''Swing Kids'' is a 1993 American

historical drama film A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction such as c ...

directed by Thomas Carter in his feature film debut, and starring

Robert Sean Leonard Robert Lawrence Leonard (born February 28, 1969), known professionally as Robert Sean Leonard, is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Neil Perry in the drama film ''Dead Poets Society'' (1989) and Dr. James Wilson in the med ...

Christian Bale Christian Charles Philip Bale (born 30 January 1974) is an English actor. Known for his versatility and physical transformations for his roles, he has been a leading man in films of several genres. List of awards and nominations received by C ...

, Frank Whaley,

Barbara Hershey Barbara Lynn Herzstein, better known as Barbara Hershey (born February 5, 1948), is an American actress. In a career spanning more than 50 years, she has played a variety of roles on television and in cinema in several genres, including Wester ...

and

Kenneth Branagh Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh ( ; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Born in Belfast and raised primarily in Reading, Berkshire, Branagh trained at RADA in London and served as its president from 2015 to 2024. List of award ...

. The title refers to a

youth subculture Youth subculture is a youth-based subculture with distinct styles, behaviors, and interests. Youth subcultures offer participants an identity outside of that ascribed by social institutions such as family, employment, work, home and school. Youth ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

, in which teenagers embraced American and British swing music in defiance of the Nazi regime. The film follows two high school students in their attempt to be

swing kids The Swing Youth () were a youth counterculture of jazz and Swing (genre), swing lovers in Nazi Germany, Germany formed in Hamburg in 1939. Primarily active in Hamburg and Berlin, they were composed of 14- to 21-year-old Germans, mostly middl ...

by night and

Hitler Youth The Hitler Youth ( , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth wing of the German Nazi Party. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. From 1936 until 1945, it was th ...

by day, a decision that acutely impacts their friends and families. The film was released by

Buena Vista Pictures Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures is an American film distributor within the Disney Entertainment division of the Walt Disney Company. It handles theatrical and occasional digital distribution, marketing, and promotion for films produced and ...

on March 5, 1993. It received mixed reviews from critics.

Historical background

In the 1930s, some young German teens favored American and British

pop culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art pop_art.html" ;"title="f. pop art">f. pop artor mass art, some ...

; they hung out in secret underground clubs where bands played swing music and listened to contemporary music by acts like

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader, known as the "King of Swing". His orchestra did well commercially. From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing bi ...

and

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

. The film's screenwriter, Jonathan Marc Feldman, based the film on this eponymous Swing Kids (''

Swingjugend The Swing Youth () were a youth counterculture of jazz and swing lovers in Germany formed in Hamburg in 1939. Primarily active in Hamburg and Berlin, they were composed of 14- to 21-year-old Germans, mostly middle or upper-class students, b ...

'') movement.

Plot

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

in 1939, Peter Müller and Thomas Berger join their friends Arvid and Otto at a swing club called the Bismarck. They have a good time, dancing and enjoying the music. Peter goes home to find his mother in an argument with the Nazi

Blockleiter ''Blockleiter'' (Block Leader), where ''block'' refers to city block, was from 1933 the title of a lower Nazi Party political rank responsible for the political supervision of a neighborhood. Referred to in common parlance as ''Blockwart'' (Bl ...

. Herr Knopp, head of the local

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

, arrives and curtly dismisses the Blockleiter. Herr Knopp begins asking Frau Müller questions about some of her late husband's friends. Herr Müller had been accused of being a communist, and his health was irreparably damaged by an interrogation at the hands of Nazi agents. At Arvid's house, Thomas accidentally ruins one of Arvid's prized records. Upset, Arvid kicks Thomas, Peter and Otto out. To apologize to Arvid, Peter and Thomas steal a radio (which Peter knows was stolen from a ransacked Jewish home) from a bakery. Thomas escapes, but Peter is caught. Herr Knopp, who is attracted to Peter's mother, intercedes for him; in return, Peter must enroll in the ''

Hitlerjugend The Hitler Youth ( , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth wing of the German Nazi Party. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. From 1936 until 1945, it was t ...

