Stars Pat O'Brien and Bette Davis have not near as much time as juvenile actor Junior Durkin in this one. It's another sociological drama from Warner Brothers about juvenile crime.
Junior Durkin is fresh off the farm in every sense of the word. The film opens up with Junior's Mom killed by a hit and run driver. Junior goes off to the big city to live with uncle and aunt Charley Grapewin and Emma Dunn.
They have conman boarder in Pat O'Brien and Junior falls for his spiel, hook, line, and sinker. O'Brien's a bootlegger and when his warehouse is raided, Junior takes the fall because he won't rat out his pal.
Junior goes to reform school where the conditions kind of open up his naive young eyes a crack. I think you can figure the rest of the plot.
Granted that things were more innocent back then even in Hollywood before the Code. But I have to believe that even audiences in 1932 had trouble believing this kid could be that naive. Also the beginning scene was totally unnecessary with Mom being killed. That storyline was left hanging. I was waiting for the driver to be caught and dealt with and he never was. Bad editing to say the least.
Warner Brothers got things a whole lot better with James Cagney in The Mayor of Hell the following year and then in a whole series of films with The Dead End Kids. Bette Davis is totally wasted on a thankless role.
Junior Durkin is fresh off the farm in every sense of the word. The film opens up with Junior's Mom killed by a hit and run driver. Junior goes off to the big city to live with uncle and aunt Charley Grapewin and Emma Dunn.
They have conman boarder in Pat O'Brien and Junior falls for his spiel, hook, line, and sinker. O'Brien's a bootlegger and when his warehouse is raided, Junior takes the fall because he won't rat out his pal.
Junior goes to reform school where the conditions kind of open up his naive young eyes a crack. I think you can figure the rest of the plot.
Granted that things were more innocent back then even in Hollywood before the Code. But I have to believe that even audiences in 1932 had trouble believing this kid could be that naive. Also the beginning scene was totally unnecessary with Mom being killed. That storyline was left hanging. I was waiting for the driver to be caught and dealt with and he never was. Bad editing to say the least.
Warner Brothers got things a whole lot better with James Cagney in The Mayor of Hell the following year and then in a whole series of films with The Dead End Kids. Bette Davis is totally wasted on a thankless role.