Man, It's Terrible

High School Confidential (M-G-M), based on the story (TIME, Dec. 3, 1951) of a young narcotics agent who broke up a Texas dope ring by posing as a teen-age addict, is written in the sort of hipsterical slanguage that can only be understood by the underprivileged few who really dig that crazy talk. The film is reviewed by TIME's Endsville correspondent.

Man, this one's so far out the trains don't run there any more. It's Endsville and there's no more room. Now blow this on your ax. A real cool cat from East Desperation comes wheeling up to the village school in a real crazy short, and starts to stink up the upholstery. Man, he's got life with a belt in the back. He bugs the teach and rains the warden, a real sad square: "Man, you're draggin' your rear axle in waltztime." Pretty soon the hipster is smitten with a kitten who is all the way out and talking tight. But this boy is looking for more than a ball. He's hip that half the oofuses in this school are on, and he's got a stack of big ones to buy the hard stuff and muscle in on the gig. So he sounds the cat that pushes the junk, and then he tries to score. So they fall up to the main man's pad, and before you can blast a joint, everybody is tuned in. The main man offers him a pop of H, but this kid ain't dry--he's a plainclothes fuzz. And the next day, when it's time to deliver the stuff, there's a shuffle that's very tough toenails for the busters. Be there with your bear, and if you don't flip I'm sorry, man. It's terrible and you got it all.

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