East Side Kids (1940)

A young street kid grows up and becomes a cop when he realizes that crime doesn't pay. One of his childhood friends is in prison for a murder he didn't commit, and the cop looks for ... See full summary »

Director:

Robert F. Hill

Writer:

William Lively (original story and screenplay)

Stars:

Leon Ames, Dennis Moore, Joyce Bryant

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Leon Ames	...	Pat O'Day
Dennis Moore	...	Milton Franklin 'Mileaway' Harris
Joyce Bryant	...	Molly Dolan
Hal E. Chester	...	Fred 'Dutch' Kuhn (as Hally Chester)
Harris Berger	...	Danny Dolan
Frankie Burke	...	Skinny - Danny's Gang Member
Vince Barnett	...	Whisper - Mileaway Henchman
Dave O'Brien	...	Knuckles Dolan
Ted Adams	...	Schmidt - Pawn Shop Owner (as Richard Adams)
Maxine Leslie	...	May - Mileaway's Moll
Robert Fiske	...	Cornwall - aka Robert Morrison
Jack Edwards	...	Algernon 'Mouse' Wilkes
Jim Farley	...	Police Captain Moran (as James Farley)
Stephen Chase	...	Joe - Detective (as Alden Chase)
Fred Hoose	...	Mr. Wilkes - Mouse's Father

Storyline

A young street kid grows up and becomes a cop when he realizes that crime doesn't pay. One of his childhood friends is in prison for a murder he didn't commit, and the cop looks for evidence to free him. Meanwhile, the prisoner's brother gets mixed up with a gang of counterfeiters, and inadvertently discovers the evidence that can set his brother free, if he can only get someone to believe him.

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Plot Keywords:

evidence | murder | gang | counterfeiter | friend | 

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Taglines:

"TONIGHT MY BROTHER DIES IN THE CHAIR. TOMORROW I START PAYING 'EM BACK!" (original ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 February 1940 (USA)

Also Known As:

Heróis do Bairro

Company Credits

Production Co:

Four-Bell Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

62 min 60 min (2005 DVD release)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

David Durand is in casting call lists as "Butch," the role played by Hal E. Chester, who was listed as "Buster," a character not in the film. Durand was not seen in the film at all.

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Connections

Followed by Follow the Leader (1944)

User Reviews

Worth seeing

I'm glad I decided to ignore Leonard Maltin's really bad review and buy this video. Not that it's really good, but it has much that I like. True, it has none of the original Dead End Kids and very little humor. But it's my first time to see Harris Berger, the actor who replaced Huntz Hall in the Broadway version of Dead End when Huntz went to Hollywood to be in the movie version, and Hally Chester. Frankie Burke is good, too--that kid from Angels With Dirty Faces who looks so much like James Cagney.