Teenage Bad Girl (1956) / Girl Gang (1954) (DVD)

Teenage Bad Girl (1956, B&W): Valerie's daughter, 17 year old Jan, wears her new red dress to the big dance at The Savoy, where she meets charismatic Tony Ward-Black. Tony drives an expensive Bentley, throws cash around and seems amazingly sophisticated to naive Jan, but in fact, he has a deep dark side. Valerie is horrified when her daughter comes home at all hours of the night stinking of cigarettes and booze. Under Tony's spell, the girl grows angry with her mother's attempts to restrain her and refuses to speak with her. But when Tony and Jan are arrested and charged with murder, Valerie knows she must make a final desperate attempt to connect with her daughter.Anna Neagle was a queen of British cinema when she discovered young Sylvia Syms and chose her to co-star in Teenage Bad Girl, which was being produced and directed by her husband, Herbert Wilcox. The trio would work together again in 1957's No Time For Tears. Syms went on to a long and distinguished career with notable performances in Woman In A Dressing Gown (1957), Ferry To Hong Kong (1959), The World Of Suzie Wong (1960) and The Tamarind Seed (1974).Girl Gang (1954, B&W): A low-life drug dealer tempts teenage girls with free marijuana, then "graduates" them to heroin. Once they owe him more than they can pay, he allows them to work off their tabs by giving him plenty of sex. Not content with his harem of underage prostitutes, he sends them out to commit robbery. Stars Joanne Arnold and Timothy Farrell; directed by Robert C. Derteno.

• drama