Marketed as a cheap exploitation film, Under Age was in fact directed by the renowned Edward Dmytryk (1908-1999). Dmytryk started his film career in the early 1920s as a messenger boy at Paramount. Over the next decade, he slowly climbed the corporate ladder and began directing in 1953. With 57 titles to his name, his most enduring works include the noir classics Murder, My Sweet (1944), and Crossfire (1947). Ultimately however, Dmytryk is perhaps best known as being one of the legendary 'Hollywood Ten'. In 1947, the director was accused of being a member of the Committee, he refused to cooporate and was blacklisted by the government and sentenced to over a year in prison. In order to clear his name, he later renounced communism and testified against other Hollywood figures. In the 1970s, Dmytryk stopped directing altogether and spent the last 20 years of his life teaching film studies at university level and writing several books.