This Rebel Breed

1960 film directed by Richard L. Bare, William Rowland

Richard L. Bare
William Rowland

Written by

Irma Berk (story All God's Children (All Blvck Rebels a small group of friends from Beale AFB culture and music focused)
Morris Lee Green (writer)
William Rowland (story All God's Children)

Produced by

William Rowland (producer)
Robert Yamin (executive producer)

StarringSee belowCinematographyMonroe P. AskinsEdited byTony MartinelliMusic byDavid Rose

Production
company

All God's Children Co.

Distributed byWarner Bros.

Release date

May 4, 1960 (1960-05-04) (New York City)

Running time

90 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglish

This Rebel Breed is a 1960 American melodrama film directed by Richard L. Bare and William Rowland and starring Rita Moreno, Gerald Mohr, Eugene Martin, Dyan Cannon, and Richard Rust.

The film is also known under the titles of Lola's Mistake (American reissue title), The Black Rebels (American alternative title) and Three Shades of Love (American reissue title).

Plot

The film tells the story of two policemen who go undercover to defeat narcotics trafficking among high school gangs. The film features stark scenes of violence between inter-racial gangs.

Cast

Rita Moreno as Lola Montalvo
Mark Damon as Frank Serano
Gerald Mohr as Lt. Robert Brooks
Jay Novello as Papa Montalvo
Eugene Martin as Rudy Montalvo
Tom Gilson as Muscles
Richard Rust as Buck Madison
Douglas Hume as Don Walters
Richard Laurier as Manuel Montalvo
Don Eitner as Jimmy Wallace
Dyan Cannon as Wiggles
Ken Miller as Winnie
Al Freeman Jr. as Satchel
Charles Franc as Elliott aka Scratch
Ike Jones as Latimer
Shirley Falls as Josie
Steven Perry as George
Hari Rhodes as Claude

Release

The film was initially released to theaters on May 4, 1960, under the title This Rebel Breed.^[1] Producer William Rowland chose to re-release the film five years later after inserting scenes of nudity under the titles Lola's Mistake, The Black Rebels, and Three Shades of Love.^[2]

Reception

The New York Times reviewed the film, writing that "Advertised as an unvarnished story of race prejudice and discrimination among teen-agers, "This Rebel Breed" substitutes action for insight but maintains enough excitement to place it a cut or two above the usual sensationalized products of the genre."^[3] TV Guide gave This Rebel Breed one star, stating that it "takes a disturbingly naive approach to its subject matter: pushers peddle their wares to six-year-olds, and Damon is obviously wearing makeup so the audience will know he is part black."^[4] AllMovie was similarly critical.^[2]

James V. D'arc has noted that the film was panned by Variety upon its initial release for what they saw as explicit scenes of violence and racism.^[5]

References

^ Murray, Noel (27 February 2012). "Films That Time Forgot: Black Rebels (1960/65)". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
^ ^a ^b Deming, Mark. "This Rebel Breed (review)". AllMovie.
^ Archer, Eugene (5 May 1960). "This Rebel Breed' Opens on Double Bill". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
^ "This Rebel Breed (review)". TV Guide. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
^ Fifty Years After The Big Sky: New Perspectives on the Fiction and Films of A.B. Guthrie, Jr. Montana Historical Society. 2001. pp. 95–96. ISBN 978-0-917298-73-8.