Taglines: What was the kid’s secret?
In the Mood movie synopsis. Ellsworth “Sonny” Wisecarver (Patrick Dempsey) is the captive of his dispirited parents, who occupy their home as if they had been sentenced to it. Across the street, there’s music and fun, as Judy (Talia Balsam), the older woman, hosts a dance party every afternoon while her old man is away.
Sonny drops in one day, and right away there’s a spark between them. Before long they are friends, and then they are kissing, and then Sonny thinks up the plan for their escape to another state, where they are married.
There are a lot of headlines after they’re brought back to California to face the law, but after he is sentenced to a youth camp, Sonny escapes and falls into the arms of another older woman (Beverly D’Angelo). She invites him for a cup of coffee. He resists, she smiles, there is another spark and he’s back in the headlines.
In the Mood (also known as The Woo Woo Kid) is a 1987 film directed by Phil Alden Robinson. It is set in the 1940s and stars Patrick Dempsey and Beverly D’Angelo. The film is based on the true story of Ellsworth Clewer “Sonny” Wisecarver Jr., called the Woo Woo Kid, who became infamous in 1944 for having affairs with older women.
His behavior sparked public scandal, primarily because of his age; at age 14 he ran off with a mother of two… only to do it again a year later. It was the latter incident that sparked his notoriety; Eleanor Deveny, the woman he fled with the second time, was arrested and charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
In the Mood (1987)
Directed by: Phil Alden Robinson
Starring: Patrick Dempsey, Talia Balsam, Beverly D’Angelo, Michael Constantine, Kathleen Freeman, Betty Jinnette, Douglas Rowe, Brian McNamara
Screenplay by: Phil Alden Robinson
Production Design by: Dennis Gassner
Cinematography by: John Lindley
Film Editing by: Patrick Kennedy
Costume Design by: Linda M. Bass
Set Decoration by: Richard Hoover
Art Direction by: Dins Danielsen
Music by: Ralph Burns
Distributed by: Lorimar Motion Pictures
Release Date: September 16, 1987
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