On the Loose is a 1951 black and white coming of age story filled with the teen angst of Jill Bradley (Joan Evans), a lost teenager looking for meaning. Her boyfriend seems to be looking in other directions, and her parents are simply narcissistic. Jill has somehow gained an undeserved reputation as a local "bad girl" who is untrustworthy. In a desperate plea for attention and understanding from her departing boyfriend and self-centered parents, Frank (Melvyn Douglas) and Alice (Lynn Bari), Jill tries to take her own life. Her failure to succeed only wrenches the dysfunctional family further apart, as her father tries feebly to cheer her up. The film turns out to be a fascinating remembrance of the teen culture of the 1950s that lead to the dynamic explosion of the cultural revolution in the 60s. As such, the movie has a place in history and in the legacy of the stories of the troubled teen years.moreless
