History:
After their success in the Broadway play of the same name, The 'Dead End Kids' were introduced to an unsuspecting public in Samuel Goldwyn's 1937 film Dead End, a crime drama featuring Humphrey Bogart. Next to the actors, "The Dead End Kids' stood out. They weren't acting, they were the real thing, rough around the edges and eager to cause trouble.
Goldwyn signed the boys but he couldn't tame them. After Goldwyn fired them they headed over to Warner Bros Studios and made 7 'Dead End Kids' films. The success of the films caused other studios to copy the winning formula. Universal Studios produced 12 films and cashed in with their 'Little Tough Guys' series. Meanwhile Monogram Films, known as the king of the poverty row studios cranked out 23 popular 'East Side Kids' movies.
The anarchistic actors hopped from studio to studio and film to film. They knew no boundaries. Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall and the Boys finished films at a furious pace. Between 1938 and 1943, Billy Halop, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan, Gabriel Dell, Bernard Punsly, Billy Benedict, Hally Chester, David Gorcey, Harris Berger and Norman Abbott made 12 low budget but fun films for Universal Studios.
The Little Tough Guys series is considered the rarest and is the hardest to find on DVD.
The Boys antics live on and we are now offering this DVD series to our friends for a short time only for $39.99. Please email us for details on how to order.
The Little Tough Guys Series (1938-1943):
Little Tough Guys In Society- 1938:The debut film of the series. Frankie Thomas was imported from Warner's to play a straight character, Danny. Great movie with a very young David Gorcey, Hally Chester, Charles Duncan and William Benedict. The boys are on the lame and end up at a society residence where they attempt to rehabilitate a rich spoiled brat.
Call A Messenger- 1939: Starring Billy Halop, Huntz Hall, David Gorcey, Hally Chester and William Benedict. The boys become postal messengers, fight with criminals and try to get the attention of the beautiful postal manager.
You're Not So Tough- 1940: The boys are hobo's who travel from ranch to ranch to grab meals and win money at crooked dice games. Gabriel Dell joins the series. Tommy (Billy Halop) tricks Mama Posita, the ranch owner into believing he is her long lost son. My favorite film that will make you cry at the end.
Junior G-Men- 1940: A 12 part series that has the boys joining with the F.B.I. to track down the Order Of The Flaming Torch. Talk about low budget, but a lot of fun!
Give Us Wings- 1940: The kids build airplane engines but they want to fly planes. Carter, a crooked crop dusting agent who uses dilapidated planes and illegal pilots to cut costs, hires the boys to fly for him. Shemp Howard, that's right, good old Three Stooges Shemp plays Buzz the mechanic and does some Stooge's antics with the Boys.
Hit The Road- 1941: Tom, Pig, Ape, String and Pesky, four of whom are parentless after their fathers are killed in a mob massacre, are paroled into the custody of the father of the fifth. They go to live on a ranch owned by the ex-con pal of the boy's fathers who by the way is the guy who 20 years later played the General in 'I Dream Of Jeannie'.
Mob Town- 1941:-Tom Barker idolizes the memory of his brother, Eddie, who was sent to the death house. He and his gang look also look up to gangster Monk Bangor. Policeman Frank Conroy tries to keep the boys from turning bad but fails to motivate the angry Tom.
Sea Raiders- 1941: Another 12 part series where the boys work to learn the identity of the dreaded 'Sea Raider' who has been sinking allied merchant ships. Great patriotic themes that still ring true today.
Junior G-Men Of The Air- 1942: The last of the 12 part serials. After warring with spies on land and sea, now the boys take to the air to learn the identity of the Black Dragon saboteurs.
Tough As They Come- 1942: Law school student Tommy Clark gets a job with the crooked Apex Financing Company instead of a $3.00 a week job a a legal aid attorney. Tommy is hired to repossess a friend's father's cab and the neighborhood turns against him.
Mug Town- 1942: Our four vagrants check into a flop house and meet a sick boy. They take the kid with them on the trains but he gets killed. The boys locate the mother and all their troubles start.
Keep 'Em Slugging- 1943: During school vacation the boys get a real job at a fancy department store. Only Tommy gets framed for stealing jewelry. The boys all get fired and Tommy gets arrested so they have to clear his name.
If you are a Dead End Kids, East Side Kids or a Bowery Boys fan, you must own this set. It is the precursor to The East Side Kids & Bowery Boys series. The set consists of 9 DVDs for a total of 12 movies and comes in great looking DVD cases with the boys emblazed on them.
DVD questions: All movies are guaranteed and we will exhange any defective ones. Please feel to write us at eggcream@earthlink.net with any questions.
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