Gang Girls by Carson Bingham

Monarch Books 1963

Cover art by Tom Miller

(video review at the bottom of the post)

Carson Bingham is actually Bruce Bingham Cassiday. He was born in Los Angeles in 1920 and died in 2005. He went under multiple pseudonyms including Mary Anne Drew, Robert Faraday, Annie Laurie McAllister, Annie Laurie McMurdie and Con Steffanson. He wrote YA books in the 60s and some Flash Gordon in the 70s. He wrote the novelization to the movie Gorgo in 1960. And it looks like he wrote a bunch of crime and mystery and some how-to guides.

Basic premise: Val and her drunken mother have recently moved from Ohio to Brooklyn. After her shift at the diner one night Val is jumped by six girls from the gang The Panther Debs. She is saved by a handsome young lad named Troy who she later finds out is leader of the whole Panther gang. She fights her way in and joins the gang. Sex, drugs, violence and crime are what await Val, and she must decide if this is indeed the life she wants.

Like other juvenile delinquent books of the time, this thing is coarse and raw with the absolute hopeless realities of characters who don’t have much to live for. In fact, this might be the hardest of the juvenile delinquent genre that I’ve ever read.

Let’s start with Val’s mom. She used to be a healthy run of the mill Ohio housewife. But then her husband cheats on her and leaves. She starts drinking heavily and banging every man in town. Eventually she brings her 17-year-old daughter Val to Brooklyn for a fresh start. And that fresh start is becoming a prostitute. She is constantly obliterated. And true to alcoholic form goes from confessing her undying love for Val to telling her how much she hates her in the same sentence. She is covered in bruises from Johns beating her but also has no problem swinging on her own daughter. The book refers to her as a “blowzy whore.”

Val is the archetypical poor good-girl. She works her piddly job at the diner to help pay for her and her mother’s apartment. But she’s been in New York City for a year now and doesn’t even have one friend. She’s completely miserable and has lost all hope. She gets jumped by six gang girls after work who only stop when young stud Troy comes upon them and tells the girls to beat it. Val is smitten.

The gang girls don’t appreciate the way their last altercation ended so they come back another day to finish the job. But now with Troy in Val’s thoughts, she has something to live for and fights back. The gang girls are impressed with her spunk and invite her to try out for the Panther Debs.

The author did a great job of setting up the Val character as an innocent young lass with not much to lose so when the streets offered her something to be a part of, she took it. Probably pretty accurate of how most desperate youth lose their way.

But enough about character motive, accuracy and backstory, how about some sleazy grime?

To join the gang Val must knife fight, Ada, the leader of the Panther Debs. After she survives that she must strip naked for a gauntlet spanking of metal belts. Then of course, she must make it with whoever the leader of the Panthers, Troy, says. (He of course picks himself)

Unfortunately, Ada was Troy’s current old lady so Val must deal with her constantly coming after her and threatening to “stab her in her pretty boobs.” Their words.

Val is worried so she confides in Troy who romantically replies, “You’re my gash and nobody says not!”

Speaking of fun vocabulary, check out this slang,

“The gloomed Maria,” Peanuts snorted. “What a dumb ginch. If only she lammed. She sat there like a statue begging the fuzz to take her.”

The 1950s gang vernacular is actually kind of poetic and flows like this throughout the entire book.

This book is a trash filled dumpster of depravity. Troy goes from being loving to a completely abusive prick in a matter of hours. Val is in love though, so she turns a blind black eye. Ada and Val constantly fight over him. At one point Val smokes some weed, gets ridiculously high and feels invincible. She tells the girls to go get Ada. They throw down and Val literally bashes Ada’s head over and over into the concrete. Serious character arc here. Val has now found herself head of the Panther Debs.

It’s not all relationship drama though. The gang heists cars. Robs local businesses. Rumbles with another juvenile delinquent street gang named the Yellow Dogs. On a side note, why would you name your gang “yellow” anything? There are power plays and double crosses. Lots of drinking and drugs. Orgies. Knife fights. Hazing. Tough talking. Bitterness. Rape, murder, it’s just a shot away.

There is a social worker named Gurley trying to salvage some of these kids’ lives. He obviously picks Val as worthy of saving. He comes off more like a cop than a social worker but a cop who cares. Val will go from hating him to trying to throw herself at him. Likewise, Gurley will go from complete soft sympathy to ice cold indifference. Gurley even gets in on the violent action with a fist fight with gang members.

This book moves so fast and is not only incredibly entertaining but articulate and touching. I was taken by complete surprise how beautiful this book actually was. I usually steer clear of books with real human emotion and substance, but this knocked it out of the park.