bkoganbing Little Tough Guy has Billy Halop and most of the rest of the Dead End Kids operating as a gang pulling off a number of petty crimes and led by a snotty young rich kid played by Jackie Searl. Halop doesn't start out that way though.He and the rest of his family get a real lousy break when his father Edward Pawley out of work and desperate goes to work as a scab and gets involved in a labor riot. Pawley gets blamed for the death of another worker and gets the death penalty with first degree murder.That was part of the story I couldn't buy. Granted the family didn't have a good defense lawyer, but the circumstances in no way indicate first degree murder. Everything happens then as they're forced to move to a bad neighborhood and Halop falls in with some tough slum kids who become Searl's gang.Not the best of films Little Tough Guy doesn't compare with what the Dead End Kids did over at Warner Brothers. This feature for Universal just doesn't have the same production values. Still it's better than what was to come at Monogram.Marjorie Main plays Halop's mother and she's miles from the hard working Ma Kettle. Here she's a slum version of Peg Bundy.Huntz Hall was a revelation. This will be one of the few times you see Hall play it serious and he was effective. Not a bad urban drama though Warner Brothers did them better.

wes-connors In their third team appearance, "The 'Dead End' Kids" are: Billy Halop (as Johnny Boylan), Huntz Hall (as "Pig"), Gabriel Dell (as "String"), Bernard Punsly (as "Ape"), Hal E. "Hally" Chester (as "Dopey"), and David Gorcey (as "Sniper"). After this film, Universal Pictures, the third of several studios to cash in on the Kids' popularity, adopted "Little Tough Guys" as a series co-title; possibly, in case United Artists or Warner Brothers legally challenged their use of "Dead End Kids". In this film "Little Tough Guy" refers to Mr. Halop only, the leader of the pack. Universal was only able to obtain four original "Dead Enders" for their first outing; so, substituting for Bobby Jordan and Leo Gorcey, and making their first appearances as members of the expanding "Bowery" team, are "Hally" Chester and David Gorcey (Leo's brother). Both would continue with the group. Brat packer Jackie Searl (as Cyril Gerrard), who not only joins, but also takes over as "Little Tough Guys" leader, would only make a couple of peripheral reappearances. Herein, his snobbishness balances the grim and gritty quite nicely.Although you wouldn't expect it, this is one of the best "little" films in the whole "Dead End-East Side-Bowery Kid" cache. The plot is fairly typical, but handled well - Halop's teen angst turns to anger after his father is wrongly arrested, for killing a policeman. Following a miscarriage of justice, Halop soothes his sorrows by descending into a "Dead End" lifestyle. Halop has a firm grasp of this material, and performs the melodrama with his usual expertise.Another cast member tuning in an excellent performance is matronly Marjorie Main (as Mrs. Boylan). A keen actress, Ms. Main gives her "mother" character an almost unseemly underbelly. Note how Main's "theatrics" fit perfectly with the lines her children address her with: daughter Helen Parish (as Kay Boylan) says, "Oh Mom, quit acting," and Halop tells Main, "Gee, Ma, you look just like a movie star." So, Main plays her part as a failed movie star, lamenting her age and poverty.The 1930s New York City interior and exterior sets are terrific. Halop says, "I gotta keep moving," and director Harold Young fills the running time with a lot of movement - there are people everywhere. Both Young and photographer Elwood Bredell excel. Ms. Parrish and Robert Wilcox (as Paul Wilson) are sweet, in the "romantic" adult roles. There are a myriad of extras, with Richard Selzer (as Bud) among the "worst dressed" background kids - later, Mr. Selzer became the "Top 10" fashion conscious "Mr. Blackwell".******** Little Tough Guy (7/22/38) Harold Young ~ Billy Halop, Jackie Searl, Marjorie Main

Little-Mikey Having been a fan of the Bowery Boys/East Side Kids, I eagerly grabbed this movie, expecting to see the wildly madcap misadventures of Mugs, Glimpy and the rest of the East Side Kids, boys whose misadventures stemmed from their being naughty, though not altogether bad, along with the local cops who tended to feel that the East Side Kids were a far bigger threat and who belonged behind bars. As a rule, the East Side Kids, in a race against time, with the law hot on their trails usually wound up making good and coming out the heroes in the end, by using their street smarts and their smart alack attitude. This was the general formula of the movies starring the East Side Kids. The East Side Kids were truly the kings of the B-grade movies.With this in mind, I was at first disappointed in this movie. It was a grim and somewhat tragic story of a gang of boys stuck on the wrong side of the tracks and who, through circumstances beyond their control, wound up on the wrong side of the law, turning to crime.Through it all, some of the character traits that would shine bright in their later movies, was apparent. There were some comic moments in this movie, though too few and far between in this movie.In spite of my disappointment, this movie is one movie that I can watch over and over again.A point of interest to the technical-minded viewer who loves to look for detail, the record changer in Cyril's house is a Capehart, one of the high end record changers at that time. And in the 1930s, this model cost more than the price of a new car!

jim riecken (youroldpaljim) The weakest and least known of all the film series spawned from the "Dead End" Kids were those made by Universal. These Universal films which were cranked out between 1938 and 1943, overlapped the concurrent "Dead End" Kids at Warner Bros (1938-1939), and The East Side Kids films (1940-1945) at Monogram. LITTLE TOUGH GUY was the first of Universals contribution to the series. This first entry is only passable. The first half is poorly directed and many elements are hard to take. The second half, when the kids go on a wild crime spree comes off better. Of interest to fans of the series is seeing Huntz Hall, in a departure from playing his usual dumbbell role, plays a real tough guy in this one. This was also David Gorceys first appearance in the series. His more famous brother Leo was not in this one (nor any of the subsequent Universal entries). Hally Chester also makes him debut as a gang member in this one (he previously had a bit part in CRIME SCHOOL.)