In their second film appearance, The "Dead End" Kids are petty New York City street thieves. Starting a trend that will last two decades, the group play essentially the same characters - but with occasional name changes, and no dependable continuity from story to story. Herein, the depression-strapped youth are charismatic leader Billy Halop (as Frank "Frankie" Warren), young orphan Bobby Jordan (as Lester "Squirt" Smith), wisecracking Huntz Hall (as Richard "Goofy" Slade), incorrigible Leo Gorcey (as Charles "Spike" Hawkins), chubby Bernard Punsly (as George "Fats" Papadopolos), and dropout Gabriel Dell (as Timothy "Bugs" Burke).
When their junk dealer offers a paltry $5 for the gang's latest booty, an argument leads to Mr. Gorcey giving the man a fractured skull. No stool pigeons, the kids won't squeal and consequently all six receive a two-year stint in the reformatory. They are physically abused by sadistic superintendent Cy Kendall (as Morgan). Mr. Halop is whipped after a failed attempt to escape, then put in the care of a drunken doctor. By the time young Jordan is about to be punished for repeatedly dropping his trousers, socially conscious deputy Humphrey Bogart (as Mark Braden) has arrived to investigate. He dates Halop's pretty sister Gale Page (as Sue).
Future member Hal E. "Hally" Chester debuts herein. To follow-up on the successful original film, Warner Bros. merely re-worked their own "The Mayor of Hell" (1933), which starred James Cagney and Frankie Darro. Rehashing old plots became a cottage industry in the Bowery, and the "Crime School" story re-appeared almost instantly as "Hell's Kitchen" (1939) with Ronald Reagan filling Mr. Bogart's shoes. Note that the hardened delinquent George Offerman Jr. (as "Red") who bunks with Halop and the others in "Crime School" is the same actor who registered strongly in "The Mayor of Hell" and would even appear in "Hell's Kitchen".
****** Crime School (5/10/38) Lewis Seiler ~ Billy Halop, Humphrey Bogart, Bobby Jordan, Leo Gorcey
When their junk dealer offers a paltry $5 for the gang's latest booty, an argument leads to Mr. Gorcey giving the man a fractured skull. No stool pigeons, the kids won't squeal and consequently all six receive a two-year stint in the reformatory. They are physically abused by sadistic superintendent Cy Kendall (as Morgan). Mr. Halop is whipped after a failed attempt to escape, then put in the care of a drunken doctor. By the time young Jordan is about to be punished for repeatedly dropping his trousers, socially conscious deputy Humphrey Bogart (as Mark Braden) has arrived to investigate. He dates Halop's pretty sister Gale Page (as Sue).
Future member Hal E. "Hally" Chester debuts herein. To follow-up on the successful original film, Warner Bros. merely re-worked their own "The Mayor of Hell" (1933), which starred James Cagney and Frankie Darro. Rehashing old plots became a cottage industry in the Bowery, and the "Crime School" story re-appeared almost instantly as "Hell's Kitchen" (1939) with Ronald Reagan filling Mr. Bogart's shoes. Note that the hardened delinquent George Offerman Jr. (as "Red") who bunks with Halop and the others in "Crime School" is the same actor who registered strongly in "The Mayor of Hell" and would even appear in "Hell's Kitchen".
****** Crime School (5/10/38) Lewis Seiler ~ Billy Halop, Humphrey Bogart, Bobby Jordan, Leo Gorcey