Movies - The Outsiders

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The Outsiders is a novel written by S.E. Hinton and first published in 1967. The novel was written (and later published) when Hinton was just 16 years old. The story folloows two rival gangs, the greasers and the socs (pronounced soashes), who are from different sides of the tracks. The greasers, usually raised in less fortunate households than the socs, were given their nickname from their greased hair. The socs came from more affluent backgrounds. Although some would say that the greasers are the outsiders, the title can be seen as referring to both groups and how they are each set back by economic, social, or creative limits.

The Outsiders was #38 of the American Library Association's top 100 banned books of 1990. The book was challenged in South Milwaukee because of violence, language, drug and alcohol abuse content and "virtually all the characters were from broken homes."

A movie adaptation of the novel was made in 1983 by Francis Ford Coppola. It starred C. Thomas Howell (Ponyboy Curtis), Matt Dillon (Dallas Winston), Ralph Macchio (Johnny Cade), Diane Lane (Sherri "Cherry" Valance), Leif Garrett (Bob), as well as brat-packers Patrick Swayze (Darrel Curtis), Emilio Estevez (Keith "Two-Bit" Matthews), Rob Lowe (Sodapop Curtis), and Tom Cruise (Steve Randle). Tom Waits and Nicolas Cage also make cameos. In September 2005, Coppola re-released the film, including 22 minutes of additional footage, entitled "The Outsiders: The Complete Novel," reinserting scenes that were left out of the previous version, making this new version much closer to the book.

Plot summary

The main characters are Ponyboy Michael Curtis, Johnny Cade, Steve Randle, Dallas Winston, Darry Curtis, Two-Bit Mathews, and Sodapop Curtis, a gang of greasers in Tulsa. The story is narrated by Ponyboy whose two older brothers are Darry and Sodapop. The three boys are orphaned after a car accident kills their parents and Darry is left to provide for them.

In the beginning, Ponyboy, a greaser, comes out of a movie house and is beat up by a group of Socs (short for Socials), but is saved by Darry, Sodapop and the gang.

At a open movie drive-in one night, Pony and his best buddy Johnny befriend two Soc girls, Sherri (Cherry) Valance and Marcia. While walking them home, their drunk boyfriends Bob Sheldon and Randy Adderson catch up to them, in their Mustang. The girls decide to return home with their boyfriends to avoid a fight. Ponyboy and Johnny fall asleep in a vacant lot which results in Ponyboy coming home late. Darry becomes angry with him and he slaps Pony. Ponyboy runs out and finds Johnny at the vacant lot. They decide to run to the park to cool off.

While in a park, Bob and his Soc friends drive by, and begin to harass Ponyboy and Johnny. The Socs proceed to chase after the two boys and attempt to drown Ponyboy in a nearby water fountain. Johnny takes out his switchblade and stabs Bob, killing him. Randy and the other socs run away in fright. The two boys seek help from Dallas "Dally" Winston, who gives them a loaded gun, money, and directions to an abandoned church in Windrixville to hide out in. Also, Dally tells them that he'll be down there when he thinks its safe. They take the 3-15 freight.

While hiding out in the church they disguise their appearance cutting off their long greasy hair and Ponyboy bleaches his with peroxide. While in hiding the boys bond even more, and discover they both have a love for the beautiful things in life that are often not obvious. While going through the daily struggles that are overwhelming while living on the wrong side of town. Pony shares the Robert Frost poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay" with Johnny, confessing he never quite understood it.

Dally comes to visit them a week later, and brings Ponyboy and Johnny to the Dairy Queen to get some food. While there, he tells them that Cherry is willing to testify that her boyfriend Bob went looking for a fight and Ponyboy and Johnny fought back in self defence. After hearing this, Johnny tells Dallas that they want to go home and turn themselves in. Dally reacts angrily, feeling they went through all they had just to give up and they drive off. After a little while, Dally tells Johnny that he doesn't want to see Johnny get hardened in jail like he did. Ponyboy is somewhat shocked because Dallas never spoke of his past in that manner, but refrains from saying anything.

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Movies - The Outsiders

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