East Side Kids (film)

East Side Kids

DVD Cover
Directed by Robert F. Hill
Produced by Sam Katzman
Written by William Lively
Starring Leon Ames
Dennis Moore
Joyce Bryant
East Side Kids
Music by Johnny Lange
Lew Porter
Cinematography Art Reed
Edited by Earl Turner (film editor)
Distributed by Monogram Pictures Corporation
Release dates
  • February 10, 1940 (1940-02-10) (U.S.)
Running time
 62 minutes
Country United States
Language English

East Side Kids is a 1940 film and the first in the East Side Kids film series. It is the only one not to star any of the original six Dead End Kids.

Overview

The film was released by producer Sam Katzman. This was also his first project at Monogram Pictures, which he joined shortly after the folding of his company Victory Pictures.

Plot

Police officer Pat O'Day (Leon Ames), a former child of the tenements, tries to reform a gang of street kids by involving them in a boys' police club. When club member Danny Dolan (Harris Berger)'s brother Knuckles (Dave O'Brien) is sentenced to death row for killing a treasury agent, Pat vows to help Danny clear his brother, whom he believes is innocent, but before he can begin his investigation, the police commissioner demotes him to walking a beat. Meanwhile, a counterfeiting ring composed of Mileaway Harris(Dennis Moore), a former tenement kid, Morris, and his girl friend May (Maxine Leslie) sets up shop in shopkeeper's Schmidt (Ted Adams)'s, basement. Feeling threatened by Pat, Morris schemes to discredit the policeman by posing as a businessman who wants to hire Pat's boys to distribute advertising leaflets. Unknown to Pat, Morris places bogus five dollar bills in the pay envelopes, and when the boys are caught passing fake money, Pat is implicated in the counterfeiting scheme. To prove his innocence, Pat takes to the streets, and Danny, still unaware of Morris' involvement in the counterfeiting ring, agrees to deliver a suitcase for him to May. A policeman follows Danny to May's apartment, where they are greeted by Mileaway, who kills the policeman and takes Danny hostage. As they drive across town, Danny learns that it was Mileaway who killed the treasury agent and framed Knuckles. Pat tracks down Mileaway's car, and in the ensuing chase, Mileaway escapes and kills Schmidt. Pat and the kids chase Mileaway to a rooftop, where Dutch (Hal E. Chester), Danny's friend, struggles with Mileaway. When they both fall to the sidewalk, Dutch is killed; but Mileaway lives to confess to the agent's murder, and all ends happily as both Knuckles and Pat are exonerated.

Cast

The East Side Kids

Remaining Cast

Crew

Home media

The film was originally released on DVD by Alpha Video on June 24, 2003 and has since been re-released multiple times by a variety of manufacturers.

External links

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