Dead End **** (1937, Joel McCrea, Sylvia Sidney, Humphrey Bogart, Wendy Barrie, Claire Trevor, Allen Jenkins, Marjorie Main, Billy Halop) – Classic Movie Review 6914

Billy Halop was cast as Tommy Gordon in the 1935 Broadway production of Sidney Kingsley’s play Dead End and got the call to go to Hollywood with the rest of the young actors playing the Dead End Kids when Samuel Goldwyn produced this film version of the play, directed by William Wyler in 1937.

Unfortunately, producer Goldwyn waters down the street-smart language of Sidney Kingsley’s Broadway hit and forces the filming on one sound-stage of the New York East Side slum street, making for a stagey, synthetic film with a crusading awareness about social justice.

Joel McCrea stars as the hero, unemployed architect Dave, who returns from Hollywood to the slums where he is torn between his former love, sweet, poor Drina (Sylvia Sidney), and a rich man’s mistress, Kay (Wendy Barrie). Humphrey Bogart is typecast once again as a gangster called Baby Face Martin, who returns to the slums too and is horrible to his old flame Francey (Claire Trevor) and even to his own mother (Marjorie Main).

Cramped and artificial though the movie seems now, it has a warm heart and good intentions that still shine through. There are several charismatic performances to propel it along, and director Wyler, cinematographer Gregg Toland (master of deep focus photography) and writer Lillian Hellman work little wonders within the movie’s self-imposed constrictions.

It brought the young actors playing the show’s Dead End Kids (Billy Halop as Tommy Gordon, Huntz Hall as Dippy, Bobby Jordan as Angel, Leo B Gorcey as Spit, Gabriel Dell as TB, and Bernard Punsly [Punsley] as Milton ‘Milty’) to the cinema and was a big hit mostly because of them.

It led to a long series of films that featured the Dead End Kids, later billed Little Tough Guys, in which Halop had the recurring role of gang leader, usually called Tommy.

McCrea had a tough time working with Bogart, explaining to Wyler that Bogart kept spitting in his face when he was speaking.

The adult cast are Sylvia Sidney as Drina Gordon, Joel McCrea as Dave Connell, Humphrey Bogart as Hugh ‘Baby Face’ Martin, Wendy Barrie as Kay Burton, Claire Trevor as Francey, Allen Jenkins as Hunk, Marjorie Main as Mrs. Martin, Charles Peck as Philip Griswald, Minor Watson as Mr Griswald, James Burke as Officer Mulligan, Ward Bond as doorman, Elisabeth Risdon as Mrs Connell, Esther Dale as Mrs Fenner, George Humbert as Pascagli, Marcelle Corday as governess and Charles Halton as Whitey.

Dead End is directed by William Wyler, runs 93 minutes, is a Goldwyn production, is released by United Artists, is written by Lillian Hellman, based on Sidney Kingsley’s play Dead End, is shot in black and white by Gregg Toland, is produced by Samuel Goldwyn, is scored by Alfred Newman, and is designed by Richard Day.

It was Oscar nominated for Best Picture, Best Art Direction (Richard Day), Academy Award for Best Cinematography (Gregg Toland) and Best Supporting Actress (Claire Trevor), but no wins. It was shot from 3 May to 9 July 1937, and released on 27 August.

Halop also worked with Bogart on You Can’t Get Away with Murder (1939).

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 6914

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