides to follow them. On the night of Audrey's party, the adults take over the event and ruin it until Ruth spikes the punch with gin and the younger set joins in. Mary sneaks out to the party to meet Bob, but is seen by her father who follows her to the Barton house and assaults Bob. As the police arrive to break up the fistfight, Mary runs away with Angie. After the party ends, Audrey's parents unveil their present to her--a new convertible, which Audrey takes for a drive. She does not return and, after picking up Mary and Angie, the three runaways head for Los Angeles. Aware that the police will be looking for the convertible, they stop at a small town and steal another car. Once in Los Angeles, the girls stay at Tony's apartment and Dixie hires Audrey and Angie to work at the taxi-dance hall she manages. A week passes and Ruth and George, filled with remorse, hire a private detective to find Audrey. When Mary confides to Dixie that she is pregnant, the older woman helps her to locate Bob and Mary leaves to join him on a Baltimore army base. Dixie also tries to persuade Audrey to return home and warns her about Tony. The private detective tracks Audrey to the dance hall while the police search for Angie in connection with the car theft. After the police spot Angie driving the stolen car, she speeds away, and in the ensuing chase, loses control of the car and plunges off a cliff to her death. When the detective brings Audrey's parents to the dance hall, the sympathetic Dixie tells them that she may be able to reunite them with their daughter. After Dixie discovers Tony assaulting Audrey, she throws him out, then tells Audrey that her parents will be coming to see her. Soon after, Audrey returns to her now-reformed parents.

Film Details

Genre
Drama
Release Date
Oct 31, 1956
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Golden State Productions
Distribution Company
American International Pictures
Country
United States

Technical Specs

Duration
1h 30m
Sound
Mono
Color
Black and White
Film Length
8,200ft (10 reels)

Articles

Frank Gorshin (1933-2005)


Frank Gorshin, a skilled comedian, impressionist and character actor who will forever be indentified with his role as "The Riddler" on the cult series from the '60s Batman lost his battle with lung cancer on May 17 at the Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, California. He was 72.

He was born on April 5, 1933, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania into a family of modest means, his father was a railroad worker and mother a homemaker. His childhood impressions of Edward G. Robinson and James Cagney paid off when he won a local talent contest at 17, and that led to his first gig at 17 at a the prize was a one week engagement at Jackie Heller's Carousel night club, Pittsburgh's hottest downtown spot in the day. The taste was there, and after high school Frank enrolled in the Carnegie-Mellon Tech School of Drama did hone his craft.

His career was interrupted briefly when he entered the US Army in 1953. He spent two years in Special Services as an entertainer. Once he got out, Frank tried his luck in Hollywood. He made his film debut in a forgettable William Holden vehicle The Proud and Profane, but his fortunes picked up soon when he and when he hooked up with American Internation Pictures (AIP). With his charasmatic sneer and cocky bravado that belied his slender, 5' 7" frame, Frank made a great punk villian in a series of entertaining "drive-in" fare: Hot Rod Girl (1956), Dragstrip Girl, Invasion of the Saucer Men, and of course the classic Portland Expose (all 1957).

By the '60s, he graduated to supporting roles in bigger Hollywood fare: Where the Boys Are, Bells Are Ringing (both 1960), Ring of Fire, and his biggest tole to date, that of Iggy the bank robber in Disney's hugely popular That Darn Cat (1965). Better still, Frank found some parts on television: Naked City, Combat!, The Untouchables, and this would be the medium where he found his greatest success. Little did he realize that when his skeletal physique donned those green nylon tights and cackled his high pitch laugh that Frank Gorshin would be forever identified as "the Riddler," one of Batman's main nemisis. For two years (1966-68), he was a semi-regular on the show and it brought him deserved national attention.

