The teens of a defense-plant town hop on the road to juvenile delinquency while their parents are busy with the war.

During WWII, adults are either off fighting or busy in the factories, so juvenile delinquency becomes a major problem back home. Dan Coates, a wounded soldier, finds this out as he returns and three young boys are promptly placed in the care of him and his wife by the court after some hooliganism. How to keep them straight?—Ken Yousten <[email protected]>

The Hausers and the Taylors, both working class families, live next door to each other, the Taylors having recently moved to the neighborhood. Both sets of parents work long hours for the war effort, leaving their offspring generally without adult supervision. Fifteen year olds Frankie Hauser and Sarah Taylor are sweet on each other. They are both generally good and innocent kids, but the Hausers believe the Taylors are trash and Sarah is a bad influence on Frankie, he having skipped school because of her. That truancy was not because she asked him to, but because he was working at Duncan's Garage to earn some money to buy her a birthday present, young adult Larry Duncan who runs a tire theft operation which largely affords him his flashy lifestyle. Sarah's parents generally leave most of the household duties to her as they are too concerned with having their own good time when they aren't working. This situation leads to potential problems, including on the legal front, for both Frankie and Sarah. Dan Coates, Frankie's brother-in-law, who is home from the war being a Purple Heart recipient, tries to act as the role model for Frankie and his friends, while Toddy Jones, Larry's girlfriend who herself had to grow up much too quickly which has led to her working as a party girl in a sleazy bar, wants to get Sarah out of her destructive family environment and look out for her in general. However, the alternative, all Toddy knows, arguably may not be the best situation for innocent Sarah, despite Toddy's best intentions.—Huggo

This unusual Val Lewton film examines child neglect on the American home front during World War II. Because many defense plants operated 24 hours per day, and because of a labor shortage, workers often had no one available at home to supervise the children. Issues from day care to delinquency are sympathetically addressed. Many of the topics such as the problems faced by latch-key children remain surprisingly current.—Thomas McWilliams <[email protected]>