A Dangerous Age

A Dangerous Age

A Dangerous Age (1957), Sidney J. Furie's low-budget tale about young lovers (played by Ben Piazza and Anne Pearson) on the run from an uncaring adult world, remains something of a landmark in English-Canadian feature production. In this downbeat take on Romeo and Juliet, Canadians David and Nancy are in love and plan to marry secretly; since she is legally underage, they attempt to elope across the border into the US. The police, dispatched by Nancy's mother (Kate Reid), track them down. David convinces Nancy to make one last dash for freedom, but they are brought back home, where they realize the mistake they were about to make.

A Dangerous Age is a lightweight addition to the "juvenile delinquent" cycle of films of the late 1950s (Rebel without a Cause was released in 1955), and is a precursor of sorts to Don Owen's Nobody Waved Good-bye (1964). It began life as an hour-long docudrama for CBC-TV, where the 24-year-old Furie worked as a writer. The film received critical praise when released in England in 1958, and Furie was recognized by the British critics as a fresh talent. It was the first serious attempt to market an English-Canadian feature abroad, and Furie received the support of theatre-owner and distributor Nat Taylor, but the film failed to find an audience in Canada.