East Side Kids - Boys of the City |  | Director: Joseph H. Lewis
Actors: Bobby Jordan, Leo Gorcey, Hal E. Chester, Frankie Burke, Vince Barnett
Studio: Alpha Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $7.98
Buy New: $3.25
as of 3/21/2010 12:27 EDT details
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New (10) Used (7) from $1.00
Seller: -importcds
Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 48932
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, NTSC, Subtitled
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 68 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
UPC: 089218410092
EAN: 0089218410092
ASIN: B000087F1S
Theatrical Release Date: July 15, 1940
Release Date: January 21, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
No Description Available.
Genre: Feature Film-Comedy
Rating: NR
Release Date: 21-JAN-2003
Media Type: DVD
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 7
 Scruno got "scruned" March 15, 2010
Annie Van Auken (Planet Earth)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
BOYS OF THE CITY (1940) has the sort of un-P.C. humor that easily offends modern sensibilities.
Here, the gang (minus Glimpy, that is, Huntz Hall) get in trouble once too often and are sent to the mountains for a vaycay. The story quickly turns into a dark house mystery with a creepy housekeeper, a ghost and secret passageways that look like something out of THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (1939).
Ernest Morrison, credited only as Sunshine Sammy, endures heavy-handed racism throughout the hour with his skeered o' spooks rattlin' and a disgusting watermelon sight gag. While the kids all have a substantial meal served to them, 'Scruno' is given a quarter-wedge of melon. He looks at it and happily declares, "Ah sho' do loves wahtahmelin!" then takes an enormous no-hands bite, like a pig at a trough. When presented with searching through the weird old house, a saucer-eyed Scruno nervously admits that, "Mah head's willin' but ah cain't convince mah feet!" And later: "Ah wish mah mammy was heah!"
We never noticed this stuff back when we were kids, or perhaps it was ignored, but I for one can no longer enjoy the antics of "Sleep 'n Eat," "Sunshine Sammy," Stepin Fetchit and other pioneering black actors. And Butterfly McQueen's "Ah don' know nuthin' 'bout birthin' babies" from GONE WITH THE WIND (1939) is starting to grate on me, too.
ALPHA VIDEO is the dba of a Pennsylvania-based outfit called GOTHAM. They specialize in niche market material, mostly vintage programmers and public domain stuff. Quality of their unrestored movie transfers varies from fair to good, based on condition of film stock and source material (often old 16mm broadcast prints). The only extras provided are a catalog insert and DVD-accessible title list.
Also from ALPHA:
For their very next programmer, THAT GANG OF MINE (1940), Muggs McGinnis (Leo Gorcey) becomes Muggs Maloney and Glimpy is still AWOL.
 The Debut of Muggs Mc Ginness March 3, 2010
David M. Goode (Yonkers N.Y.)
I always thought it was funny that in East Side Kids,the first film in the series,you couldn't find any of the familiar members of the gang.Yes Danny's in it,but he's not played by Bobby Jordan.In this movie which is a sequel to the first film,Jordon appears as Danny for the first time.But more importantly Leo Gorcey makes his debut as Muggs,who will go on to be seen as the undisputed leader of the gang.This movie also marks the first appearance of "Sunshine" Sammy Morrison as Scruno,the group's sole black member.Pretty much a haunted house movie like their later films,Spooks Run Wild and Ghosts on the Loose,this is a funny film due to the charisma of the characters.These movies have never been considered great art,but they are great fun.The one downside of this DVD is Alpha Videos infamous shoddy reproduction values.But if you're a fan of the series,and I am,you should purchase a copy.
Classic East Side Kids Move but not Re-mastered. December 23, 2005
Joe (Woodside, New York USA)
This review is for the Alpha Video DVD. This is your classic East Side Kids move full of fun and antics by the boys. The film is not re-mastered as with most of Alpha's DVD's so don't expect great picture quality and audio. It's what would you should expect to get for this price. With that said, the movie is still worth buying if you enjoy The East Side Kids classics. Hopefully some day they will all be re-mastered.
Bowery Boys DVD August 22, 2005
Rosemarie Angeletti (Waynesboro, GA USA)
2 out of 5 found this review helpful
The cover was misleading as the DVD is in B & W. Granted this movie is old, but there were some spots where dialog was garbled or inaudible.
Worn out, soft film used for DVD mastering. February 25, 2005
Paul J. Mular (San Carlos, CA USA)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
First let me say that for $7.99 this DVD is passable. The sound is not distorted, but the video is a little soft and contrasty. It was not bad enough to distract from the viewing on a 36" screen. It is much better than the artifact ridden Platinum Disc "8-Movie Set" version of this title.
I give this Alpha/Gotham DVD the lower rating because the film used has seen too many careless TV stations. There are many film splices, and at one point in the middle of the film the damage is so severe that the picture starts jumping up and down for a few minutes.
These independent films were not given as much storage care as the later Bowery Boys series, so good prints are hard to find.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 7
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