'' (HJ). Thomas also joins, telling Peter that they will be able to enjoy both the privileges of Hitler Youth membership and the pleasures of being Swing Kids. Arvid is confronted on the street by a group of Hitler Youth, including former friend and fellow Swing Kid Emil. They beat him and break his hand, threatening his work as a jazz musician. Peter, who has a job delivering books, is asked to spy on his boss, whom the Nazis suspect is working against the Reich. In HJ school, the boys are encouraged to spy on their friends and families. Thomas accuses his father of insulting Hitler, hoping to cause trouble for him, but is unnerved when the Nazis come to his home and take his father away. His subsequent attempts to resume his friendship with Peter and persuade him to collaborate with the Nazis are tinged with fear. Arvid overcomes his injury and is able to play music again. However, while working at a jazz club, he refuses to play a German song, lashing out at the club's patrons for being blind to the Nazi agenda. Peter is sympathetic but Thomas loudly argues the Nazi side. Peter angrily proclaims Thomas to be a "fucking Nazi" and storms off. Blacklisted from playing in clubs, Arvid realizes there is nothing for him in Germany and dies by suicide. As Thomas begins to believe fully in Nazi ideology, Peter feels as though there is no hope for him. Peter, disenchanted with how his life is coming apart, dresses up and goes to a swing club which is scheduled to be raided by members of the HJ. As Thomas begins assaulting the club's patrons he attacks Peter; however, during the fight Peter is able to reach Thomas. Thomas begs Peter to run away but Peter won't. Willi Müller is there and as Peter is driven away by the police, he loudly screams "Swing Heil!" over and over again, proud that his brother stood up for being a swing kid.

Cast

In addition,

appears repeatedly, uncredited, in the role of SS-''Sturmbannführer'' Knopp.

Reception

Critical response

Jonathan Rosenbaum Jonathan Rosenbaum (born February 27, 1943) is an American film critic and author. Rosenbaum was the head film critic for '' The Chicago Reader'' from 1987 to 2008. He has published and edited numerous books about cinema and has contributed to ...

of ''

Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. The ''Reader'' has been ...

'' described the film as a "corny but sincere weeper".

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

'' gave the film one star out of 4 and criticized the film as "murky", feeling that the story avoided the Nazi atrocities to the point of his wondering: "If Hitler had encouraged the swing clubs, would the Kids have still developed problems with Nazism?" In a 2005 retrospective of Ebert's all-time lowest rated films, he included ''Swing Kids'' in the grouping "Sex, romance, music, drama and other crap". Writing for the

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

student newspaper, '' The Tech'', reporter Joshua M. Andresen called it "amazing", and felt that the "well-researched film is wonderfully acted". A contemporary film reviewer wrote:

In the eyes of today's teenagers, Nazis are simplistic villains who get outsmarted, out-gunned and outmaneuvered by Indiana Jones in ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' and other simplistic action-adventure tales. For that uninformed youth audience, ''Swing Kids'' is a grim history lesson on the horrors the Nazis inflicted on fellow Germans during Adolf Hitler's move toward World War in 1939.

Box office

In the United States and Canada, ''Swing Kids'' grossed $5.6million at the box office, against a budget of $12million.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack includes a combination of

swing music Swing music is a style of jazz that developed in the United States during the late 1920s and early 1930s. It became nationally popular from the mid-1930s. Swing bands usually featured soloists who would improvise on the melody over the arrangement ...

and the film's score. # "

Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing) "Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing)" is a 1936 song, with music and lyrics by Louis Prima, who first recorded it with his New Orleans Gang. Brunswick Records released it on February 28, 1936 on the 78rpm record format, with "It's Been So Long" a ...

" – 5:05 # "Nothing to Report" – 1:37 # "Shout and Feel It" – 2:27 # "

It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" is a 1931 composition by Duke Ellington with lyrics by Bubber Miley, first published by Irving Mills. It is now accepted as a jazz standard, and jazz historian Gunther Schuller characterized i ...

" – 2:51 # "The Letter" – 4:12 # " Flat Foot Floogee" – 3:20 # "Arvid Beaten" – 2:12 # "Swingtime in the Rockies" – 3:10 # "Daphne" – 1:52 # "Training for Utopia" – 3:45 # "Life Goes to a Party/

Jumpin' at the Woodside "Jumpin' at the Woodside" is a song first recorded in 1938 by the Count Basie Orchestra, and considered one of the band's signature tunes. When first released it reached number 11 on the ''Billboard'' charts and remained on them for four weeks. ...

" – 2:17 # " Goodnight, My Love" – 3:08 # "Ashes" – 4:21 # " Bei Mir Bist Du Schön" – 4:11 # "The Bismarck" – 3:06 # "Swing Heil″ – 5:28

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Swing Kids (Film) 1993 films 1993 drama films American dance films Hitler Youth Hollywood Pictures films Jazz films Films about the German Resistance Films set in Hamburg Films set in 1939 Films shot in the Czech Republic Films scored by James Horner Holocaust films 1993 directorial debut films Films directed by Thomas Carter (director) 1990s English-language films 1990s American films Films produced by Mark Gordon (producer)