Fighting Youth (1935): A Weird Time Capsule of Campus Paranoia

Should you bother?

If you have an interest in how 1930s Hollywood viewed the “Red Menace” in college lecture halls, then sure, dive in. Otherwise, you’ll probably find this thing as exciting as a cold plate of cafeteria mashed potatoes. It’s for the history buffs and the people who enjoy watching mid-30s actors pretend to be perpetually outraged students.

Fighting Youth is one of those movies that wants to be a serious warning about subversives, but it mostly just feels like a stiff lecture given by your grandfather. You know the type—where everyone speaks in perfect, rounded sentences while standing around in overly clean rooms.

Campus life, but not like you remember

The whole premise is that these secret agitators are trying to turn a normal college into a hotbed for radical politics. Watching them try to look threatening while wearing those old-fashioned suits is… well, it’s something. There’s a specific kind of earnestness here that you just don't see anymore. It’s almost sweet how much they think a few pamphlets can dismantle a whole school.

I caught myself staring at the background extras in the library scene. Half of them aren’t even reading. They’re just holding books open at random pages, looking intensely at the camera like they’re waiting for their lunch break to start. It’s a total mood.

Strange rhythms and missing pieces

The movie skips over the parts you actually want to see—like, how exactly are these subversives getting people to join them?—and spends way too long on people talking in hallways. It’s a bit like watching The Divorce Racket in terms of its pacing; it just sort of plods along until it hits a pre-ordained conclusion. It’s not necessarily bad, but it’s definitely not interested in being subtle.

• That one scene in the auditorium goes on for an eternity.
• The lighting makes everyone look like they’re perpetually standing under a flickering bulb.
• The dialogue is so stiff you could use it to build a house.

I couldn't help but think of Young Desire while watching the younger cast members try to navigate the romantic subplots. It feels like the director was trying to cram three different movies into one script. You have the political thriller, the college romance, and the moralistic lecture, and none of them really want to play nice with each other.

Still, there’s an odd charm to it. It’s not trying to be a masterpiece, and it doesn't try to be clever. It just exists, in all its slightly dusty, black-and-white glory. If you’ve got an hour to kill and you want to see what people were worried about back in 1935, give it a whirl. Just don't expect to be changed by it. 🎞️