Gli eroi della strada

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.

In the basement of the building where he grew up on the mean "Streets of New York", teenage law student Jackie Cooper (as James "Jimmy" Michael Keenan) lives with crippled orphan Martin Spellman (as William "Gimpy" McKinley Smith). The little lad is the youngest of Mr. Cooper's newsboy troupe. Cooper runs a newsstand by day while studying law at night. The perseverant and highly ethical young man is known as "The Abe Lincoln of Ninth Avenue" (giving the film a second title).

Cooper and his newsboys must contend with tough-guy rival David Durand (as "Spike" Morgan), who breaks young Spellman's crutches and vows to take over Cooper's beat. A greater threat, ironically, is posed by Cooper's older brother Dick Purcell (as "Tap" Keenan), an elusive and successful businessman gangster who makes headlines in the newspapers Cooper sells. Big brother's criminal ways lead to heartbreak for Cooper, but happiness may be just around the corner...

The story is set during Christmas, which should hint at where events lead. It's all very programmed, but classier than you might be expecting from a low-budget "Monogram" production. A natural, Cooper gives the characterization his usual best. The scene where Cooper gives the reluctant Spellman a rough bath, after ironing in his shorts, is one highlight (the outtakes are classic). George Cleveland (as "Pop" O'Toole) is endearing as a grandfatherly neighbor with a gambling habit.

The other members of Cooper's newsy street gang are Sidney Miller (as "Jiggsy"), Buddy Pepper (as "Flatfoot"), Bobby Stone (as "Beansy"), and William Bucker (as "Sammy"). They seem to be modeled after the "Dead End" kids, and appeared in related films. It's almost impossible not to join in when the lads sing "Silent Night" after Christmas dinner with judge George Irving (as Joe Carroll) and pretty niece Marjorie Reynolds (as Anne). "Sleep in heavenly peace, sleep in heavenly peace."

****** Streets of New York (4/12/39) William Nigh ~ Jackie Cooper, Martin Spellman, George Irving, George Cleveland

Jackie Cooper runs a news stand, takes care of four youngsters, and is studying law. He's facing a gang of young hoods who threaten to take his corner away from him. According to them, the only thing stopping them is his older brother, Dick Purcell, a hoodlum Cooper hasn't seen in years, since their mother died.

It's an unfocused second feature directed by WIlliam Nigh that seems to cannibalize the remaining fondness of Jackie Cooper from back when he became the youngest person ever nominated for the Best Actor Oscar. Hes given good support from the likes of Marjorie Reynolds and George Irving, but in the end little changes, and it becomes a character study of a young man who simply wants to get through the day and become a lawyer.

"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.

Jackie Coooper must have wondered where his career went when he did this film for Monogram. It was sure a long way from MGM where he starred in The Champ and Treasure Island. At least he was away from Wallace Beery whom he couldn't stand and eventually became an adult player of considerable talent and ability.

His character in Streets Of New York is really a bit much to take in. He runs a newstand where he has about half a dozen newsboys sell from, kids not much younger than him including Martin Spellman a kid on crutches. Rivals like Dave Durand give him a wide berth because Cooper has an older gangster brother in Dick Purcell. Kind of like Frank Sinatra in Johnny Concho.

But Cooper is one of the straightest arrow young men you ever will encounter. He's studying law on the side and he patterns himself as the Abraham Lincoln of 9th Avenue.

He'd never make it in the Corleone family though where blood ties are everything. More I won't say.

Jackie Cooper and the rest of the cast give decent and sincere performances in a typical cheap Monogram Production.