The cast of "The Outsiders" poses for a photo in March 1982. Most of these young actors would later become household names. From left are Emilio Estevez, Patrick Swayze, Ralph Macchio, Matt Dillon, C. Thomas Howell, Rob Lowe and Tom Cruise.
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Lowe played Sodapop Curtis in "The Outsiders," an adaptation of S.E. Hinton's classic novel. He was just 19 when the film was released. "No one really had heard of any of these young actors," said David Burnett, who was a special photographer on set. "It was really the beginning of everybody's career."
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Swayze, who played older brother Darry Curtis, flexes for the camera. Burnett said he would borrow the actors between shots, usually for 15-20 minutes at a time. "I was pretty much a kid myself, for that matter," Burnett recalled. "I was in my mid-30s. ... On those few times I got everyone together, they kind of enjoyed goofing off with me."
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Cruise, who played Sodapop's friend Steve Randle, fixes his hair on set. "Making movies is a long, slow process," Burnett said. "It never looks, when you're there, anything like what it looks like on screen. And you have these long periods where they're setting up a shot or whatever. Things take much longer than you would think. And so in a way that kind of worked to my advantage."
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Dillon was 19 years old when he played the role of Dally Winston. "What I really love about these pictures is that it is really sort of Day One, Chapter One," Burnett said.
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Estevez was 20 years old when the film was released. He played Keith "Two-Bit" Mathews. Burnett recalled all of the young actors being accommodating and professional.
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Howell, who played the lead role of Ponyboy Curtis, confers with director Francis Ford Coppola. "The chance to work with Francis Coppola was a big deal for anybody," Burnett said.
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Filming took place in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Burnett found this old pickup truck nearby and used it for a shoot. "From that pickup truck, a lot of talent went out into the acting world," he said. Burnett will be in Tulsa this weekend for the 50th anniversary of Hinton's book. Celebrations will help raise money for The Outsiders House Museum.