Dead End (1937)
Grade: 86
"Dead End" is an excellent adaptation of the Broadway play about the troubled lives of the poor in New York City.
"Dead End" weaves three story lines. The most important features a gang of delinquent kids, trying to act tough and on their way to reform school. Their dialects and dialogue is very entertaining, especially when they mock their wealthy neighbors. The Dead End Kids ended up with their own movie contract, which lasted for years through films that declined into the Bowery Boys series.
The second storyline stars Humphrey Bogart as a killer on the lam returning to his hometown to visit his mother and old girlfriend (Claire Trevor). Bogart had a great tough guy voice, and again plays a gangster, something he did often prior to "Casablanca." Trivia: this is one of two Bogart films where his character has had plastic surgery to disguise his appearance. Can you name the other one? The answer is at the end of this review.
The third storyline is inevitable but not as interesting. Joel McCrae must choose between two girlfriends, a wealthy blonde and a somewhat whiny brunette. Naturally, he ends up choosing the more attractive of the two. McCrae's character is not wholly credible, and temporarily changes from laconic leading man to action hero when the plot demands punishment for Bogie. Fortunately, the Dead End Kids get much more screentime.
Trivia answer: "Dark Passage".
http://members.tripod.com/~Brian_Koller/movies.html
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