Entertainment
The Best Teen Movies Of The 1970s
List Rules
Vote up your favorite teenage films that were released in the 1970s
The greatest ‘70s teen movies are a blend of romance, comedy, and sometimes serious drama. Many of the coming-of-age tales featured on this list went on to garner critical acclaim and large cult followings.
On this list, you will find Meatballs, the Ivan Reitman-directed comedy featuring Bill Murray in his first starring role. Other teen comedies of the 1970s include Animal House, as well as the musical comedy Grease, starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John as ‘50s high school-ers.
Several teenage horror flicks made their way onto this list as well. Carrie, based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King, portrays a troubled high school student who exacts her revenge on the classmates that shunned her.
Vote up the best teen movies from the 1970s below, and be sure to vote down any that you think other fans can skip.
Ranked by
- 1John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing
- Released: 1978
- Directed by: Randal Kleiser
Experience the friendships, romances and adventures of a group of high school kids in the 1950s. Welcome to the singing and dancing world of "Grease," the most successful movie musical of all time. A ...more - 2Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat
- Released: 1973
- Directed by: George Lucas
On the last day of summer vacation in 1962, friends Curt (Richard Dreyfuss), Steve (Ronny Howard), Terry (Charles Martin Smith) and John (Paul Le Mat) cruise the streets of small-town California ...more - 3Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, William Katt
- Released: 1976
- Directed by: Brian De Palma
Watch for Free with Amazon Prime Free TrialIn this chilling adaptation of Stephen King's horror novel, withdrawn and sensitive teen Carrie White (Sissy Spacek) faces taunting from classmates at school and abuse from her fanatically pious ...more - 4John Belushi, Kevin Bacon, Donald Sutherland
- Released: 1978
- Directed by: John Landis
When they arrive at college, socially inept freshmen Larry (Thomas Hulce) and Kent (Stephen Furst) attempt to pledge the snooty Omega Theta Pi House, but are summarily rejected. Lowering their ...more - 5Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, Nancy Kyes
- Released: 1978
- Directed by: John Carpenter
Watch for Free with Amazon Prime Free TrialOn a cold Halloween night in 1963, six year old Michael Myers brutally murdered his 17-year-old sister, Judith. He was sentenced and locked away for 15 years. But on October 30, 1978, while being ...more - 6John Travolta, Karen Lynn Gorney, Barry Miller
- Released: 1977
- Directed by: John Badham
Tony Manero (John Travolta) doesn't have much going for him during the weekdays. He still lives at home and works as a paint store clerk in his Brooklyn, N.Y., neighborhood. But he lives for the ...more - 7Michael Beck, James Remar, Dorsey Wright
- Released: 1979
- Directed by: Walter Hill
A turf battle between New York City street gangs that rages from Coney Island to the Bronx. The Warriors are mistakenly fingered for the killing of a gang leader. Soon they have every gang in the ...more - 8Bill Murray, Chris Makepeace, Kate Lynch
- Released: 1979
- Directed by: Ivan Reitman
Tripper (Bill Murray) is the head counselor at a budget summer camp called Camp Northstar. In truth, he's young at heart and only marginally more mature than the campers themselves. Tripper befriends ...more - 9Barbara Harris, Jodie Foster, John Astin
- Released: 1976
- Directed by: Gary Nelson
Annabel Andrews (Jodie Foster) and her mother, Ellen (Barbara Harris), don't always see eye to eye. After a particularly frustrating argument on Friday the 13th, the two simultaneously wish they ...more - 10Michael Eric Kramer, Pamela Ludwig, Matt Dillon
- Released: 1979
- Directed by: Jonathan Kaplan
With only a recreation center to distract them, most of the teenagers in the drab planned community of New Granada have turned to drugs and delinquency. Carl (Michael Kramer), the son of a town ...more - 11Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd
- Released: 1971
- Directed by: Peter Bogdanovich
