Plot

The lives of a young man, a young woman, an notorious gangster, and a group of street kids converge one day in a volatile New York City slum.

In New York, when wealthy people find the view of the East River, they build modern apartment buildings to live in fancy apartments in the slums where workers and poor people live in dirty tenements infested of cockroaches. Tommy Gordon is the leader of a gang of urchins and small-time thieves in a dock of the East River formed by Dippy, Angel, Spit and T.B. The new boy in the slums, Milty, wants to join the gang and Tommy accepts him. Tommy's sister, Drina Gordon, is an honest hard worker that has a crush on the down-to-lucky architect Dave Connell and dreams on get married to leave the slums and give a better life to Tommy, avoiding that he becomes a gangster. However, Dave is presently seduced by the ambitious Kay, who lives in a fancy apartment and is the mistress of a wealthy man, but he cannot provide her lifestyle. While working painting the banner of a restaurant, Dave recognizes his former acquaintance Hugh "Baby Face" Martin, who is a notorious gangster wanted for eight murders, that lived in the same street as him. Martin has returned to the slums with the gangster Hunk to see his mother Mrs. Martin and his former sweetheart Francey. However, Mrs. Martin rejects him and wishes him dead and Francey is now a prostitute that is ill. Martin decides to kidnap the wealthy and spoiled boy Philip, who has been beaten and stolen by Tommy and his gang, to make his trip from Colorado to New York worth, affecting the lives of Dave, Drina and the gang of urchins.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

The Dead End Kids are introduced in their intricate East Side slum, overlooked by the apartments of the rich. Their antics, some funny, some vicious, alternate with subplots: unemployed architect Dave is torn between Drina, sweet but equally poor, and Kay, a rich man's mistress; gangster Baby Face Martin returns to his old neighborhood and finds that nobody is glad to see him. Then violent crime, both juvenile and adult, impacts the neighborhood and its people.—Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>

The story of one day in a slum area of New York. Noted gangster Baby Face Martin, who grew up in the neighborhood, decides to come home to visit his mother and the girl he left behind when he was sentenced to reform school. While he is there he hooks up with Dave Connell, a former friend who is now a struggling architect. At first Connell is a little disturbed that "Marty" is back in the neighborhood, but he goes along with him. When Marty sees his mother, she rejects him because of what he has become. He later sees his girl Francie, who is now a prostitute in the throes of syphilis. All this drives Marty to the edge, which leads to a plot to kidnap the nephew of a prominent judge. When Dave finds out about this, he decides to take matters into his own hands and try to stop Martin's plot.—Brian Washington <Sargebri@att.net>