Two troublesome boys grow into very different men, one becoming a hoodlum and the other embracing college, but both are in love with the same girl.Two troublesome boys grow into very different men, one becoming a hoodlum and the other embracing college, but both are in love with the same girl.Two troublesome boys grow into very different men, one becoming a hoodlum and the other embracing college, but both are in love with the same girl.
Photos
Jack La Rue
- Frisco Scarfi
- (as Jack LaRue)
Murray Alper
- Dink Rogers
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaJames Cagney turned down the role of Joe Lorenzo.
- GoofsThe title of this movie is a mistake. The impoverished immigrant neighborhood of New York City at the time, where much of the movie takes place, and to which the title refers, was the Lower East Side. This was located in a section of the east side of Manhattan Island. It therefore would be west, not east, of the river. (Though if you really wanted to stretch the point, it could be argued that it is indeed east of the river--if the river in question is the Hudson.)
- ConnectionsFeatured in The John Garfield Story (2003)
- SoundtracksThe Sidewalks of New York
(uncredited)
Music by Charles Lawlor
[Played during the opening tour bus scenes]
Featured review
Good cast makes routine crime drama watchable
Gotta admit it, no studio was as good at making crime movies as Warner Brothers during the 1930's. With Cagney, Bogie, and, here, John Garfield, there were fewer actors at any one studio who were as good at being bad. And that's what makes "East of the River" so watchable. The performances help to turn what's basically a routine crime drama into a watchable, second-string noir treasure.
As to the basic plot, that's been done again and again in endless variations. Warners even used it at least a half a dozen times. Boyhood best friends/brothers get into some sort of juvenile scrape. One goes "good," the other "bad." Both meet years later and thereby hangs the tale. However, when the boys are played by Garfield and popular 30's second-lead William Lundigan and the girl they both love by Brenda (Mrs. William Holden) Marshall, the good performances that result raise the story above the standard clichés. Almost as good, albeit with a lot of stock "Italian" mannerisms ("You a good-a boy!"), is Marjorie Rambeau as the boys' mother. Rambeau was one of those actresses who could shine in a broom closet, playing either the star's mother or a world-weary chippie (Catch her her in 1931's "The Secret Six" sometime) with equal finesse, transcending whatever stereotyped qualities may have been in the script. Also excellent are old Warners standby George Tobias as an excitable "Italian" waiter, Douglas Fowley as a particularly despicable heavy, and Moroni Olsen playing yet another of the authority figure roles he always did so well.
Okay, "East of the River" may not be in the same league with "Little Caesar," "The Public Enemy," "Angels with Dirty Faces," or even "You Can't Get Away with Murder." What it IS, though, is an excellent little (75 minutes) crime melodrama of the old school that is definitely worth a look.
As to the basic plot, that's been done again and again in endless variations. Warners even used it at least a half a dozen times. Boyhood best friends/brothers get into some sort of juvenile scrape. One goes "good," the other "bad." Both meet years later and thereby hangs the tale. However, when the boys are played by Garfield and popular 30's second-lead William Lundigan and the girl they both love by Brenda (Mrs. William Holden) Marshall, the good performances that result raise the story above the standard clichés. Almost as good, albeit with a lot of stock "Italian" mannerisms ("You a good-a boy!"), is Marjorie Rambeau as the boys' mother. Rambeau was one of those actresses who could shine in a broom closet, playing either the star's mother or a world-weary chippie (Catch her her in 1931's "The Secret Six" sometime) with equal finesse, transcending whatever stereotyped qualities may have been in the script. Also excellent are old Warners standby George Tobias as an excitable "Italian" waiter, Douglas Fowley as a particularly despicable heavy, and Moroni Olsen playing yet another of the authority figure roles he always did so well.
Okay, "East of the River" may not be in the same league with "Little Caesar," "The Public Enemy," "Angels with Dirty Faces," or even "You Can't Get Away with Murder." What it IS, though, is an excellent little (75 minutes) crime melodrama of the old school that is definitely worth a look.
helpful•182
- BobLib
- Nov 4, 2003
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Bad Boy
- Filming locations
- Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA(archive footage of various neighborhoods)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 14 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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