Wild Boys of the Road (1933)

In the depths of the Depression, two teenage boys strike out on their own in order to help their struggling parents and find life on the road tougher than expected.

Director:

William A. Wellman

Writers:

Earl Baldwin (screenplay), Daniel Ahern (story)

Stars:

Frankie Darro, Edwin Phillips, Rochelle Hudson

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Frankie Darro	...	Eddie
Edwin Phillips	...	Tommy
Rochelle Hudson	...	Grace
Dorothy Coonan Wellman	...	Sally (as Dorothy Coonan)
Sterling Holloway	...	Ollie
Arthur Hohl	...	Dr. Heckel
Ann Hovey	...	Lola
Minna Gombell	...	Aunt Carrie
Grant Mitchell	...	Mr. James Smith
Claire McDowell	...	Mrs. Smith
Robert Barrat	...	Judge R.H. White
Willard Robertson	...	Captain of Detectives
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
James Cagney	...	Himself (archive footage)
Guy Kibbee	...	Himself (archive footage)

Storyline

At the bottom of the depression, Tom's mother has been out of work for months when Ed's father loses his job. Not to burden their parents, the two high school sophomore's decide to hop the freights and look for work. Wherever they go, there are many other kids just like them, so Tom, Ed and now Sally stick together. They camp in places like 'Sewer City' as long as they can until the local authorities run them off. They travel all over the mid west and when they get to New York, Ed thinks that they may finally find work.

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Plot Keywords:

teenage boy | hunger | prosthetic limb | prothesis | junkyard | 

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Taglines:

Girls living like boys! Boys living like savages!

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 October 1933 (USA)

Also Known As:

Az utca vad kölykei

Filming Locations:

Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

First National Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

68 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Film debut of Alan Hale Jr.

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Goofs

Sally pandhandles by tap dancing to "42nd Street" in expensive (for her) tap shoes.

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Quotes

Tommy Gordon: Shucks, what do I care about an old leg? Just think, from now on, when i get a pair of new shoes, I'll only have to break in one of them.

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Connections

Featured in A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies (1995)

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Soundtracks

"In a Shanty in Old Shanty Town"
(uncredited)
Music by John Siras and Jack Little
Played when the kids scheme their way into the school dance

User Reviews

Teenagers take on the Great Depression

One of the surprisingly realistic dramas that Hollywood created in the early 1930's has teenagers hitting the road during the hard times of the Great Depression.

With their east coast (New "Yawk?") accents, and rough around the edges "Bowery Boys"-style (harken, Leo Gorcey!), Frankie Darrow and a gang of displaced down-on-their-luck (formerly middle class?) teens band together and roam the countryside on foot or by rail, getting into hot water seemingly everywhere they go. Amazing graphic scenes for 1933 include a kid's leg being amputated by a train and an attempted rape scene.

Miserable living conditions and hunger are also depicted with kids lying cheating and stealing to stay alive, but willing to straighten themselves out when given a chance.

You'd think Warner Brothers was taking a risk financing a film that was so bleak and lacking in entertainment value for people that may have been LIVING the kinds of scenes shown, but the film also seems like a propaganda piece for Roosevelt's New Deal. There's a Roosevelt look-alike judge who places his hand, almost in a blessing, on poor Frankie's head and says "things are going to get better very soon".

Overall, Wild Boys of the Road is an interesting social drama that deserves more exposure and recognition.