Noel M. Smith

The kid stars of Broadway’s Dead End were seasoned series vets by 1939, having already appeared in a number of films backing up the likes of James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart and Pat O’Brien. By 1939, their popularity propelled them to headliner status and the Kids were now the stars.

The Dead End Kids On Dress Parade features Leo Gorcey’s first appearance under the moniker “Slip,” playing the wise-mouthed, malcontent that would become his signature. The other Kids doff their kid gang guises for the starch dress of trainees at a military academy that the delinquent Slip is forced to attend.Read More »

Plot: Dan Crackett, Secret Service Agent, is looking for a counterfeit money ring. He has tracked the stolen plates to somewhere in Mexico. In Washington, Saxby sends Brass Bancroft to El Paso to team up with Dan. They make plans to meet in a gambling saloon in Mexico called the ‘Silver Slipper’. It is there that the gang kills Dan and pins the murder on Brass. Brass, with the help of Gabby and Elaine, must stay out of jail so that he can find where the press is working and who is behind the counterfeit bills. Written by Tony FontanaRead More »