Boy of the Streets (1937)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

William Nigh

Writers:

Gilson Brown (adaptation)
Rowland Brown (story)

Release Date:

8 December 1937 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

CHUCK WANTED TO BE A BIG SHOT LIKE HIS OLD MAN...until one day...he learned the old man was a two-bit stooge!

Plot:

Cocky young street kid worships his father, a sleazy political operative. |

Plot Keywords:

Street Kids | Stock Footage | Rock Through Window | Gang | Heiress

Cast

Jackie Cooper	...	Chuck Brennan
Maureen O'Connor	...	Nora
Kathleen Burke	...	Julie Stone
Robert Emmett O'Connor	...	Police Officer Rourke
Marjorie Main	...	Mrs. Mary Brennan
Matty Fain	...	Blackie Davis
George Cleveland	...	Tim 'Flannel-Mouth' Farley
Bill Elliott	...	Dr. Allan (as Gordon Elliott)
Guy Usher	...	Fog Horn Brennan aka Foggy
Paul White	...	Spike, Gang Member

Runtime:

76 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved | Sweden:15

Company:

Monogram Pictures Corporation

Soundtrack:

Carelessly

Social Drama

Monogram tries its hand at producing a social drama on the order of DEAD END or ONE-THIRD OF A NATION with Jackie Cooper giving a high-energy performance as a leader of a street gang, but the entire production slides over into standard melodrama. Neither does the cheap production value help -- even though it might seem to for a film of this sort. But the photography by Gilbert Warrenton is a little too glossy for the piece.

Guy Usher as Jackie's father and Margorie Main as his mother give fine performances, and the movie may be the first feature to use the standard "These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)" in its soundtrack, but despite its aspirations, director William Nigh never seems to manage much of either great significance or entertainment.