Wild Boys of the Road (1933)

Director:

William A. Wellman

Writers:

Daniel Ahern (story)
Earl Baldwin (screenplay)

Release Date:

7 October 1933 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Adventure

Tagline:

Girls living like boys! Boys living like savages!

Plot:

At the bottom of the depression, Tom's mother has been out of work for months when Ed's father loses his job...

Plot Keywords:

Railway | Train | New York City | Columbus Ohio | Teenage Boy

Cast

Frankie Darro	...	Edward 'Eddie' Smith
Edwin Phillips	...	Tommy Gordon
Rochelle Hudson	...	Grace
Dorothy Coonan Wellman	...	Sally (as Dorothy Coonan)
Sterling Holloway	...	Ollie
Arthur Hohl	...	Dr. Henry A. Heckel
Ann Hovey	...	Lola
Minna Gombell	...	Aunt Carrie
Grant Mitchell	...	Mr. James Smith
Claire McDowell	...	Mrs. Smith
Robert Barrat	...	Judge R.H. White
Willard Robertson	...	Captain of Detectives
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Beaudine Anderson	...	Boy (uncredited)
Ward Bond	...	Red, the Raping Brakeman (uncredited)
Wade Boteler	...	Policeman in Court (uncredited)
James Cagney	...	Himself, film clip (archive footage) (uncredited)
Eddy Chandler	...	Brakeman Throwing Stones (uncredited)
George Cooper	...	Man Near Columbus (uncredited)
Shirley Dunstead	...	Harriet Webster (uncredited)
Charley Grapewin	...	Mr. Cadman (uncredited)
Alan Hale Jr.	...	One of the Boys (uncredited)
Guy Kibbee	...	Himself, film clip (archive footage) (uncredited)
Milton Kibbee	...	Movie Usher (uncredited)
Jack McHugh	...	Mac, One of the Boys (uncredited)
Buddy Messinger	...	One of the Boys (uncredited)
Sidney Miller	...	Boy Selling Letter (uncredited)
Adrian Morris	...	Buggie Maylin, a Gangster (uncredited)
Louis Natheaux	...	Buggie's Pal (uncredited)
George Offerman Jr.	...	One of the Boys (uncredited)
Lee Phelps	...	Movie Theatre Patron (uncredited)
Lee Shumway	...	Mike - Policeman (uncredited)
Edwin Stanley	...	Merchant (uncredited)

Directed by
William A. Wellman

Writing credits
Daniel Ahern		(story "Desperate Youth") (as Daniel Ahearn)
Earl Baldwin		(screenplay)

Produced by
Robert Presnell Sr.	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Bernhard Kaun		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Arthur L. Todd

Film Editing by
Thomas Pratt

Art Direction by
Esdras Hartley

Makeup Department
Perc Westmore	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Art Department
Scotty Moore	....	property master (uncredited)

Sound Department
Robert B. Lee	....	sound recording engineer (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Charles Davis	....	key grip (uncredited)
Claude Hutchinson	....	chief electrician (uncredited)
Mac James	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Vernon Larson	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
William Schurr	....	second camera operator (uncredited)

Music Department
Leo F. Forbstein	....	conductor
Bernhard Kaun	....	composer: music cues (uncredited)

Other crew
Cyril Hume	....	treatment (uncredited)

Production Companies

• First National Pictures

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1933) (USA) (theatrical)
• First National Pictures
• Vitaphone Corporation, The

Other Companies

• Vitaphone Orchestra  orchestra

Also Known As:

Dangerous Days (UK)

Runtime:

68 min | Germany:53 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #2694)

Company:

First National Pictures

Trivia:

Film debut of Alan Hale Jr.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Noticably slimmer stunt man for Tommy as he hits his head on the RR sign post and falls on the tracks.

Quotes:

Edward 'Eddie' Smith: [to judge] I knew all that stuff about you helping us was baloney. I'll tell you why we can't go home--because our folks are poor. They can't get jobs and there isn't enough to eat. What good will it do you to send us home to starve? You say you've got to send us to jail to keep us off the streets...
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in Wanderlust (2006) (TV)

Soundtrack:

In a Shanty in Old Shanty Town

Not bad at all

This movie is very atypical of the good-kids-pushed-to-the-brink drama. This film is packed with energy and is a joy to behold. However, the only aspect that doesn't ring true is the WIZARD OF OZ ending wherein everyone gets what they need. Warner Bros. heavies have never been so snuggly. I highly doubt this is how it was in the height of the Great Depression, which is strange for a movie that depicts such realism (and desperation) of the time.