On Dress Parade

On Dress Parade (1939)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Slip Duncan (Leo Gorcey) is a street-tough kid from New York who does what he wants when he wants. The father he never knew had a dying wish that he go to military school and he's eventually tricked into going. Once there he keeps his rebel ways until it nearly costs someone their life.

ON DRESS PARADE was the seventh and final film in The Dead End Kids series. If you've seen the previous entries then you should know that the tone to these films were a lot darker than future version of the kids under The East Side Kids and The Bowery Boys. While this entry isn't the greatest film in the world it's at least entertaining enough for fans.

I will start off with the biggest flaw and that's the fact that there's really nothing shocking or too uncommon. In other words, all of the films followed the same basic formula so once the movie gets going you'll know exactly where it's going. Slip is a jerk to everyone, something bad happens and then he changes his way. There are some good moments scattered throughout including the fact that Slip gets pushed around quite a bit.

Gorcey certainly deserves a lot of credit here as he delivers a nice performance and there's no doubt that he was perfect at playing this type of obnoxious jerk. The supporting cast includes nice turns by Gabriel Dell, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan, John Litel and Billy Halop among others. The direction is good enough to keep the 61 minute running time running smoothly and there are a couple nice laughs to go along with the drama.

Of the more than 60 + Dead End Kids to Bowery Boys movies I've soldiered through this is by far the worst. The drama is flat and violin filled. It's unfunny and tedious. It's basically a pro-military propaganda movie and a bad one at that.

I've even watched the four hour long movie serials and as bad as they are I'd watch them all over again rather than watch this one hour mess.

I've got to repeat the first paragraph to meet the required characters of this review Of the more than 60 + Dead End Kids to Bowery Boys movies I've soldiered through this is by far the worst. The drama is flat and violin filled. It's unfunny and tedious. It's basically a pro-military propaganda movie and a bad one at that.

While this is an Dead End Kids film, it's style is quite different. Instead of it consisting of a group of young hoodlums (such as in "Dead End" or "Crime School" or "Angels with Dirty Faces"), the only budding ex-con is played by Leo Gorcey. As for the rest, they are pretty normal...especially Huntz Hall! Oddly, Hall does not play the usual idiot!

The story begins, briefly, during WWI and shows some guys fighting and bonding. Soon it switches to 1939. One of the three friends, Colonel Duncan, has died and his two friends come to pay their respects. Soon they realize the Colonel's son is a real punk in need to discipline and they think a stretch in military school will shape him up. Of course, Slip Duncan (Gorcey) has zero interest in anything other than petty crime, so they have to trick him into agreeing to go to the school. Once there, Slip expects the entire school to change just for him...and he makes a lot of enemies in the process. It gets so bad that they strongly are considering tossing him out of the school. Can Slip get with the program or is he destined for a life of crime and, eventually, prison?

In many ways, this film feels like Warner Brothers is remaking MGM's "Boys Town"...a huge hit from the previous year. Gorcey is essentially playing Mickey Rooney's role...and it pretty much goes the say way.

I was surprised that I liked this film as much as I did...much of it because Gorcey wasn't playing his Bowery Boys character, Slip Mahoney. His character had more depth...and the rest of the gang are more likable...less annoying. Overall, an enjoyable old fashioned film.

As Donald Douglas lays dying, he asks WWI buddy John Litel to succor his delinquent son, Leo Gorcey. As Litel is the commanding officer of a military academy, he grabs Gorcey and takes him to the academy, where the other members of the Dead End Kids are cadets.

The last of seven movies featuring the Dead End Kids is basically a remake of Boy's Town, with Litel as Spencer Tracy and Gorcey as Mickey Rooney. With Bryan Foy the producer, you know you're deep in B territory, and while the time passes without boredom, it doesn't offer much more.

After this, the troupe of young men went various ways, into two successor groups. After the War, Gorcey and Huntz Hall were the two leaders in a long-running B series for Monogram, "the Bowery Boys", which played for decades on television, and about which director William Beaudine said "There's someone waiting for this c**p?"

ON DRESS PARADE (Warner Brothers, 1939) directed by William Clemens, became the sixth and final "Dead End Kids" installment for the studio, and their least known and revived. Taken from an original screenplay credited to Tom Reed and Charles Belden, the story elements, especially during its second half, is actually revamped from an earlier military academy musical-drama, SHIPMATES FOREVER (1935) starring Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler. The only original idea is not having the "Dead End Kids" working together as a group of teens who end up in trouble, either getting involved with a gangster(s) or ending up in reform school. Regardless of top billing going to Billy Halop in the closing credits, ON DRESS PARADE rightfully belongs to the fifth-billed Leo Gorcey, that as an unruly character of high intellect.

The story begins with a prologue during the World War in 1918 where Michael Riker (John Litel) risks his life on the battlefield saving William Duncan (Donald Douglas), forming a lifelong friendship. Following a montage through the passage of time, 1920, 1927, 1929, 1933 and to modern-day 1939, the story resumes with Colonel Riker, now head of the Washington Military Academy for Boys, receiving note that William Duncan is dying and wants to see Riker immediately. Before he dies, Riker is asked from Duncan's deathbed to take care of his son. Following a meeting where Slip Duncan (Leo Gorcey), a hard-to-handle teenager living under the roof of Mrs. Neeley (Cissie Loftus), who would rather drink beer and play pool all day, gets the impression that he will be sent to reform school, thus, accepting Riker's invitation to enlist at his academy of cadets instead. While there, Slip refuses to abide by the rules and gets written up by his superiors. Cadet Major Jack Rollings (Billy Halop), commander of the regiment, is the only one who feels Duncan should be given a second chance to reform himself, regardless of getting the silent treatment from his fellow cadets, Johnny Cabot (Huntz Hall), Ronny Morgan (Bobby Jordan) and Georgie Warren (Gabriel Dell), following a serious accident among one of the other cadets. Co-starring Frankie Thomas (Cadet Murphy); Douglas Meins (Hathaway) and Aldrich Bowker (Father Ryan). Bernard Punsley, usually a member of the gang, is the only one of the "Dead End Kids" not part of the group. He's simply close friend of Slip back in the city with only two brief scenes.

With Leo Gorcey carrying on the first name of Slip, one would immediately think of that very name he used in his popular and long-running "Bowery Boys" series (1946-1956) for Monogram Pictures. Huntz Hall, best remembered as Gorcey's sidekick, Sach, from that same series, doesn't get much to do in ways of comedy, in fact, neither do the other Dead End Kids members as well. It might have been better off had ON DRESS PARADE been a solo Gorcey effort instead, for which that is what it appears to be. There are no female counterparts here for romantic interest, only the elderly Cissie Loftus for one brief scene. The film plays quickly, in fact, 62 minutes, with scenes briefed and no long-winded dramatics. Regardless of its overly sentimental dramatics as a whole, ON DRESS PARADE benefits more for the elevation in stardom for Leo Gorcey for his future films range of both "The East Side Kids" (1940-1945) and "Bowery Boys" series to come.

Shown once in a while on Turner Classic Movies cable channel. ON DRESS PARADE has been placed on DVD with another Dead End Kids drama, HELL'S KITCHEN (1939) on its flip side. (**)