The young Savages (1961)

Plot: When 3 Italian Gang members kill a blind Puerto Rican boy in Spanish Harlem - the local D/A wrongly thinks its an open-and-shut case.
Stars:  Burt Lancaster, Shelly Winters, Edward Andrews,  Tele Savalas

Back in 1961. this was considered a hard-hitting examination of racism, juvenile delinquency, and the death penalty -  but today it seems rather confused and unrealistic.  First, Lancaster and Winters don't seem the least bit Italian (why was Lee Grant even hired?) , and there's other silliness:

• All the JD's are 5-7 years too old, and fair-haired blue-eyed  John Chandler, leads the Italian Gang;
• D/A Lancaster ignores the police and becomes a one-man investigation squad and puts his life in danger; 
• 8 Gang-members beat Lancaster with chains, but he's OK the next day;
• Tele Savalas's has the last name "Gunderson"; and
• Ignoring his Boss, Lancaster switches sides during the trial, and exonerates two of the Defendants.  

The film's legal politics are equally confused.  What does it matter that a defendant has a high IQ?  Or that the murder victim wasn't a "nice guy" or his sister was a prostitute?  No matter how you slice it, three guys deliberately murdered a blind boy!

And we don't get a serious debate about the death penalty.  Corrupt Ed Andrews (the authority figure who's always wrong) asks for it, because it will help his reelection, while Cop Salvalas mindlessly grumbles about "stringing them up".  And D/A Lancaster? He starts out favoring the Death penalty, but changes after he almost strangles one of his Chain wielding attackers.  He suddenly realizes "anyone can kill"  - and therefore, its impossible to prove someone committed premeditated murder!

Positives?  That aside, The Young Savages is a low budget, well-acted, well-directed film.  The location shots of 1961 NYC are fascinating, and story moves at a fast clip.  Set design and score are good.  Best Scene? The murder at the start has some stunning, if derivative shots.  Lancaster was unhappy and detached at times ( he only did it because of his U/A contract) but you can't tell from his performance.