What sorts of movies were popular with teenagers in the 1950s? | Introductory Video – B-Movies (5 movies) | Plenary Video – JD Movies (8 minutes)
The first signs of a distinctive “teenage” identity emerged not with music, but in film. Young people in the 1950s America grew up at a time of economic prosperity. They had more money than ever before, and spent it on clothes, cars and nights out. The “drive-in” cinemas were increasingly popular with teenagers, and so the Hollywood movie studios started to produced films directed towards young people for the first time. These cheap films were made on a low budget for teenage drive-in movie theatres. In this lesson students research the plotlines of some of the most hilarious B-Movies, but also learn about three key films which created the image of the “teenage delinquent” (i.e. teenage rebel): The Wild One(1953), Rebel Without a Cause (1955), and Blackboard Jungle (1955).

Part of the new unit on Teen Culture since WW2.