Delincuent Daughters (1944) USA

Delinquent Daughters, or Accent on Crime is a 1944 exploitation film. Directed by Albert Herman and starring June Carlson, the film was about a police investigation into the suicide death of a high school girl, and the hard-partying teenagers at a party prior to the incident.
Both family and community are shaken by the unexpected, tragic suicide of teenage girl Lucille Dillerton. Her friends at high school, June Thompson, Francine Van Pelt, and Sally Higgins, are devastated and discuss among them the reasons for their friend to jump off the pier into the river like she did. Lucille's death is investigated by the police, to rule out any alternative causes to Lucille's death, and in charge of the investigation is Lt. Hanahan. He arrives to the high school, and the principal, Mr. Moffatt, is ordered to call the girls into his office for questioning by the police officer. One of the girls, Sally, doesn't want to cooperate and answer the questions.

Sally gets a ride home with her boyfriend Jerry Sykes, in his car after school. They stop outside of a department store on the way, parking right outside the building. Jerry goes into the store and robs it, shooting the owner in the process. Jerry speeds away from the crime scene with the police right behind him. With his careless driving, Jerry hits a pedestrian by the road outside of Merry-Go-Round, a club and teenage hangout. The club is owned by a gangster named Nick Gordon and his mistress Mimi, and the gangster tells Jerry to hide the car on his grounds. Nick lets Jerry and Sally come into his club to hide from the police. Hanahan arrives on the scene looking for Jerry and Sally, but doesn't find them. Hanahan speaks to a news reporter on the street and tells him about what happened. Soon after, it is all over the news that a crime wave caused by juvenile delinquency has hit the town, and that it is caused by the loosening of family bonds.

Directed by Albert Herman
Produced by Albert Herman
Donald C. McKean
Written by Arthur St. Claire
Starring June Carlson
Fifi D'Orsay
Teala Loring
Mary Bovard
Music by Lee Zahler
Cinematography Ira H. Morgan
Edited by George M. Merrick
Distributed by Producers Releasing Corporation
Release dates
1944
Running time
72 minutes
Country United States
Language English