Little Tough Guy
Encyclopedia
Little Tough Guy is a 1938 Universal Studios
film that starred several of the Dead End Kids
. Although re-release posters and the DVD release credit them as The Dead End Kids
they did not go by that title in the on screen credits. It was in the follow-up films that they began using the team name The Little Tough Guys
, and later The Dead End Kids and Little Tough Guys. This was the first of several films and serials that Universal made using several of the Kids, whom they borrowed from Warner Bros.
) father was sentenced to death for a crime that he was never fully proven to have committed. He and his family move to a poorer section of the East Side in New York City. His sister, Kay (Helen Parrish
) resorts to dancing in a burlesque theater after she is fired from her job. Her former fiance, Paul Wilson (Robert Wilcox
), still cares for her and wants to help her, but she avoids him because of the shame she is feeling.
Johnny tries to enlist his fellow newsboy friends to help prove his father's innocence. They try to convince the judge, but are unsuccessful. In frustration, Johnny tosses a brick through the judge's car window, which begins his life of crime. He enlists his friend Pig (Huntz Hall
) to help him rob a drugstore. They are subsequently chased by the police and hide out. However, the cops find them and Pig begs Johnny to surrender. Eventually Pig leaves the store and is shot and killed by the police. Johnny is captured and sent to reform school.
Additional Cast
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
film that starred several of the Dead End Kids
Dead End Kids
The Dead End Kids were a group of young actors from New York who appeared in Sidney Kingsley's Broadway play Dead End in 1935. In 1937 producer Samuel Goldwyn brought all of them to Hollywood and turned the play into a film...
. Although re-release posters and the DVD release credit them as The Dead End Kids
Dead End Kids
The Dead End Kids were a group of young actors from New York who appeared in Sidney Kingsley's Broadway play Dead End in 1935. In 1937 producer Samuel Goldwyn brought all of them to Hollywood and turned the play into a film...
they did not go by that title in the on screen credits. It was in the follow-up films that they began using the team name The Little Tough Guys
Little Tough Guys
The Little Tough Guys were a group of actors who made a series of films and serials released by Universal Studios from 1938 through 1943...
, and later The Dead End Kids and Little Tough Guys. This was the first of several films and serials that Universal made using several of the Kids, whom they borrowed from Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
Plot
Johnny Boylan's (Billy HalopBilly Halop
William "Billy" Halop was an American actor born in New York City.He came from a Jewish theatrical family: his mother was a dancer, and his sister Florence Halop was a child actress, who later worked on radio and in television...
) father was sentenced to death for a crime that he was never fully proven to have committed. He and his family move to a poorer section of the East Side in New York City. His sister, Kay (Helen Parrish
Helen Parrish
Helen Parrish was an American movie actress, the daughter of stage and bit film actress Laura Parrish.-Career:...
) resorts to dancing in a burlesque theater after she is fired from her job. Her former fiance, Paul Wilson (Robert Wilcox
Robert Wilcox (actor)
Robert Wilcox , was a U.S. movie actor of the 1930s and 40s. His career began in earnest in 1936 after being discovered doing a summer-stock production of The Petrified Forest...
), still cares for her and wants to help her, but she avoids him because of the shame she is feeling.
Johnny tries to enlist his fellow newsboy friends to help prove his father's innocence. They try to convince the judge, but are unsuccessful. In frustration, Johnny tosses a brick through the judge's car window, which begins his life of crime. He enlists his friend Pig (Huntz Hall
Huntz Hall
Henry Richard "Huntz" Hall was an American radio, theatrical, and motion picture performer noted primarily for his roles in the "Dead End Kids" movies, such as Angels with Dirty Faces , which gave way to the "The Bowery Boys" movie franchise, a prolific and highly successful series of comedies in...
) to help him rob a drugstore. They are subsequently chased by the police and hide out. However, the cops find them and Pig begs Johnny to surrender. Eventually Pig leaves the store and is shot and killed by the police. Johnny is captured and sent to reform school.
Cast
The Dead End Kids- Billy HalopBilly HalopWilliam "Billy" Halop was an American actor born in New York City.He came from a Jewish theatrical family: his mother was a dancer, and his sister Florence Halop was a child actress, who later worked on radio and in television...
as Johnny Boylan - Huntz HallHuntz HallHenry Richard "Huntz" Hall was an American radio, theatrical, and motion picture performer noted primarily for his roles in the "Dead End Kids" movies, such as Angels with Dirty Faces , which gave way to the "The Bowery Boys" movie franchise, a prolific and highly successful series of comedies in...
as 'Pig' - Gabriel DellGabriel DellGabriel Dell was an American actor and one of the members of what came to be known as the Dead End Kids/East Side Kids/The Bowery Boys.-Early life:...
as String - Bernard PunslyBernard PunslyBernard Punsly , was a New York City-born American actor who later left show business to become a physician.-Career and personal life:...
as Ape - Hal E. ChesterHal E. ChesterHal E. "Hally" Chester is a American film producer and former child actor.He is best known for his appearances in Universal Studios's Little Tough Guys series at the end of the 1930s. His last appearance in this series was in Sea Raiders...
as Dopey (credited as Hally Chester) - David GorceyDavid GorceyDavid Gorcey was an American actor and comedian best known as being a member of the comedy team of The Bowery Boys. He was the younger brother of Dead End Kids member Leo Gorcey.-Career:...
as Sniper
Additional Cast
- Robert Wilcox as Paul Wilson
- Helen ParrishHelen ParrishHelen Parrish was an American movie actress, the daughter of stage and bit film actress Laura Parrish.-Career:...
as Kay Boylan - Marjorie MainMarjorie MainMarjorie Main was an American character actress, mainly at MGM, perhaps best known for her role as Ma Kettle in a series of ten Ma and Pa Kettle movies.-Early life and career:...
as Mrs. Boylan - Jackie SearlJackie SearlJackie Searl was an American child actor who began performing on a local Los Angeles radio at the age of three...
as Cyril Gerrard - Peggy Stewart as Rita Belle
- Helen MacKellar as Mrs. Wanamaker
- Edward PawleyEdward PawleyEdward Joel Pawley was an American actor of radio, films and Broadway. The full name on his birth certificate is Edward Joel Stone Pawley, however, he never used the Stone name. It derived from a Stone family in Illinois.At maturity, Pawley was 5'-10" tall with thick black hair and blue eyes...
as Jim Boylan - Olin Howland as Baxter
- Pat C. Flick as Peddler