Gang Boy (1959)

[Music] [Music] the gang boy is a phenomenon of Youth let's get out of here he belongs to every race every Creed and every color he is a symptom of a sickness in society we'll get him tonight this Pepper Tree gang now has 15 shotguns three hand grenades a keg of black powder and 60 sticks of D this morning they blew the top off a palm tree on palamina road that's the picture and it's not pretty these kids are about to get into a gang war that will ruin every one of their lives and we're going to do everything in our power to prevent it place all extra patrols that we have on duty Captain keep these groups from gathering at any location in the city and cast see if you can get the leaders together here at the station maybe we can talk this thing out they're coming tonight Danny they're going to break up the dance hey Danny can I have a word with you don't listen to him Danny too late now tell them to see the pepper trees shut up okay I'll listen it wasn't do no good I know a truce won't solve the problem but it will delay the fighting what do you say I'll think it over I walked around for hours and then some inner Force drew me up here to the dam in a small dark corner my mind had remembered something something that would help me to decide but I couldn't get at it I tried to think back to figure how and why I became a gang boy but all I could think of was that my gang began with poor but healthy kids and that we seemed to come together because of a battle that each of us was fighting within himself and with the angry world around him get him d get my shooter get him it was a battle I could feel myself losing even when I was winning a fight come on knock this off leave me alone now wait a minute I only want to help you I don't need no help leave me alone but how could I accept help from him when all the time I thought he too was part of the Angry World I was fighting up you no at this age you couldn't call us a gang we were just a bunch of kids playing together but whenever a kid's real world is a wreck yard when it brings him unhappiness he has a wonderful escape hatch he's imagination and if you step into his world with his mind you will see see it quickly change into a beautiful exciting world of fantasy all at once the wreck yard he said he an African jungle crawling with big game and every kid becomes his own favorite animal in that disguise he can as he wishes growl back at the world or hide from it playing in places like this got us into trouble and this conflict made us ping in a never-ending battle with a big powerful adult Authority in such a state of mind we got many false ideas about the world from the things we saw in some movies and comic books you got any money when nobody can afford to buy you toys what can a kid do plenty we explored the large world around us and we found a million noisy moving colorful objects hey look here sparkling and flashing to Fascinate our searching eyes and to entice our Nimble fingers but to us then stealing was not a crime it was both a game that one there this one let's go come on our first small way of striking back and we had great fun putting things over on the big stupid adult to protect us from an unfriendly world we had a secret hideout to us it was a fortress and a castle me next to bring us still closer together there was the tattoo of the saber-tooth tiger it made us blood brothers gave us a name the Angry World made us special in one way our tattoo made us special in another gave us a new identity a feeling of belonging somewhere oh take it easy now that we had a little world all our own the contest began for its leadership it was usually between me and Johnny until he chickened out and stepped back from the train although the others came forward I've moved still closer there was something pushing me out in front I one in a breeze for Johnny was scared stiff and I remember how we all had a good laugh at him kick the direction we were moving was clear now without wanting it without even knowing it we were becoming a gang and I its leader at first I liked it I thought I was becoming a brave man like my father who still lived in the heart of my mother I did not know then that it was not a real bravery let go on a kind of sickness that was always pushing me out in front I'll meet you in the water and daring others to follow me come on Johnny Jump that water is real warm Johnny come down with us it's calm down a when he find him Johnny will be dead won't he quiet Robert won't he yes now keep quiet my son my son my son 3 days later they found the body [Music] [Music] [Music] father and all as I watched the father perform the mass at Johnny's funeral a horrible sense of dry-eyed guilt came over me I felt everyone's eyes were on me and my tears would not come yes I had killed Johnny Garcia as surely as if I had strangled him 9 years seem a long time when they they come between the age of 10 and 19 in that time most kids become young men we were weakened by our struggle with the world we never grew up instead we merged ourselves like animals into a herd and became a gang but like kids we still did whatever we felt like at the moment we picked in the Orange Groves made a little money but we gambled that away some boys we to drink beer and whiskey a few began to smoke marijana some even drifted into serious crime people couldn't understand us now the things we did why we did them because the reasons were hidden away in those N9 years of growing up in an Angry World and we lived under the constant threat of punishment punishment from the same Authority that would not recognize and accept us as human beings I lived in fear too but I had to put on a brave mask and keep proving to myself and to the gang again and again that I was not afraid caught in the circle of fear and hatred violence see my only way out then I got a glimpse of another way with Rosie for the first time in my life I began to feel What happiness love might bring this way seemed to hold hope for a better future for more real satisfaction and I guess I wasn't the first or the only young guy in the world to fly forward in his dreams to a family and kids the pepper tree gang every time I looked at their faces I always saw the angry homes they must have grown up in they were not so different from us as they thought unable to strike at their own Angry World they tried to let it out on us this time we took it because if you want something better out of life than a gang you've got to make a start somewhere so with the help of an older man we formed