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

by Leonard Getz

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786460922
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	08/26/2010
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	364
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Leonard Getz CPA, lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His work has appeared in such magazines and newspapers as Lifestyles, Inside, Nostalgia Scrapbook, and Jewish Exponent. He was also an interviewer for Steven Spielberg’s Oral History Foundation.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments     
Foreword by Leo Gorcey, Jr.      
Preface     

The Dead End Kids     
The Little Tough Guys     
The East Side Kids     
The Bowery Boys     
Cast Biographies     

Epilogue     
Bibliography     
Index     

Editorial Reviews

“jammed-packed with excellent, well-written cast biographies and good film-by-film commentary. I strongly suggest the very worthy From Broadway to the Bowery...done superbly by the author and the always reliable layout staff at McFarland. Photos are also excellent”—Classic Images; “you will not be disappointed”—The Slide Area; “highly recommended...excellent job”—Rogue Cinema; “cover is a knockout”—Filmfax.

From the Publisher

highly recommended...excellent job

Rogue Cinema

you will not be disappointed

The Slide Area

jammed-packed with excellent, well-written cast biographies and good film-by-film commentary. I strongly suggest the very worthy From Broadway to the Bowery...done superbly by the author and the always reliable layout staff at McFarland. Photos are also excellent"

Classic Images

...highly recommended...excellent job...

www.roguecinema.com

...you will not be disappointed...

www.theslidearea.com

...casebound cover is a knockout...

Filmfax