In between 1937's "Dead End" and 1938's "Angels With Dirty Faces", came "Crime School", all three films teaming the Dead End Kids with Humphrey Bogart. "Dead End" first introduced the misfit gang of course, and not quite a year later they had top billing in this tale of ghetto poverty and reform school violence. Billy Halop portrayed the leader of the Dead End Kids in all three films, and went on to co-star with Bogey in one more prison movie, 1939's "You Can't Get Away With Murder".
This early on, the Dead End concept wasn't fully fleshed out, as each movie brought the same actors to the screen, though with different names. But their screen personas essentially remained the same; in this film Leo Gorcey is the tough wise guy Spike, Huntz Hall goes by Goofy, and Bobby Jordan is known as Squirt. Interestingly, Gorcey rats out on Halop's character in both "Dead End" and "Crime School".
For his part, Humphrey Bogart played the heel in all the films mentioned, except "Crime School", where he got to turn in a portrayal of level headed and compassionate Deputy Commissioner Mark Braden. In no nonsense fashion, he fires inept guards and the reformatory's crooked Superintendent Morgan (Cy Kendall). However Morgan's hand picked head guard Cooper (Weldon Heyburn) remains behind, feigning loyalty to Braden, but using Spike to create a divisive wedge between Braden and fellow inmate Frankie Warren (Halop). Thrown into the mix is Frankie's sister Sue (co-star Gale Page), who becomes Braden's love interest in the film.
"Crime School" is a taut and well paced film, even if the story line gets muddy with Deputy Commissioner Braden's complicity in covering up the gang's prison break and eventual return. As with other Warner Brothers/First National films of the era, the studio paints a picture of the futility of crime and violence as an answer to poverty. In addition to recommending the movies already mentioned, "Little Caesar" and "Public Enemy" are also must see films, though somewhat harder edged.
An interesting point of trivia - in the prison yard scene when the Pledge of Allegiance is recited for the new commissioner, the words "under God" had not yet been added to the version we know today.
This early on, the Dead End concept wasn't fully fleshed out, as each movie brought the same actors to the screen, though with different names. But their screen personas essentially remained the same; in this film Leo Gorcey is the tough wise guy Spike, Huntz Hall goes by Goofy, and Bobby Jordan is known as Squirt. Interestingly, Gorcey rats out on Halop's character in both "Dead End" and "Crime School".
For his part, Humphrey Bogart played the heel in all the films mentioned, except "Crime School", where he got to turn in a portrayal of level headed and compassionate Deputy Commissioner Mark Braden. In no nonsense fashion, he fires inept guards and the reformatory's crooked Superintendent Morgan (Cy Kendall). However Morgan's hand picked head guard Cooper (Weldon Heyburn) remains behind, feigning loyalty to Braden, but using Spike to create a divisive wedge between Braden and fellow inmate Frankie Warren (Halop). Thrown into the mix is Frankie's sister Sue (co-star Gale Page), who becomes Braden's love interest in the film.
"Crime School" is a taut and well paced film, even if the story line gets muddy with Deputy Commissioner Braden's complicity in covering up the gang's prison break and eventual return. As with other Warner Brothers/First National films of the era, the studio paints a picture of the futility of crime and violence as an answer to poverty. In addition to recommending the movies already mentioned, "Little Caesar" and "Public Enemy" are also must see films, though somewhat harder edged.
An interesting point of trivia - in the prison yard scene when the Pledge of Allegiance is recited for the new commissioner, the words "under God" had not yet been added to the version we know today.