That Gang of Mine

Plot-- Gorcey's convinced beyond reason that he's a born jockey and can win a trophy race if he can just ride his favorite horse. And that's despite the riding mistakes he keeps making and the Kids' own doubts. So what's the outcome going to be.

The flick's more dramatic than most Kids entries. The slap-happy's at a minimum, while Gorcey's efforts at becoming a jockey aboard promising race horse Blue Knight takes over the storyline. Gorcey shows his acting chops, going through more moods than usual as he confronts many horse-riding set-backs. Movie really belongs to veteran Black actor Clarence Muse as Blue Knight's loving care-taker. Significantly, Black-man Muse's character remains sympathetic, worldly wise, and not mocked for laughs in the style of the day. Still, there are some amusing lines as when one Kid says he has an idea while another Kid wonders if it hurts! Anyway, the entry has its own particular merits, along with a rather surprise ending that I wasn't expecting. But don't look for many humorous head-swats, or antics from that great looney, Huntz Hall.

Muggs wants to follow in the footsteps of a kid who left the street years earlier to become a jockey. Muggs' idol turns out to be a stuck up kid who wants nothing more than to forget the old days now that he is a successful jockey. undeterred Muggs continues on his quest and eventually has the chance to ride a champion horse.

Very good East Side Kids movie that nicely balances the serious and the silly. Muggs attempt at bettering himself and the gang is nicely handled, and the craziness of the gang prevents things from getting too dark.

Definitely worth seeing for both fans and non-fans of the series.

THAT GANG OF MINE (Monogram, 1940), directed by Joseph H. Lewis, the third in the "East Side Kids" series, should have been titled THAT HORSE OF MINE. Rather than a story dealing with rival gangs with street rumbles, it more about horse racing set outside New York City's Bowery section where the East Side Kids reside. For its second official installment featuring series regulars as Bobby Jordan, Leo Gorcey, Donald Haines, David Gorcey, "Sunshine Sammy" Morrison and Eugene Francis, it also became Dave O'Brien's final role as Danny's older brother and guardian, "Knuckles." O'Brien would return for three more installments playing different characters. Though Bobby Jordan (the one with the striped shirt) continues to head the cast, the story, as in most of the series, centers mostly on the second-billed Leo Gorcey.

The story opens with the Eastside Kids, Danny Dolan (Bobby Jordan), Pee-Wee (David Gorcey), Skinny (Donald Haines) and Scruno (Sammy Morrison) fooling around while supposedly to be painting their club. Muggs Maloney (Leo Gorcey), who feels "work is for suckers," is seen waiting for a letter from Jimmy Sullivan, a notable jockey, which doesn't get delivered. It's soon learned that Muggs ambition is to become a jockey. With the suggestion of Danny's brother, "Knuckles" (Dave O'Brien), the boys get some racing atmosphere by coming to the Acme stable. While there, they meet Ben (Clarence Muse), an old horseman from Kentucky down on his luck living in the barn with his prized possession thoroughbred racehorse, Blue Knight. It's Ben who becomes Muggs' trainer with Algernon "Algy" Wilkes (Eugene Francis), a sophisticated friend of the East Side Kids, to have his father, Conrad (Milton Kibbee) put up the $100 entrance fee for Muggs. Though the horse is recognized by Morgan (Forrest Taylor) to have great racing potential, Muggs loses his confidence as a jockey to later find his idol Jimmy Sullivan (Nick Wall) to be a major disappointment; and gamblers, Nick Buffalo (Wilbur Mack) and "Blackie" Towne (Richard B, Terry) entering the scene to throw the race. Co-starring Joyce Bryant (Knuckle's Girl, Louise) and Hazel Keener (Mrs. Wilkes) in supporting roles.

Clocked at 62 minutes (with Savoy Pictures reissue being five minutes shorter), THAT GANG OF MINE is a satisfactory time filler. Little comedy to this straight-laced drama. There is a moment where deep singing voice of Clarence Muse vocalizing "All God's Children" while Scruno goes into his dance. The idea of placing Muggs as a jockey would turn up again in MR. MUGGS RIDES AGAIN (Monogram, 1945), one of the last films of the "East Side Kids" series.

Although the movie contains some interesting tracking and camera shots, some portions are still poorly edited, the true charm of Monogram Pictures. Regardless of its faults, this series did improve from one film to the next before coming to a close in 1945, and revamped far more successfully as "The Bowery Boys" series (1946-1958) headed by Leo Gorcey and Huntz Hal respectively.

Available on video cassette and DVD format, THAT GANG OF MINE turned up on cable television, notably Turner Classic Movies (TCM premiere: September 13, 2004). Next installment: PRIDE OF THE BOWERY (1941) starring Leo Gorcey and Bobby Jordan in that order. (**1/2)

I have never been a huge fan of the Dead End Kids, the East Side Kids or the Bowery Boys--they just aren't the sort of films I enjoy. However, I must say I was pleasantly surprised by this little public domain film--it's well worth your time and not 100% predictable.

The film begins with Muggs (Leo Gorcey), out of the blue, announcing that he wants to be a jockey! Where this idea would come from is a tad hard to believe--as it is when they stumble upon a guy who just happens to have a horse that can't help but win! At this point in the film, I was far from impressed as it all seemed incredibly contrived. Fortunately, it did get better. In the crazy world of films, you'd expect that by the end of the film Muggs and the horse would be a huge success--and fortunately that is NOT where it went. The idea of an untrained knuckle-head learning overnight to be a top jockey is patently ridiculous--and fortunately the film does NOT go there. Where exactly it goes is something you'll have to see for yourself.

Another thing you may want to pay attention to is the treatment of black performers in the film. While the owner of the horse is occasionally a walking stereotype, he's also an amazingly decent and complex character--and very sympathetic. He's not just another 'dumb black man'--but someone with kindness and intelligence--something you don't often see in films of the era.

Overall, the film offered a few surprises and taught me that the best way out of your problems is to beat someone up--probably NOT the best object lesson, but entertaining nonetheless. A notch above the norm for East Side Kids films.

That Gang of Mine was the second Monogram East Side Kids movie and was the first to feature Leo Gorcey as Muggs, the archetypal character he would play uninterrupted for the next seventeen years. Thanks to his small stature, he gets roped into jockeying in this episode, and while the narrative is no more complex or interesting than in any of the other series entries, the film has points of interest. First and foremost is the direction of Joseph H. Lewis, the 'B' specialist who is remembered today for Gun Crazy and The Big Combo. Lewis does his best to create interesting moments in the film, notably during an opening sequence atop a swaying gangplank. Also of considerable interest is the third billed presence of Clarence Muse as Ben, the African-American trainer of the horse Muggs' is going to ride. Whilst his role isn't entirely free of the racial stereotyping of the period, Muse is such a fine actor that he inevitably rises above it, offering perhaps the finest acting performance of ANY of the post-Warners East Side Kids/Bowery Boys productions. It's also worth noting that Sam--the analogous character in the recent Hollywood production Seabiscuit--has virtually no dialogue and simply follows orders. Things really haven't changed as much as we'd like to think they have.