Amusements

Northern Advocate, 12 May 1939, Page 9

Amusements

“Dead End Kids” Return To Plaza

Vividly revealing the life, tragedy and laughter throbbing in the hearts of young people of the back streets of a big city, Universal's “Little Tough Guy” represents another triumph for the screen’s newest stars, the “DeadEnd Kids.” The film, which opened at the Plaza Theatre last night, is a gripping drama of the fortunes of a family forced into the slum area of the city when the father is sent to the electric chair for murder in a labour riot. To stick with her family, and discouraged and defeated, the daughter, Helen Parrish, breaks off her engagement with Robert Wilcox, while the embittered younger brother, Billy Hallop, becomes the leader of a gang of hoodlums, the “Dead-End Kids,” who graduate from petty thieving to serious robbery and hold-ups, eventually involving them in a gun battle with the police.

In her efforts to save her young brother from the sordid influence of the streets, Miss Parrish gives a splendid portrayal, while the youngsters themselves present an amazing performance in which hilarious comedy is never far removed from stark tragedy. On the same programme is “Exposed,” featuring Glenda Farrell, Otto Kruger, Herbert Mundin and David Oliver in a thrilling yarn of racketeering brought to book through the efforts of a steel-nerved newspaper camera girl.