From Broadway to the Bowery: A History and Filmography of the Dead End Kids, Little Tough Guys, East Side Kids and Bowery Boys Films, with Cast Biographies [Hardcover]

Leonard Getz (Author), Jr. Leo Gorcey (Foreword)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0786425350 | ISBN-13: 978-0786425358 | Publication Date: August 22, 2006

In 1935 Sidney Kingsley's play about streetwise urban kids, Dead End, opened on Broadway featuring 14 adolescent actors. For two years on Broadway and then on tour, Kingsley's play delivered its social commentary contrasting affluent neighborhoods and tenement slums on New York City's East River. The film industry picked up the story and in 1937 released Dead End which spawned 23 more years of films and serials featuring the Dead End Kids and their offshoots, Little Tough Guys, East Side Kids and the Bowery Boys. This chronicle follows the street kids through the many assorted incarnations, shifting casts and studios. First the reader is introduced to how the original play and film came about. A cast list and analysis of each production follows. For the major players, the author provides a biography and filmography, and several of these entries include a tribute from a friend or family member. Brief biographical profiles are given for other actors. Sketches of the "Dead End" revivals of 1978 and 2005 follow.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"you will not be disappointed" --theslidearea.com

"highly recommended...excellent job" --roguecinema.com

"casebound cover is a knockout" --Filmfax --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Leonard Getz CPA, lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His work has appeared in several magazines and newspapers such as Lifestyles, Inside, Nostalgia Scrapbook, and Jewish Exponent. He was also an interviewer for Steven Spielberg's Oral History Foundation. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 364 pages
• Publisher: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers (August 22, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786425350
• ISBN-13: 978-0786425358
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 6.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,031,944 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE BOYS GET THEIR JUST REWARD!, March 3, 2007

By 

Tim Janson (Michigan) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: From Broadway to the Bowery: A History and Filmography of the Dead End Kids, Little Tough Guys, East Side Kids and Bowery Boys Films, with Cast Biographies (Hardcover)

One fond memory I have of growing up in the early 70's is that every Saturday afternoon, one of our local TV stations used to play a Bowery Boys movie. My brothers and I loved the boys and their antics and we were blithely unaware that these "boys" were actually pushing forty by the time they were making their last few movies in the late 1950's. Long panned by critics, the Bowery Boys/East Side Kids were never setting out to compete for the Academy Award. They were merely trying to make wholesome, innocent fun, and at that, they were wildly successful.

From Broadway to the Bowery by McFarland Books, chronicles the career of the group from the earliest appearance in 1935's gritty drama "Dead End" to their final picture, "In the Money" released nearly 25 years later in 1958, 91 films in all. For me, the book was quite educational. I wasn't aware that the Kids first few pictures were also crime dramas. Films such as "Crime School" and "Angels with Dirty Faces" showed the East Siders at their youngest, and most abrasive, still several years before they would develop into the lovable bunch of delinquents I knew and loved.

Another fact which came as a surprise to me was how the group split, with one faction becoming The Little Tough Guys for a series of films at universal, and the other group heading to the low-rent district of Monogram Films as The East Side Kids. This included the separating of Leo and David Gorcey. Interestingly, it is the Monogram films that seem to be better re-called today, in part due to the teamings with horror star Bela Lugosi in "Spooks Run Wild" and "Ghosts on the Loose".

This fabulous book features a complete filmography of all their films with complete cast & credits, release date, running time, synopsis, and commentary by author Leonard Getz. In addition to the filmogrpahy, we get bios of all the group's stars including Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Gabriel Dell, Billy Halop, Bobby Jordan, and more. Nearly 200 rare photographs accompany the text. You'll probably be amazed as I was at how few of the Boys' films are available on DVD, or even VHS for that matter. A true tragedy for baby-boomers like myself who cut his teeth on their antics.

As I read through the filmography I was also quite surprised at how many films I haven't seen, particularly the Little Tough Guy series. Hopefully Universal will fix this atrocity with a box set of all the films.

Simply a magnificent book from start to finish! Oh how I miss those Saturday afternoons!

Reviewed by Tim Janson

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars East Side, West Side, December 13, 2006

By 

Mallorie Parkinson (Atlanta, Ga USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: From Broadway to the Bowery: A History and Filmography of the Dead End Kids, Little Tough Guys, East Side Kids and Bowery Boys Films, with Cast Biographies (Hardcover)

From Broadway to the Bowery is a book long awaited for any Dead End/East Side Kids and Bowery Boys fans. Getz's book finally fills in the missing pieces and gaps of these boys to men lives through out their humble beginning on broadway to their turbulent years in Hollywood to their tumultous lives after the spotlights have all grown cold. Getz's book opens us to their world not only personally but professionally as well. We also find out about the secondary characters such as Billy Benedict and Hally Chester. we are transformed back into a time when Boys/Men honored a handshake, fought with their fists, honored their friendships and families and learned to overcome hardships thrown onto them because of their placement in society, after all not everyone can be rich. We see their life struggles, failures and triumphs. We see them as human beings and not just celluloid heroes of yesteryear. Len Getz's book is a great addition to anyone's library and especially fans to the saturday matinee.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dead End Kids book is a loving tribute, November 20, 2006

By 

David Scolnic "redskinandy" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: From Broadway to the Bowery: A History and Filmography of the Dead End Kids, Little Tough Guys, East Side Kids and Bowery Boys Films, with Cast Biographies (Hardcover)

Leonard Getz shares his affection for these early movie tough guys in this throughly researched book. Filled with great photos and lots of facts, this books is a must read for any fan of the Dead End Kids, the Bowery Boys and films of that genre.