Dead End (1937)

Directed by William Wyler. Starring Sylvia Sidney, Humphrey Bogart, Joel McRea, Billy Halop, Leo B. Gorcey, Bobby Jordan, Wendy Barrie, Huntz Hall, Allen Jenkins, Gabriel Dell, Claire Trevor, Charles Peck, Bernard Punsly, Minor Watson, Marjorie Main, James Burke.

Gangster Bogart returns to his old stamping grounds—the crowded NYC slums against the East River—and finds that he’s not enthusiastically welcomed by his miserable mother (Main) and former-girlfriend-turned-prostitute (Trevor). Meanwhile, baseborn dreamer Sidney dreams of escaping wretched poverty, and her little brother is in charge of a gang of trouble-making street urchins. Tenement district blues doesn’t always pair well with the brash malarkey peddled by those insufferable Dead End Kids (Halop, Jordan, Gorcey, Hall, et al)—this served as their motion picture debut. Some riveting moments away from the youths, such as Trevor’s small but unforgettable role, and a suspenseful pursuit of Bogart up to the rooftops. Moodily photographed by Gregg Toland with the slashing light beams and harsh shadows that would soon define the noir aesthetic. Terrific opening shot as the camera descends into the tenements, and the stylish matte work compensates for the all-to-obvious back lot set. Based on the Sidney Kingsley play of the same name. Ward Bond has a small part as a doorman.

68/100