By the '70s, Frank made his Broadway debut, as the star of Jimmy, a musical based on the life of former New York City Mayor Jimmy Walker. He spent the next two decades alternating between the stage, where he appeared regularly in national touring productions of such popular shows as: Promises, Promises, Prisoner of Second Street, and Guys and Dolls; and nightclub work in Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

He recently found himself in demand for character roles on televison: Murder, She Wrote, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and film: Terry Gilliam's Twelve Monkeys (1995), and the quirky comedy Man of the Century (1999). Yet his biggest triumph was his two year stint (2002-2004) as George Burns in the Broadway smash, Say Goodnight Gracie. It ran for 364 performances and he received critical raves from even the toughest New York theater critics, proving undoubtly that he was a performer for all mediums. He is survived by his wife Christina; a son, Mitchell; grandson Brandon and sister Dottie.

by Michael T. Toole
Frank Gorshin (1933-2005)

Frank Gorshin (1933-2005)

Frank Gorshin, a skilled comedian, impressionist and character actor who will forever be indentified with his role as "The Riddler" on the cult series from the '60s Batman lost his battle with lung cancer on May 17 at the Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, California. He was 72. He was born on April 5, 1933, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania into a family of modest means, his father was a railroad worker and mother a homemaker. His childhood impressions of Edward G. Robinson and James Cagney paid off when he won a local talent contest at 17, and that led to his first gig at 17 at a the prize was a one week engagement at Jackie Heller's Carousel night club, Pittsburgh's hottest downtown spot in the day. The taste was there, and after high school Frank enrolled in the Carnegie-Mellon Tech School of Drama did hone his craft. His career was interrupted briefly when he entered the US Army in 1953. He spent two years in Special Services as an entertainer. Once he got out, Frank tried his luck in Hollywood. He made his film debut in a forgettable William Holden vehicle The Proud and Profane, but his fortunes picked up soon when he and when he hooked up with American Internation Pictures (AIP). With his charasmatic sneer and cocky bravado that belied his slender, 5' 7" frame, Frank made a great punk villian in a series of entertaining "drive-in" fare: Hot Rod Girl (1956), Dragstrip Girl, Invasion of the Saucer Men, and of course the classic Portland Expose (all 1957). By the '60s, he graduated to supporting roles in bigger Hollywood fare: Where the Boys Are, Bells Are Ringing (both 1960), Ring of Fire, and his biggest tole to date, that of Iggy the bank robber in Disney's hugely popular That Darn Cat (1965). Better still, Frank found some parts on television: Naked City, Combat!, The Untouchables, and this would be the medium where he found his greatest success. Little did he realize that when his skeletal physique donned those green nylon tights and cackled his high pitch laugh that Frank Gorshin would be forever identified as "the Riddler," one of Batman's main nemisis. For two years (1966-68), he was a semi-regular on the show and it brought him deserved national attention. By the '70s, Frank made his Broadway debut, as the star of Jimmy, a musical based on the life of former New York City Mayor Jimmy Walker. He spent the next two decades alternating between the stage, where he appeared regularly in national touring productions of such popular shows as: Promises, Promises, Prisoner of Second Street, and Guys and Dolls; and nightclub work in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. He recently found himself in demand for character roles on televison: Murder, She Wrote, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and film: Terry Gilliam's Twelve Monkeys (1995), and the quirky comedy Man of the Century (1999). Yet his biggest triumph was his two year stint (2002-2004) as George Burns in the Broadway smash, Say Goodnight Gracie. It ran for 364 performances and he received critical raves from even the toughest New York theater critics, proving undoubtly that he was a performer for all mediums. He is survived by his wife Christina; a son, Mitchell; grandson Brandon and sister Dottie. by Michael T. Toole

Quotes

Trivia

Notes

Tom Conway, who is included in the cast in Hollywood Reporter production charts, originally portrayed "George Barton" but became ill shortly after filming began. He was replaced by John Litel. A Hollywood Reporter production charts also add Syd Saylor, Buddy Mason, George Dockstader and Eddie Baker to the cast, but their appearance in the released film has not been confirmed. Some reviews list a running time of 88 or 90 minutes. This film was remade for Showtime cable television in 1994. That version starred Julie Bowen, Holly Fields and Jenny Lewis and was directed by Joe Dante.