Throughout the 1950s, Hollywood churned out countless melodramatic films, giving audiences what they wanted: the idyllic post-war suburban family thrown into dramatic chaos. While many of these movies are viewed today as over-the-top or campy, they were groundbreaking for the time because they frequently addressed taboo subjects such as extramarital affairs, teenage pregnancy, substance abuse, abortion and divorce.

In 1958, writer James Leo Herlihy’s play Blue Denim addressed the issue of teenage pregnancy and abortion, a practice that was illegal and quite dangerous at the time. The play debuted at the Playhouse Theatre on Broadway, directed by Joshua Logan and starring Carol Lynley. The play was a modest success, prompting 20th Century-Fox to purchase the rights to Herlihy’s story. With an adapted screenplay by writer and director Philip Dunne and Edith Sommer, and star Carol Lynley reprising her role, Blue Denim was released the following year in 1959.

Lynley is Janet Willard, a 15-year-old high school student living in Michigan. Janet falls in love with one of her classmates, Arthur (played by Brandon De Wilde). As their relationship becomes more serious, Janet discovers that she’s pregnant and despite their feelings for one another, Janet and Arthur realize they are too young and unprepared for the consequences of their actions. Afraid to seek help from his parents, Arthur, with the help of his and Janet’s friend Ernie (played by Warren Berlinger, who reprises his stage role), finds a way to raise money for Janet to get an abortion.

While Herlihy’s play clearly addresses Janet’s predicament and her subsequent abortion, the Production Code was clear in its condemnation of any depiction of the then-illegal act, or any seemingly consequence-free sexual activity outside of a traditional marriage. With this already-taboo subject clearly forbidden, writers Philip Dunne and Edith Sommer wanted to stay as true as possible to Herlihy’s original story, while slightly altering the outcome to satisfy the demands of the Production Code. Blue Denim pushed the limits of the Production Code, as well as the average American’s moral and ethical standards, by giving details on what it was like to get an abortion in 1959. According to director Allison Anders, Blue Denim is significant because it “gives teenagers the dignity of their problems.”

Blue Denim was quite controversial upon its release, prompting boycotts and religious leaders marking it as a forbidden film. For her performance as the tragic Janet Willard, Carol Lynley was nominated for a Golden Globe Award. Following her film debut in Walt Disney’s The Light in the Forest (1958), Lynley was signed to a contract with 20th Century-Fox, starring in her first film for the studio, Holiday for Lovers (1959). After her performance later that year in Blue Denim, Lynley starred in several more films for the studio and on loan-out to Columbia Pictures, including Return to Peyton Place (1961), Under the Yum Yum Tree (1963) co-starring Jack Lemmon, Otto Preminger’s Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965) and the star-studded disaster flick The Poseidon Adventure (1972). Lynley also worked steadily in television for over 30 years, including appearances on The Virginian in 1962, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. in 1967, The Big Valley in 1968 and several episodes of Fantasy Island from 1977-1984.

Brandon De Wilde first got his start on Broadway in the hugely successful production of The Member of the Wedding in 1950, earning critical praise for his performance. De Wilde reprised his role from that play for the film adaption in 1952. In 1953, De Wilde starred as the young Joey Starrett in George Stevens’s Western Shane, starring Jean Arthur, Alan Ladd and Van Heflin. For his performance, De Wilde was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Despite the trappings of childhood stardom, De Wilde worked steadily in both film and television until his untimely death in 1972 at the age of 30.

Director: Philip Dunne
Producer: Charles Brackett
Screenplay: Philip Dunne and Edith Sommer
Cinematography: Leo Tover
Editing: William H. Reynolds
Music: Bernard Herrmann
Cast: Carol Lynley (Janet Willard), Brandon De Wilde (Arthur Bartley), Macdonald Carey (Major Malcolm Bartley), Marsha Hunt (Jessie Bartley), Warren Berlinger (Ernie), Buck Class (Axel Sorenson), Nina Shipman (Lillian Bartley), Vaughn Taylor (Professor Willard), Roberta Shore (Cherie) and Mary Young (Aunt Bidda).
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References:
Allison Anders on Blue Denim for Trailers From hell

By Jill Blake