Kid Dynamite (1943)

Director:

Wallace Fox

Writers:

Paul Ernst (story)
Gerald Schnitzer (screenplay)

Release Date:

5 February 1943 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Sport

Tagline:

THEY CAN'T BE TOPPED! (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

EastSide boxing champion (Leo Gorcey) has been challenged to fight the West Side champ but is kidnapped before the match...

Plot Keywords:

Fight | Kidnapping | Boxing | Dancing | Citizenship

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Leo Gorcey	...	Mugs (credits) - Muggs (in film)
Huntz Hall	...	Glimpy McGleavey
Bobby Jordan	...	Danny Lyons
Gabriel Dell	...	Harry Wycoff
Pamela Blake	...	Ivy McGinnis
Benny Bartlett	...	Beanie Miller
Ernest Morrison	...	Scruno Jackson (as Sunshine Sammy)
Bobby Stone	...	Stoney Stone
David Durand	...	Skinny Collins (as Dave Durand)
Vince Barnett	...	Klinkhammer
Daphne Pollard	...	Mrs. McGinnis
Charles Judels	...	Nick - Pool Hall Owner
Dudley Dickerson	...	Jackson
Henry Hall	...	Louis Gendick
Minerva Urecal	...	Judge

Also Known As:

Little Mobsters (USA) (working title)
Queen of Broadway

Runtime:

66 min (copyright length)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | USA:Approved (PCA #8865)

Company:

Banner Productions

Trivia:

Ava Gardner was scheduled to play Ivy, but she was replaced by Pamela Blake because of illness.

Quotes:

Louis Gendick: Did you ever think of joining another gang?
Danny Lyons: That would be running away.
Louis Gendick: Not the outfit I'm talkin' about. They'll be glad to get you... They will sooner or later. You'll be fightin' all kinds of bullies.
Danny Lyons: Like Mugs?
Louis Gendick: Worse. These bullies are called Japs and Nazis.
Danny Lyons: You mean the army.
Louis Gendick: That won't be runnin' away, Danny. That's real fightin'.

Movie Connections:

Follows That Gang of Mine (1940)

Soundtrack:

Comin' Thro' the Rye

Solid Feature, & Also Interesting In Its Historical Context

Although the story in this East Side Kids feature would hold up well enough on its own, it is often supplemented by scenes or lines of dialogue designed to instill support for the Allied effort in the ongoing war effort against the Axis. In itself, it's a solid feature in the series with some good scenes, and with a little more substance than usual. The wartime influence now seems overt, but it is less so than it is in many other features of the early 1940s.

The story has Leo Gorcey as Muggs and Bobby Jordan as Danny involved in a long-running misunderstanding, prompted by Muggs's jealousy, while the gang also has to contend with some outside antagonists. The hostility of Muggs towards Danny, plus Danny's burst of independence, add a dimension missing in most of the movies in the series. Whereas Muggs is usually a likable trouble-maker and scamp, here he shows a less appealing side of his personality.

As is often the case, some of the best moments come when the gang is allowed to indulge themselves a little. The 'jitterbug' contest works particularly well, as an entertaining sequence that also has a point in the plot. The war-influenced message is certainly noticeable, but the movie as a whole is still worth seeing anyway. It's interesting that even the East Side Kids were seen as a vehicle for promoting patriotism during the war.