a club here we began the first small attempts at becoming better members of the community and we decided to hold a dance but two days before the dance the thing I knew was bound to happen sooner or later happened Ernie was walking down the street when he ran into three members of the pepper Tre gang as usual they decided to have a little fun with him nothing serious they thought hello Z what are you doing in this neck of the woods my name's Ernie I want you to meet a couple friends of mine but I know I'm bold you want to shake hands sure come see us again Jose we like you I will forget it Ernie we took a vote we don't want any trouble before the dance you getting yellow Danny if you want to do something about this we will let's go a little handshake The Vicious Circle was started all over again the law of the Jungle is the law of the gang and I for an eye a tooth for a tooth that's him hold this it's an ugly law they challenge we must answer hi Scot we a couple of friends of mine we Challenge and they must answer Let's Get Over Look SC again they're after us there's at least five of them they turned right turn here an eye for an eye a tooth for a tooth there they go a jungle law law of retaliation Revenge nobody can live under it not even a Savage not for long [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] and there was Lieutenant cassen fighting as usual his old losing battle oh okay boys what's the beat he never gave up come on boys let's get it straightened out now well AR it was no use the pepper trees would not let it lie I knew exactly what they would do go to the drive-in and pick up some of the gang there come on we're going into Mex town okay we're with you man then to the dungeon report to Chuck he'd take out the plan of attack we'll get him only we'd all be ready for them I didn't want this war and I had an idea which I thought might work Chuck and his gang would come driving into our neighborhood with cars armed like tanks he in the lead here they come here they come instead of lying in wait for them I told my boys to get their weapons and line up on both sides of the street right out in the open once they saw how strong we were they would keep moving as they came down this street I had a feeling my my plan would work but when your gang is so hopped up for a fight you lose control let them make the first move [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] in such a fight there are no Heroes and brave men there is only blind striking out at something you know not what or why [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] pull out come on let's go [Applause] so we met their challenge at a terrible cost to both sides we throw them away they would challenge again and what would my answer be what could was a truce if nothing could be done to change things then something clicked in my brain the darken memory of Johnny Garcia had brought me to the dam and had showed me the thread running between him and the fighting if I was right if the reasons for the gang fighting were hidden away in 9 years of a kid's growing up in an Angry World then it was clear now what I had to say to Lieutenant cassen hey Danny okay lieutenant I'll play ball for one reason because of him look at him this kid Freddy is just as good as any other kid in the world right now but give him nyear dose of the medicine I got and you'll get another gang boy how well I know he needs a lot of things material things he needs something else a chance to develop a new outlook here here go on a long time ago I told you to leave me alone remember in grammar school I was wrong then that's hard to say Danny don't leave this one all alone not yet don't let him grow up trying to find his own way in an angry world he didn't make don't let him grow up feeling inferior and unloved help him to become recognized and accepted by the community a real part of it will you help too what do you mean I mean if you boys are willing to help the younger ones are willing to put all the energy that goes into fighting each other into trying to change the angry world around you maybe this boy will get his chance in a way it may be your chance too Danny what do you say let's see what happens at the truce meeting tonight if you guys won't try to settle things in a democratic way well it looks pretty clear to me just who it is that's causing all the trouble if someone gets killed it's going to go Mighty hard with you okay we're com but it won't do any good Fellas we didn't ask you here this evening to criticize you for the things that you've done rather we're going to ask you to cooperate with us by discussing your misunderstandings in a democratic way and arriving at a solution without further violence all right boys this is your meeting and you're going to have it all to yourselves all we're going to do is see to it anybody who's got a beef is H and that everybody gets a fair shake well Danny you heard the beefs we didn't ask for this and I only got one thing to say we don't want trouble but we're not going to run away from it we're willing to have a truce if they will guarantee that nothing will happen at our dance tonight well what do you say Chuck it's okay by me but there's too many in it there's not enough time to get in touch with all of them I won't guarantee nothing all I see well how would it be if Danny here invited you and a couple of your boys to the dance then if any of the other gang showed up you'd be there and you could tell them about the truth okay with you Danny okay well Chuck okay [Music] how about us having a club and holding dances I'll be glad to help you okay somebody's out [Music] there I suppose you'd like to dance Too as I watched Freddy that night I could hear a voice praying inside me and the prayer words were simply don't let him grow up all alone feeling inferior and unloved in an Angry World this was a true story based on an incident in the City of Pomona since that truce day there has not been one outbreak of group violence and the boys clubs by themselves have built a ballpark for all the younger children in the community they have donated their time energy and money to the March of Dimes the City of Hope and other welfare organizations at Christmas time they held an open dance collected food as part of the admission price and then together with the young children distributed this food to the needy families here is the evidence of a small beginning perhaps but it is at least a beautiful straw in the breath of a prayer that is gradually being fulfilled [Music]