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The Outsiders (1983)

Starring C. Thomas Howell, Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio, and Patrick Swayze.  Cinematography by Stephen H. Burum.  Edited by Anne Goursaud.  Produced by Fred Roos.  Written by Kathleen Knutsen Rowell. Directed by Francis Coppola.

Ponyboy Curtis (played by C. Thomas Howell) and Johnny Cade (played by Ralph Macchio) are “Greasers”; a reference to the lower social class in town. They have found a friendship with Cherry Valance (played by Diane Lane), who is a member of the opposing class or the “Socs”.  The male “Socs” are not as pleased with the relationship and a fight ensues.

The “Greasers” are outnumbered, but Johnny equals the playing field with a knife.  One of the “Socs” ends up dead and Johnny and Ponyboy run out of town to hide in an abandoned church. They remain unseen on the outskirts of society while things cool off in town.

Susie Hinton was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The frustrations she experienced in her teens with the social divisions in her high school inspired her to write a story about the conflict between the youth of the upper and lower classes. The story eventually evolved into a novel which was first published in 1967 when she was only sixteen years old.

Her first novel, titled The Outsiders, was embraced by young people all over the world and quickly became required reading for many junior high and high school students.  The book eventually found its way into the curriculum at the Lone Star School in Fresno, California where it was appreciated by the students and staff alike. In 1980 Jo Ellen Misakian, the school’s librarian, wrote a letter to Francis Ford Coppola on behalf of her entire student body asking him if he would be interested in adapting The Outsiders into a movie. Coppola read the enclosed copy of the book and agreed that it would indeed make a fine film.

Coppola’s problem was that the box office disaster of One from the Heart had ruined him financially. Zoetrope could only afford to afford to pay Hinton five hundred dollars and a percentage of the profits for the rights to the project. Luckily, Hinton had faith in Coppola’s abilities and agreed. The film was shot as faithful as was possible to its original source, and despite its loss of about thirty minutes of footage in the editing room, was still appreciated by fans of the book.

When The Outsiders hit the theaters it was very well received. It was also strong at the box office, which made it the hit that Coppola so desperately needed.  After its terrible disappointment, Zoetrope was on its way to finding success again.  Coppola would again return to the literary world of S.E. Hinton with his next project, Rumble Fish.

Budget: $10,000,000

Total US Gross: $25,600,000

Genre: Drama

Runtime: 91 Minutes

US Release Date: 3/25/83

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

Awards: none

Tagline: They Grew Up On The Outside Of Society.  They Weren’t Looking For A Fight. They Were Looking To Belong.

Quote: “Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold.”

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