Movielogr
Dead End (1937)
Directed by William Wyler
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Mobster “Baby Face” Martin returns home to visit the New York neighborhood where he grew up, dropping in on his mother, who rejects him because of his gangster lifestyle, and his old girlfriend, Francey, now a syphilitic prostitute. Martin also crosses paths with Dave, a childhood friend struggling to make it as an architect, and the Dead End Kids, a gang of young boys roaming the streets of the city’s East Side slums.
Rated NR | Length 93 minutes
Actors
Sylvia Sidney | Joel McCrea | Humphrey Bogart | Wendy Barrie | Claire Trevor | Allen Jenkins | Marjorie Main | Billy Halop | Huntz Hall | Bobby Jordan | Leo Gorcey | Gabriel Dell | Bernard Punsly | Charles Peck | Minor Watson | James Burke | Elisabeth Risdon | Esther Dale | George Humbert | Marcelle Corday | Ward Bond | Don Barry | Wade Boteler | Al Bridge | G. Pat Collins | Thomas E. Jackson | Tom Ricketts | Walter Soderling | Earl Askam | Gilbert Clayton | Jerry Cooper | Bill Dagwell | Bud Geary | Charles Halton | Robert Homans | Esther Howard | Kathryn Ann Lujan | Mona Monet | Gertrude Valerie | Charlotte Treadway | Maude Lambert | Lucile Browne | Frank Shields | Wesley Giraud | Mickey Martin | Payne B. Johnson | Sidney Kibrick | Larry Harris | Norman Salling | Hugh Sheridan | Audrey Carol | Paula Hariette Levy | Tom Randall
Viewing History (seen 1 time)
| Date Viewed | Device | Format | Source | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 02/09/2016 | Movie Screen | Film | Theater | 7 stars |
| (Average) 7 stars |
Viewing Notes
Part of the lecture series at Siskel for a class at the Art Institute. I love these because they have a professor intro the film then have a discussion afterwards. I didn’t attend the previous two “classes” but I wish I had. I believe the theme this semester is children/kids in film. This entry was to introduce the Dead End Kids which originated in this film and went on to make 23 more films and spun off the Bowery Boys films.
Humphrey Bogart is a side character here as a real hard ass gangster on the lamb hanging out in his old ghetto neighborhood. He serves as a mentor of sorts for the Dead End Kids. This is fun movie mostly due to the dialogue. Sylvia Sidney is also rather dreamy as the older sister stuck in slums dealing with her delinquent younger brother. Love her character name “Drina”.
Lecture discussion afterwards was okay. Mostly interesting to hear what young people think of an old film like this and the themes presented.
4 years ago
This sounds so familiar, I’m almost certain I’ve seen it! May have to give it a watch just to be sure.
4 years ago
You very well may have! It’s not an uncommon film from what I recall, especially since it was the intro for those delinquent kids. Decent flick, too.