Juvenile Court (1938)

Public Defender Gary Franklin, frustrated by being unable to save criminal Dutch Adams from a death sentence by blaming the slums environment as the cause of Dutch's crimes, enlists the aid... See full summary »

Director:

D. Ross Lederman

Writers:

Michael L. Simmons (original screenplay), Robert E. Kent (original screenplay),

Stars:

Paul Kelly, Rita Hayworth, Frankie Darro

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Paul Kelly	...	Gary Franklin
Rita Hayworth	...	Marcia Adams
Frankie Darro	...	Stubby Adams
Hal E. Chester	...	Lefty (as Hally Chester)
Don Latorre	...	Mickey
David Gorcey	...	Pighead
Richard Selzer	...	Ears (as Dick Selzer)
Allan Ramsay	...	Davy
Charles Hart	...	Squarehead
Howard C. Hickman	...	Governor Stanley (as Howard Hickman)

Storyline

Public Defender Gary Franklin, frustrated by being unable to save criminal Dutch Adams from a death sentence by blaming the slums environment as the cause of Dutch's crimes, enlists the aid of Dutch's sister, Marcia Adams, to get the slum dwellers at appeal for public monies to provide recreational places for the slum kids. The Governor provides seed money for the creation of PAL (the Police Athletic League) and all is going well until "Stubby" Adams holds up the box office at a fund raiser for the PAL, and puts the project in jeopardy. Do-gooder story aside, the film is basically a Columbia version of the Dead End Kids, with the hard-headed Darro standing in for Leo Gorcey and Hally Chester as his stand-in Huntz Hall-like punching bag.

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Plot Keywords:

slum | death sentence | police | governor | police community relations | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 September 1938 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mocidade em Perigo

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

User Reviews

Dead End Kids Jr.

Juvenile Court (1938)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Columbia "B" film is a poor man's version of The Dead End Kids. A public defender (Paul Kelly) wants to clean up the slums by building a recreational center for poor kids so that they'll stay off the streets. This film runs 60-minutes and if you've seen one Dead End Kids flick then you've pretty much seen every second of this movie. The kids here are even more annoying than The Dead End Kids and the supporting players really don't do too much. Rita Hayworth has a small, thankless role as one of the kid's sister. David Gorcey, a Dead End Kid member, has a small role as well.