Teenage Doll 1957

The Black Widows, a teenage girl gang, face tragedy when one of their own is found dead, and they quickly pin the blame on Barbara Bonney, [June Kenney], a former girlfriend of Eddie Rand, [John Brinkley], the charismatic leader of the rival Vandals. As both sides gear up for a rumble, the film peels back the girls’ lives at home, exaggerating every kind of family dysfunction to heighten the stakes.

The leader of the Black Widows is Hel (Helen) [Fay Spain], who decides to offer Rand money to turn Barbara over to them. The gang needs to raise funds, so Squirrel/Eva [Ziva Rodann] pockets cash from her parents’ restaurant, while Lori [Sandra Smith] uses money sent by her father to support her impoverished younger sister. May [Colette Jackson] relies on help from her older sister Janet [Barboura Morris], who is dating her boss, and Hel finds her father cheating on her mother [Paul Bryar].

Barbara Bonney is revealed to be the daughter of a policeman, a detail she keeps from her father, while Detective Dunston [Richard Devon] launches an official investigation into the girl’s death. The Black Widows rally their resources, then set out to locate Barbara, who escapes to the Vandals’ clubhouse. Rand [John Brinkley] agrees to help, offering a fragile alliance in a moment of crisis.

The Vandals prepare for battle, prompting the Black Widows to call in their male ally, the Tarantulas, to even the odds. The rumble erupts, and Barbara makes a last-minute break for safety as the police close in. In the aftermath, Betty Herne [Barbara Wilson] and Squirrel decide to leave the gang, signaling a fraught turn toward a possibly quieter future.