Ever since I first saw it on TCM last year, The Explosive Generation has been a favorite of mine.

This 1961 film deals with sex, peer pressure, censorship, juvenile delinquency, and civil disobedience.  The Explosive Generation is one of those films that was made to try to understand the wild and crazy youth of the early 60s, with their crazy rock and roll music, hip way of talking, and their habit of occasionally showing up for high school in a coat and tie.  As is typical of low-budget youth films of the period, the film is occasionally clueless and occasionally insightful.  In short, it’s a lot of fun and, if you’re a history nerd like I am, it’s a valuable time capsule for the way the world used to be (or, at the very least, the way that people used to think the world was).

Even better, it stars a youngish, intense, and slim William Shatner as an idealistic high school teacher who encourages his students to have a frank and honest discussion about sex.  If The Intruder (which was made roughly around the same time) is a film that proves that Shatner was capable of being an intelligent and insightful actor, The Explosive Generation is all about Shatner being Shatner.  This performance is everything that you’ve probably come to expect from William Shatner and, as a result, it transcends mundane concepts like good and bad.

Below are two scenes of William Shatner dealing with the Explosive Generation.  Be sure to keep an eye out because I’m sure The Explosive Generation will show up on TCM again at some point in the near future!