Youth in Crisis

Youth in Crisis (1943) blends Documentary elements. Top cast includes J. Edgar Hoover and Lewis B. Hershey. The narrative builds around escalating stakes, urgent decisions, and action-driven momentum.

Actor: J. Edgar Hoover

There is a vast increase of youth crime, doubling in the two years since the US entered World War II. With fathers off to war, women are working in the factories leaving children at home for the day or after school, unsupervised and free to get into trouble. Young men and women, some working and making an adult wage, now feel that they have the right to act and do as adults. Others are trying their hands at new thrills, such as smoking marijuana. Young women are getting into trouble by getting involved with the many servicemen that they are attracted to. This film shows how these kinds of subversive thoughts that lead to juvenile delinquency can be broken by having youths selling war bonds and organizing 4-H clubs, among other activities.