Wild Boys of the Road (1933 film)

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Wild Boys of the Road
Directed by William Wellman
Written by Earl Baldwin
Starring Frankie Darro
Dorothy Coonan
Rochelle Hudson
Grant Mitchell
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date(s) 7 October 1933
Running time 67 min.
IMDb profile

Wild Boys of the Road (1933) is a black and white, Depression-era American film telling the story of several teens forced into hobo-ing. The film was directed by William Wellman and stars Frankie Darro, Dorothy Coonan (later Wellman's wife), Rochelle Hudson, and Grant Mitchell.

[edit] Synopsis

Eddie Smith helps his friend, Tommy Gordon, sneak into a high school dance dressed as a girl because Tommy cannot afford the price of admission. Tommy confides to Eddie that because his mother has been unable to find work, he is planning to leave school to look for work himself. Eddie asks Tommy to wait until he speaks to his father about helping the family, but arrives home to discover that his father also has lost his job. Eddie sells his car to help, but when his father still cannot find work, Eddie and Tommy decide to leave home together.

On the train, they meet Sally, another teenager, who is going to live with her aunt in Chicago. As they head toward Chicago, more and more children join them on the trains. Although the Chicago police turn people away because there are no jobs even for those who already live there, they allow Sally and her traveling companions to continue because Sally has a letter from her aunt. Sally's Aunt Carrie is happy to see them. Her business, a brothel, is doing well, and for a few minutes it appears that the children have found a home.

While they eat, however, the brothel is raided, and the children find themselves on the road again. Along the road, the traveling children encounter many hardships. One girl is raped, Tommy's foot is mangled by the train and has to be amputated, and he and the others are kicked out of a camp in Cleveland, Ohio. Finally, the trio ends up living in a dump in New York. Eddie finds a job but needs new clothes in order to keep it. Sally, Tommy and Eddie panhandle for the money. Then two men ask Eddie to deliver a note to a movie theater cashier. The note contains a demand for money, and the cashier screams for the police. The children are arrested and appear before a judge. He offers to get them jobs, dismisses the charges against them and tells them they will soon rejoin their families.

[edit] Cast

  • Ann Hovey as Lola
  • Minna Gombell as Aunt Carrie
  • Grant Mitchell as Mr. Smith
  • Claire McDowell as Mrs. Smith
  • Robert Barrat as Judge White

[edit] External links

v • d • e
William A. Wellman
1920s
Second Hand Love • The Man Who Won • Big Dan • Cupid's Fireman • Not a Drum Was Heard • The Vagabond Trail • The Circus Cowboy • When Husbands Flirt • The Boob • You Never Know Women • The Cat's Pajamas • Wings • The Legion of the Condemned • Ladies of the Mob • Beggars of Life • Chinatown Nights • The Man I Love • Woman Trap
1930s
Dangerous Paradise • Young Eagles • Maybe It's Love • Other Men's Women • The Public Enemy • Night Nurse • The Star Witness • Safe in Hell • The Hatchet Man • So Big! • Love Is a Racket • The Purchase Price • The Conquerors • Frisco Jenny • Central Airport • Lilly Turner • Heroes for Sale • Midnight Mary • Wild Boys of the Road • Female • College Coach • Looking for Trouble • Stingaree • The President Vanishes • The Call of the Wild • The Robin Hood of El Dorado • Small Town Girl • A Star Is Born • Nothing Sacred • Men With Wings • Beau Geste • The Light that Failed
1940s
Reaching for the Sun • Roxie Hart • The Great Man's Lady • Thunder Birds • Lady of Burlesque • The Ox-Bow Incident • Buffalo Bill • This Man's Navy • The Story of G.I. Joe • Gallant Journey • Magic Town • The Iron Curtain • Yellow Sky • Battleground
1950s
The Next Voice You Hear... • The Happy Years • Across the Wide Missouri • It's a Big Country • Westward the Women • My Man and I • Island in the Sky • The High and the Mighty • Track of the Cat • Blood Alley • Good-bye, My Lady • Darby's Rangers • Lafayette Escadrille
Television
Light's Diamond Jubilee (with Alan Handley), Christian Nyby, Roy Rowland, Norman Taurog, King Vidor and Bud Yorkin) (1954)