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This is one of the outstanding films of the 1980s. Few films capture Ameican boyhood in the 1950s as well as this one. It is a a coming of age/boy bonding movie set in the 1950s. What starts out as a exciting adventure becomes a journey of self discovery for a sensitive boy and his three colorful companions. The main charcters were: Corey Feldman, River Phoenix, Wil Wheaton and Jerry O'Connell. One of his friends played by River Phoenix is abused by his father. The boys wade through a swamp and then undress when they find leaches. The boys are all about 12 years old. Fine peformances by River and the other boys. One boy, Vern the plump kid, was on the Carson show in 1986. It seems him and his friends had been up to a lot of pranks in the hotel they stayed at. One night even draining the hotel swimming pool. The boy was very embarrassed that he had been found out. Based on a book by Stephen King. The costuming is very true to the 1950s. The bys wear stripped "T"-shirts, Keds and jeans. An Australian reader writes, "You are very right in saying that "Stand By Me" was a really 5-star movie about four 12 year old year old boys from 1950s America. I liked this film too and it took me back to my carefree days of my youth and I too wore simular jeans and shirts and those haircuts. Will Wheaton is a boy who was more like myself plus River's version too and I could relate to these two particular charactors."
This is one of the outstanding films of the 1980s. Few films capture Ameican boyhood in the 1950s as well as this one. One boy, Vern the plump kid, was on the Carson show in 1986. It seems him and his friends had been up to a lot of pranks in the hotel they stayed at. One night even draining the hotel swimming pool. The boy was very embarrassed that he had been found out. It was based on a Steven King short story, titled “The Body”. It may well be director, Rob Reiner’s very best film.
The movie was filmed in Oregon, but the town of Castle Rock is a fictitious name.
The film is set in the late 1950s. The time setting of the movie, can pretty well be determined by the boy’s singing “The Ballad of Paladin” as they hiked down the railroad tracks. That was the theme song of a popular western TV serial called “Have Gun, Will Travel”, which ran from 1957 to 1963.
The main charcters were: Corey Feldman, River Phoenix, Wil Wheaton and Jerry O'Connell. Fine peformances by River and the other boys. River's performance was I think the best of his all to brief film career. He was on his way to a blockbuster film career when he died as a result of a drug oberdose. What a terrible waste.
"Stand by Me" is a a coming of age/boy bonding movie. The boys are all about 12 years old. Wil Wheaton's quote in the narration was quite true and rather well summarizes the film, "You never have friends like you did when you were twelve". What starts out as a exciting adventure becomes a journey of self discovery for a sensitive boy and his three colorful companions. One of his friends played by River Phoenix is abused by his father. The boys wade through a swamp and then undress when they find leaches.
The costuming seems true to the 1950s. The bys wear stripped "T"-shirts, Keds and jeans. The costuming was fairly accurate for that period of time and the location depicted in the film. River Phoenix' attire was probably the most common clothing worn by boy teenagers. Generally younger boys wore stripped "T" shorts and teen agers more commonly wore the white ones. Blue Jeans were enormously popular, preferably Levi 501’s, with rolled up cuffs. A plain white tee shirt, and like River did, you would roll your cigarettes up in the sleeve. A teenagers dressed like this would have veen seen by some as a budding juvenile delinquent. Which is the way some saw River's character because of his family background. The black and white tennis shoes would probably have been either U.S. Keds or P.F. Flyers. Both were equally popular. It was kind of interesting that canvas shoes didn’t become popular until World War II at which time leather shoes were rationed in the U.S. Boys became accustomed to wearing tennis shoes and the popularity carried on. Wil Wheaton’s clothing was just about as accurate. Striped tee shirts were commonly worn by younger boys. The faded and patched blue jeans would have commonly been worn for everyday play clothes. The all white tennis shoes would probably have been P.F. Flyers, as almost all of the U.S. Keds were black and white. Jerry O’Connel’s khaki trousers would have been a little less common than blue jeans. His striped polo shirt would also have been less popular than a plain white tee shirt. Printed tee shirts didn’t really become popular until a few years later. The white canvas deck shoes, while not unheard of, were not very popular with youngsters. Corey Feldman’s costume would have been completely unconventional for that place and time. Part of his character was that he emulated his father, who he made out to be a war hero, hence the olive drab tee shirt, black denim trousers and military combat boots. He even wore army dog tags.
As a sidelight to the boys smoking in the film: It was not uncommon for boys to smoke at an early age in those days, and nobody seemed to think much about it. Director, Rob Reiner was an avid non-smoker and actively campaigned for California’s no-smoking laws. When the film was made, the boys smoked fake cigarettes.
An Australian reader writes, "You are very right in saying that "Stand By Me" was a really 5-star movie about four 12 year old year old boys from 1950s America. I liked this film too and it took me back to my carefree days of my youth and I too wore simular jeans and shirts and those haircuts. Will Wheaton is a boy who was more like myself plus River's version too and I could relate to these two particular charactors."
An American reader is also impressed with the film, "That is really one of my favorite movies. I grew up in exactly that era and it sure brought back a lot of memories."
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