They are East Berlin teenagers. They want to be free - to dance to rock'n'roll, trade forbidden western goods and get away from the constraints of their parents and the state. This classic 1950's teen cult film became a box-office hit and was greeted with suspicion by East German officials. Ranked by film critics among Germany's 100 Most Important Films, this Kohlhaase-Klein collaboration makes an important contribution to the international youth film genre. One of the "Berlin Films" made by Klein and scriptwriter Wolfgang Kohlhaase, this film was part of the Rebels with a Cause: The Cinema of East Germany series, screened at The Museum of Modern Art in New York in 2005.