Bad Boy

Johnny Downs is off to the big city for a job as a draughtsman, leaving mother Helen MacKellar with promises of what he's going to do. T first, it all goes as hoped. He is noticed staying late to come up with inventive solutions to problems. But as he advances, he falls into the life style of his best friend, Archie Robbins: playing the ponies -- at first he wins -- and falling for songstress Rosalind Keith. She's happy so long as he has plenty of money to throw around. But he begins to lose, and take advances on his salary. Finally, at the urging of Robbins, he embezzles $200. He's caught, spends some time in jail and when he gets out, no one will give him a job. When he finds Mrs. MacKellar is scrubbing floors for him, he goes to Robbins, who gets him a job fronting for some fake engineers. At first things go according to plan. Then....

The acting is pretty good, but the story is obvious, with not a surprise or twist in the plot. It's strictly B movie material all the way through. With Spencer Williams and Holmes Herbert.

In a letter, dated May 18, 1939, from Joseph I. Breen (Production Code Administrator-Director of the 'Motion Picture Producers & Distributors of America, Inc.') to Producer/Writer Richard C. Kahn, Mr. Breen found a whole lot of things he didn't like (and wasn't going to allow) in the shooting script of THE UNCROWNED QUEEN. (The title was changed to BAD BOY when released later that year.) Joe Breen allowed that "while the story could be made in conformity with the Production Code, it will be necessary to follow carefully the suggestions set forth hereafter, in order to eliminate the numerous objectionable details which make this story, in its present form, unacceptable." Generally, censor Breen advised that the story should be dealing with racketeers rather than old-style gangsters; care should be used not to overemphasize the profits which arise from illegal activities such as racketeering; and there should be no suggestion that there is a sex affair between Madelon and Steve.

And, then Joe proceeded to eliminate nearly every scene, beginning with scene 7 and advising that the world "CH..K (this one is on the site's can't use list, also)should be eliminated from this scene and any other scene in which it is used.

Getting down to brass tacks, Breen states: "the sounds of Johnny being whipped should be held to a minimum - send us (Production Code office) the lyrics to any song Madelon sings - no scenes showing men giving girls money - there can be nothing objectionable in Madelon's costuming, singing or dancing - it is not satisfactory to show Madelon in panties and brasierre and the least she can wear is a slip, with her body covered adequately in all of her scenes - there should be nothing in the dialogue that suggests Madelon has undressed while Johnny is in the room - while Madelon is putting on her stockings there should be no undue exposure of her person nor should her legs be shown above the knees - don't use the "kicking legs" montage - don't imply that Steve and Madelon are engaged in a sex affair - change the shyster lawyer Avery, who cheats'Johnny and his mother out of two thousand dollars, to some other undefined profession - delete "God" from Avery's speech - delete "bumped off" from Steve's speech - please exercise restraint to the kissing in scene 184 - please exercise restraint to the drinking and drunkenness in scene 192 - the girl's speech in scene 197 should not be suggestive of a sex affair between Steve and Madelon - the man's speech about the honeymoon joke in scene 199 is definitely unacceptable and MUST be DELETED - restraint on the kissing between Steve and Madelon in scene 202, and no physical contact between them beyond this scene - delete "damned" in Madelon's speech in scene 203 - delete George's use of the word "mob" in scene 248 - delete Steve and Madelon kissing in scenes 253, 255 and 259 - avoid undue brutality in the fight in scene 267 - avoid undue gruesomeness when Johnny is shot in scene 282."

Breen then starts page 4 off with a lecture: "In scene 295, the whole business of the detective being shot and killed must be deleted in toto. The Production Code prohibits the showing of police dying at the hands of criminals. We recommend that you avoid this shooting entirely by having the detective slugged rather than shot." (A suspicion that the PCA censors wrote more scenes in this period of film-making than the credited writers would not be unfounded.)

Joe winds up by "suggesting" that: "in scene 304 avoid gruesomeness in the shooting death of Terry - in scene 351 change the announcers dialogue to get away from any suggestion that the detective had been killed - change the word "gangster" in scene 311 to "racketeer"", and in scene 323 please avoid gruesomeness in Johnny's death scene." And then Breen advises Kahn that...you will have in mind that our final decision on the acceptability of your story is based upon our review of the finished film."

But he did write "Cordially Yours" above his signature.

"Bad Boy" is the story of Johnny, perhaps one of the stupidest characters I can recall in any low-budge B-movie. Again and again, Johnny has a chance to do something with his life and time and again he throws it away because he is a complete fool...perhaps too much so to make the film realistic.

The story begins right after Johnny graduates from college. He's young and eager and heads to the big city to make his fortune and to help support his longsuffering mother. At first, he works very hard an earns the boss' admiration. However, Johnny makes a new friend at work, Carson, and soon Carson leads Johnny astray...though he didn't have to work that hard to do this! The sober and straight-laced Johnny now drinks, gambles and dates a real golddigger...who he simply cannot afford. So how does he try to manage this? At first, by gambling more. And when that doesn't work, he steals from the company...and ends up, briefly, in jail.

Now you'd think Johnny would have learned his lesson. But Johnny apparently has gerbils living inside his skull and soon he's back with Carson and the hard-hearted ex-girlfriend...and living a life of crime! Will he ever get his comeuppance or will his mother, once again, rescue him?

The film could have worked had it had any subtlety at all...but it doesn't. Like too many cheapo B-movies, it sacrifices realism for economy...economy in not just cost but in the short run-time. As a result, it's not especially good and very obvious. Plus, they make Johnny too stupid to be realistic in any way...and his wife too obviously wicked. Heck, I'm almost surprised they didn't have her dress up like a wicked witch she was so obvious!

By the way, one of the only things I liked about the film was Spencer Williams...at least for a while...later, they, too made him pretty dim! Williams was a very prolific actor during this era and mostly acted in black-only films. It's interesting to see him in a more mainstream film here...even if it is a bad one. Later, Williams would gain a lot of fame playing Andy Brown on TV's "Amos 'n Andy".