This is the first major study in English of cine quinqui, a cycle of popular Spanish films from the late 1970s and early 1980s that starred real-life juvenile delinquents. The book provides a close analysis of key quinqui films by directors such as Eloy de la Iglesia, José Antonio de la Loma and Carlos, as well as the moral panics, public fears and media debates that surrounded their controversial production and reception. In paying particular attention to the soundtrack of the films, the book shows how marginal youth cultures during Spain’s transition to democracy were shaped by sound. It will be of interest to scholars and students of Spanish film, history and cultural studies, and those working in sound studies and youth subcultures more broadly.

Tom Whittaker is a Reader in Film and Spanish Cultural Studies at the University of Warwick

'The Spanish quinqui film is a joy to read. Its approach to the topic weaves together recent scholarship in Spanish film studies on the location of film within a broader mediascape and the inner workings of celebrity.'
Susan Larson, Studies in Spanish & Latin American Cinemas

'This brilliant study of the largely overlooked cycle of Spanish crime thrillers of the 1970s and 1980s, the quinqui film, makes a key contribution to the field of Spanish film studies and, in its careful attention to the aural as well as visual textures of the films, to sound studies more widely. Its reading of Spanish culture of the critical years of rapid transformation from dictatorship to democracy is especially acute: exploring the representation of urban youth crime in these films allows Tom Whittaker to show us the shifting contours of a society in transition with lucid clarity.'
Sally Faulkner, Professor of Hispanic Studies and Film Studies, University of Exeter

‘Written with verve, Whittaker’s study gives a shrewd account of cine quinqui as a register of the underside of Spain’s transition to democracy. The attention to what he calls the “soundscape of marginality” also makes it a valuable contribution to the emerging field of Spanish sound studies.’
Jo Labanyi, Professor of Spanish, New York University

‘Focusing on the politics, ethnicity, music and voice of youthful delinquent culture of the late 1970s and early 1980s, Tom Whittaker puts flesh on the bones of the marginalised teenagers who, emerging from the fringes of Spanish cities, struck terror into the hearts of the respectable middle classes, professional politicians and media pundits. The Spanish quinqui film is the first book in English to shed light on the violent underbelly of the purportedly “modelic” Spanish transition from dictatorship to democracy.’
Steven Marsh, Professor of Spanish Film and Cultural Studies, University of Illinois at Chicago

'This resonant study couples the author’s groundbreaking work on sound in Spanish film with sharp sensitivity to the social history of a country in transition. Vivid technical analyses show the marginalised protagonists and radical practices of the quinqui film tradition as thrilling some audiences and threatening others – as embodying the uncontainable.'
Chris Perriam, author of Stars and Masculinities in Spanish Cinema

'Whittaker’s work offers valuable contributions to the field of film and sound studies by making this fascinating genre more accessible to scholarly discussion and analysis as an important reference source for students, researchers, and film lovers.'
Hispania