Million Dollar Kid

After Leo Gorcey (as Muggs McGinnis) laments the rise of muggings in the city, "The East Side Kids" admit Al Stone (as Herbie), a cousin of Huntz Hall (as Glimpy McClosky), into the club. They join mates William "Billy" Benedict (as Skinny), David "Dave" Durand (as Dave aka Danny), Bobby Stone (as Rocky), Jimmy Strand (as Lou aka Pinkie), and Buddy "Bud" Gorman (as Stinkie aka Slug) to save millionaire Herbert Hayes (as John H. Cortland) from a mugging.

Befriending the grateful Mr. Hayes, Gorcey and the Kids discover the wealthy man's young son is a closeted juvenile delinquent. For kicks, Johnny Duncan (as Roy Cortland) aka the "Million Dollar Kid" hangs out in pool halls with derelicts like Gabriel Dell (as Lefty). Moreover, young Duncan's pretty sister, Louise Currie (as Louise Cortland), may be engaged to a gangster. Out of respect and admiration for the older millionaire, Gorcey and pals decide they must reform young Duncan, and investigate his sister's French fiancé.

This one is predictable, but fun. The subtle, satirical humor works very well - it starts with Gorcey quizzing club applicant "Herbie" about his age (obviously more than two times 14 years old) and reaches a peak as Gorcey has a great "bit" with his (real) father, playing a short messenger with a chip on his shoulder. It's also nice to see Duncan featured; he becomes an official "East Side Kid" herein, and will play "Robin" in the 1949 "Batman" series.

***** Million Dollar Kid (2/18/44) Wallace Fox ~ Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Johnny Duncan, Herbert Heyes

In this East Side Kids entry, the gang help keep a wealthy man from being mugged and get use of his gym as the reward. They find out he has two sons and a daughter, all grown. One of those sons is in service, the daughter is supposedly engaged to someone also like that, and another of the sons is...Don't want to reveal too much here. Let's just say some reforming is warranted. Among returning players are Noah Beery Sr.-previously in Clancy Street Boys-playing a police captain and Pat Costello-Lou's brother, previously in Bowery Blitzkrieg-as one of the lowlifes. I liked this one very much especially when someone like Iris Adrian is featured. So on that note, Million Dollar Kid is well worth seeing. P.S. This was the first of the series not to feature Bobby Jordan, who was drafted, or Ernie "Sunshine Sammy" Morrison, who eventually left show business after one more film appearance. I'll mention what happened to him after I review that movie-Greenwich Village-in a few days...

The East Side Kids, now sans Sunshine Sammy Morrison and Bobby Jordan but with Huntz Hall and Billy Benedict, rescue a rich passerby (Herbert Heyes, later to play Mr. Gimble in Miracle on 34th Street) from a mugger. The grateful tycoon invites the boys over to his pad, where a fully equipped gymnasium awaits them. There are subplots involving Heyes ne'e'r do well son (Johnny Duncan, a few years before playing Robin in the Columbia serial Batman and Robin )and his feisty daughter (Louise Currie). The otherwise unknown Al Stone delivers an amusing one-off performance as cousin Herbie, an erstwhile East Side Kid whose relationship with Muggs and Glimpy is somewhat convoluted. One of the wittier series entries.

They should have been called the Bowery Boys in my opinion. This film takes place during World War II in New York City and doesn't forget that there is a war going on the world at the time. Leo Gorcey plays Malone, the leader of the East Side Boys who live in the Bowery which was the poor side of Manhattan. In this film episode, the East Side Boys help a millionaire when he is attacked by thieves. The East Side Boys save the day and the millionaire's gratitude is quite generous. He invites the boys to his wealthy home and introduces him to the pretty young lady who is engaged to a questionable foreigner and his son who lives at home. The millionaire's other son is off in the war. There is a party and the boys help out. This film was cute for it's time period and doesn't shy away but also entertaining with some laughs along the way.

One of the milder Kids cut-ups from that generally hilarious series. There're still chuckles aplenty from the trademark fractured grammar to the slappy roughhousing. As usual, Gorcey and Hall shine in their comical roles, though Hall trades more slams with Herbie (Stone) than with Gorcey-- Stone acting and looking like goofus Curley from The Three Stooges. My favorite part is with the brassy, blonde Iris Adrian as cheap floozie Mazie. She's a perfect female counterpart to the crack-up boys. I wish they had more scenes together, the comedic potential is certainly there.

Still, there's more serious plotting to the story than the usual comedic throw-aways. Unfortunately, however, the serious side doesn't always blend well with the usual nonsense humor. Still, the non-comedic side is understandable since 1943 was war time, so things had to serious up a bit. Note the close relationship between the wealthy, non-comical Cortland family and the comical poor-boy East-siders. That's likely a touch of needed class solidarity during those trying times when such was needed. At the same time, I expect that also accounts for the Kids becoming self-proclaimed 'do-gooders', a departure from their usual 'just a bunch of tough guys' behavior. That too's understandable given the overall need for not only class solidarity but national solidarity, as well. However, these serious sides don't always complement the kind of throw-away humor that elevated the series to sheer escapist entertainment.

Despite this sober side, fans can't help but be amused by the priceless lunacy of stars Hall and Gorcey-- always a sure bet. So, catch it up anyway. (In passing-- I couldn't help noticing a surprising resemblance between actor Durand (Dave), a striped sweater gang member, and a young Marlon Brando. See what you think.)