“Teenage Doll” (1957) is a film noir. So says critic John Grant. Having watched it, I fully agree. Film noir fans, 50s fans and fans of juvenile delinquent movies shouldn’t pass this one up. Director Roger Corman had the more than able assistance of cinematographer Floyd Crosby, and it shows.

A young girl (June Kenney) is involved in a homicide of a female member of the Black Widow gang, led by Fay Spain. Kenney flees the scene as police led by Richard Devon arrive; Bruno VeSota is a drunk witness. Kenney bumps into bum Ed Nelson on the way home. She’s extremely agitated and afraid throughout. Spain believes that Kenney will flee to the shaky protection of gang leader John Brinkley. She organizes her crew to come up with cash or valuables to bribe him to release her for their revenge. They plan to force her to sign a confession.

The heart of the story, which lasts 26 minutes near the beginning, is showing each gang member going home to follow Spain’s plan and get some money. This shows both their character and some aspects of their home life. It’s quite hard-hitting dramatically or tries to be, and it works quite well due to the skills of producer-director Roger Corman, master of the low budget. The story then picks up with a move to Brinkley’s gang and turf, which is a subterranean basement beneath a junk yard. This allows further direct exploration of teenage disaffection on the male side and an eventual rumble.

I was glad finally to have seen this movie. Fay Spain did much TV work, but she’s also memorable in the film “Al Capone” (1959) and “The Beat Generation” (1959). She’s in the little-known noir “Thunder Island” (1963), my comment there being that she was quite “feisty”. June Kenney does a lot of emoting in “Teenage Doll”, but each young lady has a turn and a chance to act in the segments devoted to them.