Barrios de New York

I had little hope for the public domain DVD I bought of this little programmer from Monogram...was I wrong and how! Direction, script and photography are all better than you might expect, and Jackie Cooper leads a great cast which includes good parts for fine supporting players of the era...a special note for George Irving as the kindly judge...he had one of the most elegant voices in film and will be forever remembered as Alexander Peabody in Bringing Up Baby.

But the most appealing aspect of this movie is the genuine freshness which the actors bring to the situations, many of which had already become Hollywood clichés. The Christmas party scene with the poor kids at the judge's home is only one of many memorable scenes which make this a way above average "B" picture of the era. The sentimental touches are sincere and you'll be surprised how this fine little movie draws to a strong conclusion!

Fashioned from an admixture of several cinematic genres, this hybrid Monogram Pictures melodrama is perhaps most distinguished for its naturalistic deployment of key players, in particular the lead, Jackie Cooper, and talented child actor Martin Spellman. A remarkably mature (16 year old!) Cooper performs as Jimmy Keenan, owner/operator of a busy New York City corner newsstand while supervising a diverse collection of rambunctious newsboys, including the very young "Gimpy" Smith (Spellman) whose abrasive veneer fails to cover his juvenile vulnerability, all while Keenan is attending night school, his purpose to become an attorney, while adopting as his own the ethical principles of his idol, Abraham Lincoln (the film's original title was ABRAHAM LINCOLN OF NINTH STREET). Although Jimmy faces a violent foe in Spike Moore (David Durand) who intends to arrogate by force his street corner business, and is additionally burdened with the unsavoury reputation earned by Keenan's gangster brother Tap (Dick Purcell), he rejects all offers of assistance, instead facing up to Spike and his confederates while looking after his youthful employees along with elderly "Pop" O'Toole (George Cleveland), who lives in a room next to Jimmy's within the basement of the old house wherein the Keenan brothers had been raised. Artless in his resolution to do only what is morally correct, Jimmy nevertheless finds that it is increasingly difficult to pardon the sociopathic behaviour of Tap and of Moore, so that in time he, Gimpy, and the other newsboys warmly welcome the kindness offered by Judge Carroll (George Irving) and his daughter Anne (Marjorie Reynolds) as the film moves towards a poignant conclusion. The supporting cast is composed for its largest part of very competent players, while Cooper neatly forsakes all opportunities to emote, instead creating a noteworthy performance for one so young by playing the part of an older man, in clear contrast to later cinematic norms that determine actors will fill roles that are below their actual ages. The melodrama is capably directed without affectation by old hand William Nigh, and Harry Neumann does all one might desire as cinematographer for a production that, as with virtually all Monogram pictures, is granted only sparse funding. Newly reissued upon an Alpha Video DVD that is not remastered, the film's general quality of both visual and audio reproduction is good, with few skips. However, heavy cutting, particularly for the final scenes, becomes corruptive for such an episodic scenario as has this work. In spite of that, the piece is now available in a format that is as well constituted as can be expected and will provide a viewer an opportunity to enjoy some strongly realistic, well-photographed sequences.

Well, this was quite a surprise. Jackie Coogan plays the hell out a kid trying to make a name for himself and also trying to influence the other kids on his block to look up to him. Seeing that most of the kids in the area are Dead-End-Kid Wannabes, you can tell it's not going to be easy. His main focus is a kid his family has taken in since both of his parents are dead. The kid is disabled too. His name? Yes! It's Gimpy! After a somewhat slow start what with Coogan's character successfully getting the neighborhood kids out of a charge of gambling with Dice, and getting into a long winded conversation about how Abe Lincoln was the greatest person alive, the film shifts mostly to Coogan's relation to Gimpy. Gimpy doesn't have a lot going for him, and Coogan wants that to change, so when Christmas comes around, he wants it to be the best ever for Gimpy! (Bring a Kleenex for these scenes (I needed one!), Soon a subplot involving Coogan's gangster older brother comes into play, and guess who gets caught in the middle! (Hint, bring more Kleenex). I REALLY liked Coogan in this one, his performance here is so underplayed, powerful and strong.

"Streets of New York" is not a particularly good film. It has a HUGE dose of schmaltz and the main character seems way too good to be true. However, despite these things and a very low budget, I actually found it to be a decent time-passer.

Jackie Cooper plays Jimmy---a very nice young man growing up in poverty. He is forced to work very hard for a teenager and there are many forces around him pushing him towards a life of crime (such as his gangster brother). Yet, despite all this, he's an amazingly optimistic and caring young man--with a huge heart and a desire to make something of himself. He takes night classes and hopes to one day go to law school. Now he COULD go for free--with his hood brother agreeing to pay all the expenses. However, he doesn't like the strings that are attached to the deal and he's just too decent to consider it.

Throughout the film, Jimmy runs a corner news stand and employs a group of other underprivileged young men to sell papers. The youngest of the group is 'gimpy'--probably one of the more politically incorrect names in 1930s films, as the young boy is disabled and walks with crutches. However, a neighborhood punk keeps threatening Jimmy and his workers. What's to become of this group of nice but desperate youngsters? At times, the film seems a bit heavy-handed and lays on the schmaltz very heavy at times. However, if you can take it, the film is rather sweet and enjoyable. Some may hate the ending, as it's a bit vague and leaves the viewer wondering what's to become of the kids, but I like this actually, as life ISN'T full of answers and I think the viewers can infer what would happen next without it being handed to them. Not a great film by any stretch, but a nice little time-passer.

By the way, if you are wondering why Cooper was playing in such a low-budget film, once Cooper became a young man and was no longer the cute little kid, MGM dropped him like a hot potato. It's a shame, as the guy could still act and you wonder what his career would have been like if they'd kept him under contract. He DID go on to appear in a ton of films and TV shows as an adult, but much of it was from lesser quality studios.

All traces of cuteness had vanished from Jackie Cooper by 1939, which is why he was labouring in the depths of Poverty Row at seventeen years of age. He's actually pretty good in a plotless bore of a movie that must have done his career no favours at all.