Nostalgia vs Reality, Rich vs Poor

Dead End (1937) – A gangster on the run returns to his old neighborhood where nothing is the way he remembers it. What had once been slums along the river are now fashionable apartment buildings. The gentrification of his old haunts now include a new generation of kids at the edge of poverty and petty crimes. Meanwhile, a young man loves one young woman while feeling a temptation by another.

Directed by William Wyler

Starring – Sylvia Sidney, Joel McCrae, Humphrey Bogart, Claire Trevor

Why I Liked It – An excellent cast led by one of the all-time great directors.

Here’s another movie where the top billing goes to actors fading away in the minds of the movie audience. Both Sidney and McCrae were established stars. McCrae was a sought-after leading man, and Sidney was at the height of her success. By contrast, Bogart, easily the best-known name in the movie, gets only third billing. His star had begun its rise. The next seven years would see him become a major star, with “High Sierra”, “Dark Victory”, “The Maltese Falcon”, and “Casablanca” as the jewels in his crown. All three are wonderful, as is Claire Trevor as “Baby Face” Martin’s (Bogart) “girl he left behind”.

Special notice for the group of young hooligans that have taken over Martin’s place as the small-time criminal element in the old neighborhood. Led by Leo Gorcey and Huntz Hall, these five young actors had created the roles on Broadway, then been brought west to recreate the roles. They were popular enough that they got their own string of movies under a variety of names. The best known was always “The Dead End Kids” and “The Bowery Boys”. They would make another movie with Bogart a few years later, and would work in some formulation into the late 1950s. “Dead End” is a drama, while most of the rest of their filmography are comedies.

The play adapted for the big screen ran for two years on Broadway. Both stage and screen versions were sharp, realistic looks at life in the slums of America’s cities. The language was rough for its day, and the portrayal of the boys looking forward to the “education” they could get in reform school was not the traditional bad-boys-with-a-heart-of-gold so often seen.

It’s interesting to watch McCrae and Sidney’s characters struggle to deal with the reality of life in the neighborhood as it is, in comparison to Bogart’s hoodlum struggling with his nostalgic vision of the old days.

“Dead End” is available to stream on many services including Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play, Apple TV, Flex, Tubi, Pluto and Fandango.

Almost ninety years after its debut, “Dead End” still speaks to the issues of our society. As much as we have changed, there is still major overlaps between the story and today. There are so many incredible twists to the story, all performed by a stellar cast.

Rating – **** Recommended