Streets of New York

"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.

I had little hope for the public domain DVD I bought of this little programmer from Monogram...was I wrong and how! Direction, script and photography are all better than you might expect, and Jackie Cooper leads a great cast which includes good parts for fine supporting players of the era...a special note for George Irving as the kindly judge...he had one of the most elegant voices in film and will be forever remembered as Alexander Peabody in Bringing Up Baby.

But the most appealing aspect of this movie is the genuine freshness which the actors bring to the situations, many of which had already become Hollywood clichés. The Christmas party scene with the poor kids at the judge's home is only one of many memorable scenes which make this a way above average "B" picture of the era. The sentimental touches are sincere and you'll be surprised how this fine little movie draws to a strong conclusion!

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.

Of the three Jackie Cooper vehicles from the late '30s that I've seen that he made for Monogram Pictures, I consider this one the best of the bunch. Here, he's an aspiring lawyer who's earning his pay running a newsstand in the rough streets of New York employing many kids not much younger than him. Actually, there's one pre-teen in Gimpy (Martin Spellman) he's employing as well as looking after at home since both his parents are gone. As you probably figured out by his name, Gimpy is handicapped with a crutch to walk with. He's the kind of character teen Cooper could've played 7 years earlier. They have a nice rapport going on. Cooper's character also has to deal with a rough gang wanting to take over his corner and an adult brother who's a racketeer that he wants noting to do with. That brother was played by Dick Purcell who would eventually be the first one to portray Captain America on screen (though that Cap's civilian name wasn't Steve Rogers but Grant Gardner). Oh, and there's some nice sentiment at a Christmas party concerning a kindly judge and his niece played by a lovely young lady named Marjorie Reynolds. So in summary, Streets of New York is worth a look for anyone interested in these vintage B-movies.

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.