The East Side Kids made a number of movies to inspire patriotism for the war effort during World War II. "Let's Get Tough" gets a bit muddled in the execution as it tries to portray Danny's (Bobby Jordan) older brother as a former GI who's discharged from the service for subversive activity, namely spying for the Japanese and the Nazis. Story continuity didn't seem to rely on much believability with these films, as a newspaper headline and story indicates that Phil Connors (Tom Brown) was a saboteur. Later in the picture it's revealed that he was really infiltrating the secret Black Dragon Society, but it made me wonder how the ruse could have been pulled off for real. I suppose it could have worked, but you would have to have a lot of authorities in on it, and probably a miracle to pull it off.
There's also the question of the East Siders pelting shopkeeper Chino believing him to be Japanese, yet later they apologize to Mrs. Chino in a way that makes it seem that they've known each other a long time. It just seemed to create a kind of disconnect from reality in the story; why would the boys suddenly turn on Chino if they knew him as a regular from the neighborhood?
As a fan of the East Side Kids, I'm curious why Gabriel Dell wound up playing the German Heinbach in the story instead of being part of the gang. This kind of thing happened every now and then, and as a kid watching these movies it drove me crazy. It also bothered me that the core group of East Siders sometimes had different names from picture to picture, but looking back on that time, it doesn't seem like such a big deal now.
But at least the boys wind up heroes for breaking up a Japanese spy ring, even if they weren't old enough to join the military. What a difference a year makes though. In 1943's "Kid Dynamite", Danny, Muggs and Glimpy show up at the end of the picture, each in a uniform from a different branch of the service!
There's also the question of the East Siders pelting shopkeeper Chino believing him to be Japanese, yet later they apologize to Mrs. Chino in a way that makes it seem that they've known each other a long time. It just seemed to create a kind of disconnect from reality in the story; why would the boys suddenly turn on Chino if they knew him as a regular from the neighborhood?
As a fan of the East Side Kids, I'm curious why Gabriel Dell wound up playing the German Heinbach in the story instead of being part of the gang. This kind of thing happened every now and then, and as a kid watching these movies it drove me crazy. It also bothered me that the core group of East Siders sometimes had different names from picture to picture, but looking back on that time, it doesn't seem like such a big deal now.
But at least the boys wind up heroes for breaking up a Japanese spy ring, even if they weren't old enough to join the military. What a difference a year makes though. In 1943's "Kid Dynamite", Danny, Muggs and Glimpy show up at the end of the picture, each in a uniform from a different branch of the service!