Paula Parkins, the spoiled daughter of a well-to-do newspaper editor father and a socialite mother, gets her kicks by organizing and directing a gang of bored young women like herself. The gang dresses in men's attire, robs gas stations, and terrorizes habitués of a local lovers' lane—even raping a young gentleman after tying up his girlfriend. As a newspaperman, Paula's father has some inside information on police plans to capture the gang, so the girls are able to avoid capture with Mr. Parkins' unwitting complicity. After a make-out party with a few local gangsters, Paula and her pals agree to wreck a few classrooms — and destroy the American flag — in a public school at the behest of Sheila, a female crime boss. The girls perform the job with gleeful competence until the police arrive and a deadly shootout takes place, claiming the lives of two of Paula's gang while Paula shoots and kills a policeman. Seeking refuge from the police, the girls return to Sheila's to demand their payment for wrecking the school. But Sheila, not wanting to be involved or arrested for their crime, starts to call the police until Paula fatally shoots her. While leading the police on a car chase, Paula crashes the car into a store's plate-glass window, injuring her and killing her last gang member. Paula is captured and convicted, then dies in the hospital giving birth to the child she accidentally conceived. The judge in Paula's case denies her parents custody of their granddaughter, based on the neglectful way they raised Paula. The cynical tag line "So what?" is used repeatedly by the girls to underscore their uncaring, nihilistic attitude.
The screenplay, originally titled Teenage Girl Gang, was written by Edward D. Wood, Jr., the director of Glen or Glenda and Plan 9 from Outer Space. The Violent Years was the most financially successful film with creative input from Ed Wood.
The film's working title was "Teenage Killers". Although the opening credits indicate that Headliner Productions copyrighted the film in 1956, it is not included in the Copyright Catalog. The Violent Years was actually based on the story by Roy Reid.
Critical Reception
Film historianLeonard Maltin savaged the film: "Tawdry and preachy, with wooden-Indian acting all around...Fans of the one, the only, Ed Wood are in for a treat; however, if it's Another Clockwork Orange you're expecting, bring plenty of salt!"
The industrial metal band Ministry incorporated many lines of the film's dialogue in their song "So What" from the 1989 album The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste. Long stretches of the judge's monologue are used in two different parts of the song, as well as multiple characters' readings of the song's titular line. The film was mocked on a 1994 episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. Subjects for jokes included the occasionally wooden acting, the same car-on-road shots being repeated, and the judge's rambling closing monologue.
Home media
The film was released on VHS several times, including a release under Rhino's "Teenage Theater" banner- hosted by Mamie Van Doren. The film received several DVD releases of varying quality, one from Something Weird Video, as part of the Ed Wood box set 'Big Box of Wood, and the box set of vintage exploitation films called Girls Gone Bad. In 2017, the film was released on Blu-ray through a partnership by Something Weird Video and the American Genre Film Archive including a commentary track from Frank Henenlotter and Rudolph Grey.
