East Side Kids Movies

One of the more remarkable aspects of this "East Side Kids" comedy is that, for the first time, one of the "Kids" is a girl, played by June Carlson. Otherwise, it's standard stuff, with the Kids forming a shaky friendship with police commissioner James Mitchell (Addison Mitchell). Muggs (Leo Gorcey), the Kids' leader, invites Mitchell's wimpy son Gilbert (Johnny Duncan) to join the gang as part of a plan to "toughen up" the boy. Unfortunately, Gilbert gets his new pals in trouble when he links up with gambler Silk Henley (George Meeker). Arrested during a confrontation with Silk, Muggs is disqualified from fighting in an upcoming boxing tournament. The chastened Gilbert takes Muggs' place in the ring, proving that he's a "right guy." Come Out Fighting was the final entry in Monogram's "East Side Kids" series; the following year, Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall and the rest would re-emerge as "The Bowery Boys." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A lesser East Side Kids effort, Block Busters looks more like an elongated 2-reel comedy than a 6-reel feature. This time, Muggs (Leo Gorcey), Glimpy (Huntz Hall) and the rest of the Kids set about to "Americanize" affable young French refugee Jean Rogers (Frederick Pressel). But after a disastrous baseball game, Jean is chased out of the neighborhood and told not to return. Eventually, the Kids patch things up with Jean and play a championship game on behalf of their sick friend Tobby (Bill Chaney). Featured in the cast are Leo Gorcey's then-wive Kay Marvis, his father Bernard Gorcey (in a dry run for his Bowery Boys character Louie Dumbrowski), and, sadly, former comedy great Harry Langdon, wasted in a minor role as an undertaker. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Even non-fans of the East Side Kids will get a goodly share of laughs out of the 1943 series entry Clancy Street Boys. The story commences when Muggs McGinnis (Leo Gorcey) learns that his wealthy Uncle Pete (Noah Beery Sr.) is coming to town for a visit. The problem: Muggs' mom (Martha Wentworth) has claimed that she has seven children so that big-hearted Pete will continue sending much-needed money to her fatherless family. To avoid disillusioning Pete, Muggs' pals are enlisted to pose as his siblings, with Glimpy (Huntz Hall) posing as sister Annabelle (it is explained that Scruno, the black member of Muggs' gang, was "adopted"). Uncle Pete and his pretty daughter Judy (Amelita Ward) are taken in by the ruse until local crook George Mooney (Rick Vallin) spills the beans. But all is forgiven when Muggs, Glimpy and company rescue Pete from kidnappers. Best bit: About to go into a huddle, the East Side Kids turn "en masse" towards the camera, politely tip their hats and say "Excuse us!" ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In their first of two Monogram spook comedies, the East Side Kids and Bela Lugosi square off in yet another haunted house. On their way to summer camp, the malapropism dependant East Siders are warned of a "monster killer" loose in the area, and, sure enough, almost immediately encounter Nardo (Lugosi) and his weird little helper Luigi (Angelo Rossitto). Nardo does very little to repudiate the Kids' impression of him as a vampire (the Kids say "vulture" lest Monogram should get in trouble with Universal, who held the rights to Dracula), but is he really the monster killer? Perhaps Doctor Von Grosch (Dennis Moore) knows, the famed mystery writer and "monster hunter" having arrived like clockwork at the creepy Billings mansion with camp nurse Linda Mason (Dorothy Short) in tow. Although Peewee (David Gorcey) is at one point feared to have become the victim of the "vulture," the smart aleck turns up safe and sound, and Muggs (Leo Gorcey) and the Kids decide to trap the killer. And so they do, ably assisted by young attorney Jeff Dixon (Dave O'Brien), who, for reasons not immediately clear, has a vested interest in the well being of the East Side Kids. O'Brien and leading lady Dorothy Short were married in real life. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

Mugs McGinniss (Leo Gorcey), top dog of the East Side Kids, takes a job at an airplane plant. Here he grows suspicious of Dr. Nagel (George Pembroke), operator of a flying ambulance service. Mugs becomes convinced that Nagel is using his plane to smuggle aviation secrets to a gang of enemy agents, but he can't prove his allegations. With the help of his East Side pals Danny (Bobby Jordan), Scruno ("Sunshine Sammy" Morrison), Peewee (David Gorcey) and Louie (Bobby Stone), Mugs gets the goods on the duplicitous Doc-but nearly gets killed in the process. A not-bad combination of comedy and melodrama, Flying Wild offers the viewers a more intelligent group of "East Side Kids" than they're accustomed to. Even so, this is the film in which Leo Gorcey introduces the comic malapropisms for which he became famous. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi