Gabriel Dell Movies
The third oldest of the original "Dead End Kids," Gabriel Dell was the only member of that group to enjoy a truly successful solo career. As a reward for his academic achievements, young Dell was permitted to enter New York's Professional Children's School, with his Italian-immigrant father paying his tuition. His first Broadway play was Sidney Kingsley's Dead End, in which he played the sickly street punk "T.B." Together with his Dead End co-stars Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Billy Halop, Bobby Jordan and Bernard Punsley, Dell was brought to Hollywood for the 1937 film version of the Kingsley play. This led to several other appearances with the Dead End Kids in such Warner Bros. productions as Angels With Dirty Faces (1938) and They Made Me a Criminal (1939). He also worked with two of the "Kid's" splinter groups, the Little Tough Guys and the East Side Kids. Unlike his cohorts Gorcey and Hall, Dell's character changed from picture to picture. After serving in World War II, Dell rejoined his old cinematic gang, now renamed The Bowery Boys. As "Gabe Moreno," Dell generally played the most mature member of the bunch, often a law enforcement officer or crusading reporter. Tired of playing third fiddle to Leo Gorcey and Huntz Hall, Dell quit the Bowery Boys cold in 1950, accepting a role in the Broadway Revue Tickets Please. Deciding to learn to be a "real" actor rather than an overgrown juvenile, Dell studied at the Actors' Studio and took dancing lessons. In the late 1950s, Dell achieved fame as a supporting comedian on The Steve Allen Show, participating in comic sketches with the likes of Tom Poston, Don Knotts, Dayton Allen and Bill Dana. During this period, he developed his famous Bela Lugosi impression, which he'd later repeat in nightclub appearances and on the best-selling record album Famous Movie Monsters Speak. Dell's Broadway career thrived in the 1960s, with well-received appearances in such plays as The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window, Luv and Adaptation. Dell's post-Bowery Boy film appearances included Who is Harry Kellerman and Why is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me? (1971) and a starring role in the The Manchu Eagle Murder Caper Mystery (1975). A prolific TV guest star, Gabe Dell was starred in the 1972 sitcom The Corner Bar, and five years later was cast as the son of the Devil (Mickey Rooney) in Norman Lear's short-lived comedy-fantasy A Year at the Top. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1947
Bowery Buckaroos would have the viewer believe that pint-sized sweetshop proprietor Louie Dumbrowski (Bernard Gorcey), perennial patsy for the Bowery Boys, is actually notorious western desperado Louie the Lout. When sheriff Luke Barlow (Russell Simpson) rides into the Bowery to arrest Louie for murder, the Boys-Slip (Leo Gorcey), Sach (Huntz Hall), Whitey (Billy Benedict), Gabe (Gabriel Dell) and the rest-head to Hangman's Hollow to prove Louie's innocence. They also intend to "prosecute for gold" on behalf of Catherine Briggs (Julie Gibson), the daughter of Louie's murdered partner, using a map painted on Sach's back to guide them to a lost gold mine. While posing as rough, tough westerners, the Boys discover that saloon owner Blackjack (Jack Norman) was responsible for the death of Catherine's dad. Forcing a confession out of Blackjack, the boys save Louie's hide and collect their share of the gold-but their good fortune is, as always, very short-lived. A mild but enjoyable western spoof, Bowery Buckaroos is kept afloat throughout by a breezy sense of the ridiculous: At one point, Indian actor Iron Eyes Cody surveys the situation and mutters "Something not kosher here!" ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, (more)
- 1947
News Hounds has more plot than usual for a "Bowery Boys" film-too much plot, so far as diehard fans of the series were concerned. Much of the action takes place at the Daily Chronicle, where Slip Mahoney (Leo Gorcey) works as a copy boy and Sach Jones (Huntz Hall) as a junior photographer. Aspiring to become reporters, Slip and Sach try to get the goods on elusive underworld chieftan Dapper Dan Greco (Anthony Caruso). They manage to escape the clutches of Greco's henchmen, but not before Sach has snapped a picture of Greco in conference with supposed philanthropist Timothy X. Donlin (John Hamilton). Printing a story about Donlin's collusion with Greco, the Chronicle faces a libel suit until Sach is able to recover his photos, which he earlier managed to lose. Gabriel Dell, the Bowery Boys' resident straight man, is here cast as a conscience-stricken mob flunkey. At base, News Hounds is a reworking of the "East Side Kids" entry Bowery Champs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy Benedict, Nita Bieber, (more)
- 1946
The first of the Bowery Boys' "haunted house" comedies, Spook Busters casts the boys as recent graduates of Exterminators' School. Setting up headquarters in Louie's Sweet Shop, Slip (Leo Gorcey), Sach (Huntz Hall) and their pals are hired by Mr. Brown (Chester Clute) to rid a forbidden old mansion of its various bugs and insects. Once they arrive on the premises, the Boys must deal with "pests" of a human variety-namely mad scientist Dr. Coslow (Douglass Dumbrille) and his assistants (Vera Lewis, Charles Middleton and Richard Alexander). The fun really begins when Coslow prepares to use Sach as a guinea pig for his latest diabolical experiment. The film's highlight is the obligatory fight scene, lensed on this occasion in ultra-slow motion! Gabe Dell makes his return to the Bowery Boys fold as returning GI Gabe Moreno, here equipped with a French war bride (Tanis Chandler) who would never be seen again after this film. One strongly suspects that Spook Busters was seen several times in childhood by Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Harold Ramis and other members of the Ghostbusters cast. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Alexander, Billy Benedict, (more)
- 1946
Originally known as the "Dead End Kids," the tough and rowdy Bowery Boys were the creation of playwright Sidney Kingsley from his play Dead End, a keen-edged, socially-conscious look at life in the New York slums. The play, featuring youngsters Billy Halop, Bobby Jordan, Huntz Hall, Bernard Punsley, Gabriel Dell, and Leo Gorcey as a gang of street-hardened toughs was a hit, leading William Wyler to buy the rights to the play and adapt it into a film in 1937. As an ensemble, the kids appeared in a total of six Warner Brothers features including the James Cagney film Angels With Dirty Faces and Bogart's Crime School. In their first B-movie series, the fellows appeared as The Dead End Kids and the Little Tough Guys for Universal -- based on the film Little Tough Guy. They next appeared in a trio of Universal Saturday afternoon serials and then, billed as the East Side Kids, staffed a low-budget comedy drama series for Monogram Pictures. In 1946, the series became strictly comedy and called the Bowery Boys, starring Leo Gorcey (who was responsible for the changes) as Slip and Huntz Hall as his buddy Sach. The series continued through the late '50s, and though by that time "the Bowery Boys" had become middle-aged men, they continued playing teens. Gorcey left the series in 1956 following the death of his father Bernard Gorcey, who played a storekeeper. He was replaced by Stanley Clements who remained with the series until its demise in 1958. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1946
Mr. Hex was the first Bowery Boys epic in which the goofy Sach (Huntz Hall) is given superhuman powers. Hypnotized by a carnival magician (Ian Keith), Sach becomes a powerful boxer. Head Bowery boy Slip (Leo Gorcey) parlays this talent into a lucrative ring career for Sach, culminating in the championship bout. A gangster (Ben Welden) learns Sach's secret and hires his own hypnotist to put the "whammy" on the would-be champ. The fantastic elements of the story come crashing to earth when Sach's pal Gabe (Gabriel Dell) is shot by the gangster, but all ends sappily ever after. Mr. Hex was the fourth in Monogram's "Bowery Boys" series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jimmy Aubrey, Danny Beck, (more)
- 1945
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, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, (more)
- 1944
By the time Bowery Champs came out, the East Side Kids had become so domesticated that they actually had jobs. Muggs (Leo Gorcey), for example, works as a newspaper copy boy, and even aspires to be a crime reporter. He gets his chance when a wealthy man is murdered and the regular reporter isn't around to cover the case. Working on their own, Muggs and Glimpy (Huntz Hall) follow the trail of evidence to the victim's ex-wife Gypsy Carmen (Evelyn Brent). Hoping to get an exclusive story, the boys hide Gypsy at their clubhouse and continue their investigation. The whole thing ends up in an outsized nightclub brawl, pitting the East Siders against the actual murderer's minions. One of the most likeable entries in the "East Side Kids" series, Bowery Champs is highlighted by a running gag involving former gang member Bobby Jordan (playing himself), who spends the entire film looking for the rest of the guys. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, (more)
The East Side Kids were betwixt and between their earlier roughneck characterizations and their later Bowery Boys buffoonery when Million Dollar Kid came out early in 1944. Vowing to rid the East Side of hoods and holdup men, Muggs McGinniss (Leo Gorcey) and his gang rescue wealthy John Cortland (Herbert Heyes) from a band of young thugs. When it turns out that one of Cortland's assailants was his own son Roy (Johnny Duncan), Muggs and his pals set about to reform the boy. Roy resists the gang's efforts until he receives word that his older brother has been killed in the war. Intending to confess all to the cops, Roy is abducted by his hoodlum friends, obliging Muggs, Glimpy (Huntz Hall) and the other East Side Kids to come to the rescue. The more serious aspects of Million Dollar Kid are leavened by moments of earthy humor, with some of the gags dating as far back as the Fatty Arbuckle era. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, (more)
- 1944
The East Side Kids are back in Follow the Leader, one of their most consistently funny outings. While on leave from the Army, Muggs (Leo Gorcey) and Glimpy (Huntz Hall) learn that their pal Danny (Bobby Jordan) has been thrown in jail on a robbery charge. Refusing to believe that Danny is guilty, the boys go after the most likely suspect, a new East Sider named Spider O'Brien (Billy Benedict). Sure enough, Spider is a flunkey for a gang of crooks, but before he can confess to the cops, he's killed by his cohorts. Hoping to trap the villains, Leo goes to work for them, while his sister Millie (Joan Marsh) starts vamping head crook Larry (Jack LaRue). Highlights include a jungle-movie spoof (it's all a dream!), and a musical interlude by onetime recording idol Gene Austin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, (more)
- 1944
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, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, (more)
- 1943
In this entry in the "Dead End Kids" series (later they would reappear as "The Bowery Boys") the lads encounter a terribly ill young boy while they stay in a rural boarding house. The lad tries hard to keep up with the lads as they sneak into a train yard and begin playing amongst the box cars. Unfortuantely, when a railroad detective shows up, the sick boy is killed while trying to get away. The guilt-stricken kids attempt to tell the dead boy's mother, but she is too kind to hear them. Instead she takes the kids into her home. Tommy, the lead boy, manages to get a job as a gas jockey, but things go wrong when he entangles himself with racketeers. Eventually he is caught and taken to court where the mother of the dead child speaks movingly on Tommy's behalf. Just after he is acquitted, word of Pearl Harbor reaches them and the Dead End Kids decide to join the army. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy Halop, Huntz Hall, (more)
- 1943
Keep 'Em Slugging was the last of Universal's "Little Tough Guys" series-which, like Monogram's "East Side Kids", was an offshoot of Warner Bros.' "Dead End Kids" films. This time around, the kids decide to mend their troublemaking ways and get real jobs. Tommy (Bobby Jordan) is hired by the department store where his sister Sheila (Evelyn Ankers) is already employed. Frank (Frank Albertson), Tommy's supervisor, is mixed up with a gang of hijackers. When Tommy refuses to join the crooks, Frank frames the kid on a robbery rap. With the help of fellow Little Tough Guys Pig (Huntz Hall), String (Gabriel Dell) and Ape (Norman Abbott, nephew of comedian Bud Abbott), Tommy not only proves his innocence, but gives the criminals a real soaking. By the time Keep 'Em Slugging was released, Huntz Hall and Gabriel Dell were already repeating their antics in Monogram's "East Side Kids" flicks. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan, (more)
- 1943
The East Side Kids come face to face with High Society in Mr. Muggs Steps Out. Ordered by a judge to get a job, Muggs McGinniss (Leo Gorcey) is hired by wealthy Mrs. Murray (Betty Blythe), who has a penchant for picking up trouble-prone servants. At an engagement party for Mrs. Murray's spoiled daughter Brenda (Joan Marsh), Muggs enlists his pals Glimpy (Huntz Hall), Pinky (Billy Benedict), Speed (Bobby Stone), Skinny (Bud Gorman), Danny (Dave Durand) and Rocky (Jimmy Strand) as extra help. When a valuable necklace is stolen, Muggs and his buddies immediately fall under suspicion, but in a climactic fracas with the real thief, the East Side Kids prove that Mrs. Murray's faith in Muggs was not misplaced. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, (more)
Amateur fighter and all-around bully Muggs McGinniss (Leo Gorcey) tries to cheat in a pool game with hustler Harry Wycoff (Gabriel Dell). He is thwarted by his own friend Danny Lyons (Bobby Jordan), who has some strong ideas about right and wrong and wants to keep his friend honest. Muggs has to knock Wycoff down with his fists to avoid paying off, and promises to get even with Danny and criticizing him as a coward, without the "killer instinct" it takes to win, in boxing or anything else, as far as Muggs is concerned. In revenge for his pummeling, Wycoff, who works for a local bookmaker, arranges to have Muggs kidnapped ahead of the amateur boxing match in which he's supposed to fight. Danny goes into the ring in his place and wins, but Muggs is convinced that Danny arranged the kidnapping. They clash over and over throughout the movie, in an amateur dance contest and as rivals for a job at a local garage, and over Danny's wish to marry Muggs' sister, and then Muggs finds out that he was all wrong -- that Danny had nothing to do with thekidnapping. But by then he's jealous of Danny, and continues riding him mercilessly, and Danny can't fight back because he's promised his mother never to fight in the street like a common hooligan. Muggs gets even more fierce in his resentment when Danny joins the army showing himself to be more of a man than Muggs and becoming a hero to the neighborhood in the bargain. Finally, Danny realizes that if Muggs is ever to grow up, someone is going to have to stand up to him. The two agree to settle their differences with their fists. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, (more)
In this "East Side Kids" escapade (the eighth in the series), the gang, led by Muggs McGinniss (Leo Gorcey), help a man load a barrel on a truck. Little do they know that the man is a crook; accused of trying to steal the truck, they are immediately and without due process sent to reform school. Meanwhile, a gang members' brother is framed for murder and sentenced to death (justice is dispensed with remarkable swiftness on the East Side). The imprisoned gang watch a newsreel which features the man whom they'd helped load the truck. The man was filmed picking up a lottery prize for the his boss, a supposedly dead gangster who committed the murder for which the boy mentioned a few sentences back was framed. With the flimsiest of evidence, Muggs and his boys figure that the barrel loaded on the truck contained the murderous gangster. They escape from reform school (almost as easily as they'd gotten in), track down the gangster's henchman, extract a confession and save the condemned boy at the last minute. Insanely illogical, Mr. Wise Guy is lifted ever so slightly from mediocrity by the supporting performance of Billy Gilbert as the gangster's stooge. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leo Gorcey, Bobby Jordan, (more)
- 1942
In this crime drama, an ambitious law student begins working for a corrupt finance company and becomes the neighborhood pennypincher. He is romantically interested in a wealthy young woman, but unfortunately, he is being pursued by a neighborhood girl. His company assigns him to repossess the girl's father's taxi cab. The law student's friends try to dissuade him from this path. They eventually succeed, and the fellow turns the company in to the authorities. Mayhem ensues, but in the end, he wins the wealthy woman's heart and goes on to found a credit union for his former neighbors. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1942
The Dead End Kids take on a sinister gang of Japanese terrorists in this 12-chapter followup to the 1940 Universal serial Junior G-Men. When Eddie Holden (Gene Reynolds), the inventor brother of street-gang leader Billy Holden (Billy Halop), is kidnapped by minions of the Black Dragon society, Billy refuses to go to the police for help. Instead, he and his pals-Bolts Larson (Huntz Hall), Stick Munsey (Gabe Dell) and Greaseball Plunkett (Bernard Punsly)-decide to take on the villains themselves. Over the course of twelve weeks, the kids are pitted against the worst kinds of villains and pluguglies, but by the final chapter our heroes have thwarted the Black Dragons' plans to sabotage the American defense program. Despite the serial's title, however, the "Junior G-Men" hardly spend any time at all in the air. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy Halop, Gene Reynolds, (more)
Short of funds to buy baseball uniforms, the East Side Kids are forced to go to work for their crooked ex-pal Hank (Gabriel Dell). When Hank's fugitive mentor Butch Brocalli (Max Rosenbloom) shows up to make trouble, gang member Danny (Bobby Jordan) is instrumental in Butch's arrest, earning a big reward in the process. Danny intends to suprise his pals by buying the uniforms himself, but Mugs (Leo Gorcey) wrongly assumes Danny wants to hoard all the money for himself. Mugs and the rest of the gang force Danny to turn over the dough, whereupon they buy a beat-up car. But when Danny is seriously injured by the escaping Brocalli, the kids offer to sell the car to pay for an operation. Kindly brain surgeon Dr. Ornsby (Walter Woolf King) sizes up the situation and straightens things out to the satisfaction of everyone. The East Side Kids are at their most contentious and least appealing in this second-rate entry, while Maxie Rosenbloom, usually a comic actor, is sorely miscast as the villain. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leo Gorcey, Bobby Jordan, (more)
The East Side Kids, featuring Leo Gorcey, Gabriel Dell and Huntz Hall, star in this spirited blend of action and comedy. The kids come to the rescue of a hysterical young girl who is discovered in the apartment with a murdered man. Convinced she's not the killer, the guys hide her as they comb the neighborhood for the real murderer. However, one of the kids made the mistake of picking up the baseball bat that appears to be the murder weapon, and now the fingerprints could point the police investigation at them. 'Neath The Brooklyn Bridge also features Dave O'Brien (best known for his eccentric performance in Reefer Madness) and Noah Beery Jr.. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Set soon after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Let's Get Tough! opens with the East Side Kids -- Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan, David Gorcey, Sammy "Sunshine" Morrison, and Bobby Stone -- trying to enlist in the armed forces and getting turned down because they're not yet 18 years old. Eager to contribute and frustrated at not being allowed to help out in the national emergency, they decide to take action on their own when they see an argument between Kino, a Japanese dealer in antiques, and a local boy named Fritz Heinbach (Gabriel Dell). They try to run Kino out of his own store but instead, the shopkeeper runs them off, and the boys get a warning from "Pop" Stevens (Robert Armstrong), the local cop on the beat, to stay out of trouble. That night, however, they return intent on trashing Kino's store, only to find the man at his desk, stabbed to death. When they're pulled in by the police, the boys find out that Kino was a Chinese agent impersonating a Japanese, and trying to uncover a cell of saboteurs. The boys decide to investigate on their own after they hear rumors that Bill (Tom Brown), the brother of one of them, has been thrown out of the army for his un-American beliefs and has been seen hanging around Matsui, who is considered a potential suspect. They end up infiltrating a meeting of Japanese saboteurs and spies, and find an alliance between them and German immigrant Fritz Heinbach; Bill turns out to be an American agent working the same case as Kino, but they're all trapped, until one of the gang escapes to summon the police. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- 1941
German director Joe May was light-years removed from his glory days at UFA when he helmed the "Little Tough Guys" entry Hit the Road. This time, the youthful protagonists-Tom (Billy Halop), Pig (Huntz Hall), String (Gabe Dell) and Ape (Bernard Punsley)-are all the orphaned sons of gangsters who'd been murdered by mob boss Spike (Edward Pawley). "Graduating" from reform school, the boys show every sign of follwing in their parents' footseps, so they're paroled in the custody of kindhearted reformed gangster Jimmy Ryan (Barton MacLaine). Taking the kids to his cattle farm, Ryan gives them more than enough chores and responsiblities to keep them out of trouble, and before long the boys have cleaned up their act-but not without a bit of strong-arm persuasion from Ryan's tough-talking wife Molly (Gladys George). When Spike and his mob try to steal the $50,000 which the Ryans have saved to build a Boys' Town-like school for wayward youths, the Little Tough Guys rally to the defense of their benefactors, throwing punches and wisecracks with reckless abandon. The most pleasant aspect of Hit the Road is the presence of charming leading lady Evelyn Ankers (who later recalled having to fend off the amorous advances of teenaged Huntz Hall by deploying a well-aimed knee!); the least pleasant is the lachrymose performance of child actor Bobs Watson, who never spoke when crying would do. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gladys George, Barton MacLane, (more)
- 1941
This wildly uneven "Dead End Kids/Little Tough Guys" entry focuses on young Tom Barker (Billy Halop), whose older brother Eddie ended up in the electric chair. Idolizing Eddie's memory, Tom and his buddies are also fascinated with Eddie's former partner, gangster Monk Bangor (Paul Fix). Police officer Frank Conroy (Dick Foran) tries to steer the kids away from a life of crime by setting up a neighborhood recreational center, but while he's able to interest Pig (Huntz Hall), Ape (Bernard Punsley) and String (Gabe Dell) in the project, Tom remains determined to follow in his brother's footsteps-even more so when he discovers that Sgt. Conroy was responsible for Eddie's arrest. Eventually, Tom realizes that his true enemy is the double-crossing Monk Bangor, prompting an instantaneous reformation. Versatile juvenile performer Darryl Hickman adds a bit of class to the proceedings as a pugnacious little Dead-Ender named Butch. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy Halop, Huntz Hall, (more)
This 12-chapter Universal serial is one of several that Universal made featuring the Dead End Kids (also known as The East Side Kids and The Bowery Boys). In this entry, the Dead End Kids go after a Nazi gang that operates a ship called the "Sea Raider" that has been sinking Allied shipping. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide
- 1940
In this entry in the long running saga of the "Dead End Kids," the East Side boys leave the Big Apple and go to California to seek their fortunes. They'd rather not have to work for their money, but end up working on the ranch of an aged Italian woman who treats her employees kindly (unlike other farmers of the era, who often treated their migrant workers worse than animals). Her son disappeared as a baby and one of the boy's decides to convince her that he is the long lost child in hopes of getting an inheritance. After a while, he is so moved by her kindness that he changes his mind and tries to help her for real when the truckers team up with a union to keep her harvest from reaching the market. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nan Grey, Billy Halop, (more)
- 1940
This "Little Tough Guys" series entry finds the kids gainfully employed building airplane engines. Hoping to get into the air themselves, the boys take jobs with a crooked crop-dusting concern. Carter (Victor Jory), the head of the company, refuses to buy new planes, despite the dangers faced by his pilots. When young Rap (Bobby Jordan) is killed in a subtandard plane, his pal Tommy (Billy Halop) swears revenge. The plot is resolved in a wild car chase which segues into an aerial dogfight between Tommy and the fleeing Carter. Much-needed comedy relief is provided by series regular Huntz Hall and by the inimitable Shemp Howard. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy Halop, Huntz Hall, (more)
