Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Hollywood & Race: 'The Black Rebels' (1960)


Two white detectives go undercover to investigate the rampant drug abuse among high school teenagers. Frank Serano (Mark Damon) goes undercover as a half-Mexican and half-Black student who befriends Lola Montalvo (Rita Moreno) who is Mexican. Teenage punks slice and dice each other, turn innocent young girls into sleazy tramps, threaten innocent citizens, get involved in interracial romance, and sell drugs to local citizens. This film also features Al Freeman Jr. who is part of the gang called The Ebonies. This films seems to focus on multiple storylines, hence why there are multiple titles. This is a highly exploitative and racially driven film.

Source: Department of Afro-American Research Arts Culture

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