The Dead End Kids were a group of young actors from New York City 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 proved to be so popular that they continued to make movies under various monikers, including the Little Tough Guys, the East Side Kids, and the Bowery Boys, until 1958.
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. Many of them were originally part of The Dead End Kids, and several of them later became members of The East Side Kids and The Bowery Boys.
The Bowery Boys are fictional New York City characters, portrayed by a company of New York actors, who were the subject of 48 feature films released by Monogram Pictures and its successor Allied Artists Pictures Corporation from 1946 through 1958.
Crime School is a 1938 American crime drama film directed by Lewis Seiler and starring the Dead End Kids, Humphrey Bogart and Gale Page. It was produced and distributed by Warner Brothers.
They Made Me a Criminal is a 1939 American crime-drama film directed by Busby Berkeley and starring John Garfield, Claude Rains, and The Dead End Kids. It is a remake of the film The Life of Jimmy Dolan (1933). The film later was featured in an episode of Cinema Insomnia. Portions of the film were shot in the Coachella Valley, California.
The Angels Wash Their Faces is a 1939 Warner Bros. film directed by Ray Enright and starring Ann Sheridan, Ronald Reagan and the Dead End Kids.
The 'Dead End' Kids "On Dress Parade" is a 1939 Warner Bros. film that marked the first time The Dead End Kids headlined a film without any other well-known actors.
Junior G-Men of the Air is a 1942 Universal film serial starring the Dead End Kids and the Little Tough Guys. A group of youthful flying enthusiasts join the "Junior G-Men" to help break up a planned attack on the United States.
Junior G-Men is a 1940 Universal film serial. It was Universal's 116th serial of their total of output of 137. The serial is one of the three serials starring "The Dead End Kids and Little Tough Guys" who were under contract to Universal at the time. The plot of Junior G-Men is a pre-World War II G-Man story about fifth columnists in the United States, with the FBI joining forces with youth to save the country.
Sea Raiders is a 1941 Universal film serial starring the Dead End Kids and Little Tough Guys. This was the teen stars' second of three serials, between Junior G-Men (1940) and Junior G-Men of the Air (1942). Sea Raiders was the 52nd serial to be released by Universal. The plot concerns the heroes foiling Nazi attacks on American shipping.
Keep 'Em Slugging is a 1943 American film starring the Little Tough Guys and directed by Christy Cabanne for Universal Pictures. This was the final film in Universal's Little Tough Guys series, and although Universal still billed the group as "The Dead End Kids and The Little Tough Guys", none of the Little Tough Guys appeared in this film.
Mr. Wise Guy is a 1942 American film starring The East Side Kids and directed by William Nigh.
Call a Messenger is a 1939 Universal Studios film that starred Billy Halop and Huntz Hall of the Dead End Kids and several of the Little Tough Guys. It was directed by Arthur Lubin.
Give Us Wings is a 1940 Universal comedic film starring the Dead End Kids and the Little Tough Guys. Several members of the casts of those series were also featured in "The East Side Kids" films.
Hit the Road is a 1941 American comedy crime film directed by Joe May and featuring the Dead End Kids and Little Tough Guys alongside Gladys George, Barton MacLane and Evelyn Ankers. It was produced and distributed by Universal Pictures.
The East Side Kids were characters in a series of 22 films released by Monogram Pictures from 1940 through 1945. The series was a low-budget imitation of the Dead End Kids, a successful film franchise of the late 1930s.
Dead End is a stage play written by playwright Sidney Kingsley. It premiered on Broadway in October 1935 and ran for two years. It is notable for being the first project to feature the Dead End Kids, who would go on to star, under various names, in 89 films and three serials. These names include Dead End Kids, Little Tough Guys, the East Side Kids and the Bowery Boys. The original play and the 1937 film adaptation were grim dramas set in a poverty-stricken riverside neighborhood in New York City, where the boys look on reform school as a learning opportunity. They played similar characters in several films; their later pictures are comedies.
Mob Town is a 1941 American comedy crime film directed by William Nigh and starring Dick Foran, Anne Gwynne, the Dead End Kids and the Little Tough Guys. It was produced and distributed by Universal Pictures.
Tough as They Come is a 1942 Universal film directed by William Nigh and starring the Dead End Kids and the Little Tough Guys.
Mug Town is a 1942 Universal film starring the Dead End Kids and the Little Tough Guys.
