Boys of the City (1940)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Joseph H. Lewis

Writer:

William Lively (original story and screenplay)

Release Date:

15 July 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Thriller

Tagline:

The Story Of Men In The Making By Just Plain American Boys!

Plot:

Street kids get sent to the country, where they get mixed up in murder and a haunted house. |

Plot Keywords:

Kidnapping | East Side Kids | Sequel | Cigar | Ghost

Cast

Bobby Jordan	...	Danny Dolan
Leo Gorcey	...	Muggs McGinnis
Hal E. Chester	...	Buster (as Hally Chester)
Frankie Burke	...	Skinny
Vince Barnett	...	Simp
Inna Gest	...	Louise Mason
Dave O'Brien	...	Knuckles Dolan (as David O'Brien)
Ernest Morrison	...	Scruno (as Sunshine Sammy)
Minerva Urecal	...	Agnes
Dennis Moore	...	Giles
Donald Haines	...	Peewee
David Gorcey	...	Pete
Eugene Francis	...	Algy Wilkes
Forrest Taylor	...	Judge Malcolm Parker
Alden 'Stephen' Chase	...	Jim Harrison (as Alden Chase)

Also Known As:

The Ghost Creeps (USA) (alternative title)

Runtime:

68 min | USA:62 min (DVD version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | USA:Approved (PCA #6447) (original rating)

Company:

Four Bells Pictures

Goofs:

Continuity: Early in the film when the boys are driving at night in a station wagon up the mountains to a lodge, they turn a corner on a dirt road in the forest. Speeding close behind them is the judge's car which also turns the same corner, overtaking them and forcing them off the road. The judge's car continues on about 30 yards and is seen going around the same corner both cars had already passed. When the camera returns to the boy's station wagon, they come back onto the road and, even though it is supposedly the same road, this time there is no corner, the road is straight and trees are only on one side of the road.

Quotes:

Judge Parker: You can eat later.
Simp: Oh gee, and I was so hungry.
Pee-Wee: Then why don't you eat?
Simp: He ain't paying me for that.

Movie Connections:

Followed by Come Out Fighting (1945)

IT IS THE EAST SIDE KIDS MEET REBECCA!

I have always thought that film was like Alfred Hitchcock's "Rebecca" in a number of ways. A crazed housekeeper who is obsessed with her dead Mistress. A scene where the housekeeper sneaks up behind the heroine, utters some creepy lines and when the heroine turns to confront her, the housekeeper has completely vanished. All the talk about the dead Lenore like the talk about the dead Rebecca in Hitchcock's film. By the way, the East Side Kids are the stars of this film. Sort of like a warm-up drill for their " Spooks Run Wild"(with Bela Lugosi released the following year). The kids are in great form here as usual. Leo Gorcey is great, as always, as the wisecracking Mugs. Bobby Jordan as Danny has the films best malapropism "Don't jump to confusions"! Dave O'Brien (who was in more than several of the East Side Kids films) is good as the quick fisted Knuckles Dolan and Inez Guest is lovely as the terrified young heiress. It goes by quickly when your watching it. It only runs about a hour. I liked it. It was cool in a low-budget sort of way. It is currently available on D.V.D from Alpha Video at .oldies.com for a really great price. Check it out!