Front Line Kids

Leslie Fuller shares his final big screen vehicle with Britain's answer to the East Side kids in the usual nonsense, with the addition of a subplot about evacuees - and Norman Pierce as an ARP warden - to lend superficial wartime topicality.

One of a careless gang of jewel thieves adds dropping litter to his charge sheet by discarding operational details of his latest job on the pavement where the kids can retrieve them; while his associates discuss their plans in a loud voice within earshot of Fuller.

This would have done a good job of taking people's minds off the war for a short while which was probably what it was designed to do. Even now it's worth a watch even if the style of comedy, very popular at the time, has not dated well, but when compared to so called "comedy" these days it's not too bad. This is only the fourth review so it's not attracting a lot of viewers on Talking Pictures TV in the UK where it's currently being shown. No sign of anyone in it who went on to be more famous with a growing career but well acted all round in the style of the day. Plenty of posh people in the posh hotel to have a look at.

The Front Line Kids were a wartime gang of kids with ages ranging from 5 to 15 who spent their spare time shooting out windows with catapults and getting into trouble with the local police. This film marks their sole screen appearance, and watching them in action it becomes apparent that they're the British answer to the likes of the Bowery Boys or the East Side Kids.

FRONT LINE KIDS is a slight comedy that feels very dated by modern standards, but must have been a breath of fresh air for a country knee-deep in war in 1942. The story is about a couple of the older kids who find employment as porters at a plush local hotel and soon become convinced that a criminal gang are hiding their loot in one of the rooms. What follows is a comedy full of cross-dressing, mistaken identity, and slapstick humour.

I find that films like this flow along quite easily with plenty of one-liners to take your mind off any problems with the plot. Certainly FRONT LINE KIDS is no masterpiece, as it feels quite cheap throughout, but it's never boring. The interaction between the kids is quite funny and Leslie Fuller is good value as their adult ally. It's nothing more than an amiable time waster, which is exactly what it was designed to be.