High school seniors and best friends, Sonny (Timothy Bottoms) and Duane (Jeff Bridges), live in a dying Texas town. The handsome Duane is dating local beauty, Jacy (Cybill Shepherd), while Sonny is ...more - 12Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Michael Bates
- Released: 1971
- Directed by: Stanley Kubrick
In an England of the future, Alex (Malcolm McDowell) and his "Droogs" spend their nights getting high at the Korova Milkbar before embarking on "a little of the old ultraviolence," while jauntily ...more - 13Sylvester Stallone, Henry Winkler, Susan Blakely
- Released: 1974
- Directed by: Martin Davidson, Stephen F. Verona
The Lords of Flatbush is a 1974 American drama film about street teenagers in leather jackets from the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. Directed by Martin Davidson and Stephen Verona, The ...more - 14Ken Wahl, John Friedrich, Karen Allen
- Released: 1979
- Directed by: Philip Kaufman
Watch for Free with Amazon Prime Free TrialThe Wanderers are an Italian-American gang vying for respect on the streets of the Bronx in 1963. Between rumbles with rivals such as the Ducky Boys and the Fordham Baldies, the group of toughs learn ...more - 15Bud Cort, Ruth Gordon, Cyril Cusack
- Released: 1971
- Directed by: Hal Ashby
Cult classic pairs Cort as a dead-pan disillusioned 20-year-old obsessed with suicide and a loveable Gordon as a fun-loving 80-year-old eccentric. They meet at a funeral, and develop a taboo romantic ...more - 16Jodie Foster, Martin Sheen, Alexis Smith
- Released: 1976
- Directed by: Nicolas Gessner
Quiet, withdrawn 13-year-old Rynn Jacobs (Jodie Foster) lives peacefully in her home in a New England beach town. Whenever the prying landlady (Alexis Smith) inquires after Rynn's father, she ...more - 17Martin Sheen, Sissy Spacek, Warren Oates
- Released: 1973
- Directed by: Terrence Malick
Inspired by real-life killers Charles Starkweather and Caril-Ann Fugate, this tale of crime and love begins in a dead-end town. Teenage girl Holly (Sissy Spacek) angers her father (Warren Oates) when ...more - 18Sandra Cassel, Lucy Grantham, David Hess
- Released: 1972
- Directed by: Wes Craven
Teenagers Mari (Sandra Cassel) and Phyllis (Lucy Grantham) head to the city for a concert, then afterward go looking for drugs. Instead, they find a gang of escaped convicts who subject them to a ...more - 19Glynn Turman, Lawrence-Hilton Jacobs, Garrett Morris
- Released: 1975
- Directed by: Michael Schultz
Richard "Cochise" Morris (Lawrence-Hilton Jacobs), a local basketball hero, and Leroy "Preach" Jackson (Glynn Turman), who dreams of a career in writing, are likable Chicago high school students in ...more - 20Marilyn Burns, Gunnar Hansen, Allen Danziger
- Released: 1974
- Directed by: Tobe Hooper
When Sally (Marilyn Burns) hears that her grandfather's grave may have been vandalized, she and her paraplegic brother, Franklin (Paul A. Partain), set out with their friends to investigate. After a ...more - 21Olivia Hussey, Margot Kidder, Keir Dullea
- Released: 1974
- Directed by: Bob Clark
As winter break begins, a group of sorority sisters, including Jess (Olivia Hussey) and the often inebriated Barb (Margot Kidder), begin to receive anonymous, lascivious phone calls. Initially, Barb ...more - 22Patrick Swayze, Maureen McCormick, Scott Baio
- Released: 1979
- Directed by: William A. Levey
Skatetown, U.S.A. is a 1979 American comedic feature film produced to capitalize on the short-lived fad of roller disco. The film features many TV stars from the 1960s and 1970s, among them Scott ...more - 23A. Michael Baldwin, Bill Thornbury, Reggie Bannister
- Released: 1979
- Directed by: Don Coscarelli
The residents of a small town have begun dying under strange circumstances, leading young Mike (Michael Baldwin) to investigate. After discovering that the Tall Man (Angus Scrimm), the town's ...more - 24Kurt Russell, Joe Flynn, Eve Arden
- Released: 1974
- Directed by: Vincent McEveety
Dexter (Kurt Russell) has a bold idea for his college chemistry project: creating a formula that will make humans stronger. A lab mishap results in a blend of his solution and a vitamin-rich cereal. ...more - 25Candy Clark, Ron Howard, Cindy Williams
- Released: 1979
- Directed by: Bill Norton
This sequel to the nostalgic film by George Lucas revisits characters from the earlier movie, most notably nice guy Steve Bolander (Ron Howard), who has gone on to marry his sweetheart, Laurie (Cindy ...more
