tavm Review of Gangster's Boy

Gangster's Boy (1938)

Gangster's Boy was another okay B-movie from a teen Jackie Cooper

[6/10 · 10 January 2015]

This was another Monogram B-movie Jackie Cooper made around the late '30s when he was no longer a cute little boy but a teenager that no major studio knew what to do with. As the title implies, he's the son of a former bootlegger-who returns home after being away for awhile-which ostracizes him from much of the high school crowd-when they find out from the papers-except for his best friend, his girlfriend who's his best friend's sister, and the principal. Jackie's just glad to have his father back based on some of their banter though the mother is hesitant at first. The drama is a bit uneven since there's no confrontation between Cooper and his father about his revelation and a music score might have helped in selling the melodrama concerning some of the other dramatic events that happen later on. Still, Cooper was good at what he was given and the supporting cast was okay as well. So on that note, Gangster's Boy is worth a look. P.S. As a Chicago native, I was nicely surprised that player Lucy Gilman was born and died there and was a radio actress as a child.