Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.

Siflutter It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Mathilde the Guild Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

utgard14 En route to a boys camp for the summer, our favorite juvenile delinquents find themselves stranded overnight at a crooked judge's house. There they battle racketeers and the usual old dark house tropes. This is former Dead End Kid (and future leader of the gang) Leo Gorcey's first entry in the East Side Kids series (also the first for his brother David). As such it feels like much more of a proper start to the series than the first film did. Returning from the first one is Dave O'Brien as Knuckles, the reformed gangster acting as the boys' guardian. It's a forgettable movie in every way. At this point Gorcey hadn't yet developed his malapropism-spouting character and he doesn't have Huntz Hall, either, and he was always best with Huntz. Plus the Kids, regardless of which version, did this material better in several other pictures.

arfdawg-1 The Plot.It's been two weeks of unrelenting New York City summer heat. Sooner or later the boys are apt to get into mischief, so Knuckles takes the load of 'em to Algy's father's camp in the mountains. The trip gets sidetracked when they cross paths with Judge Parker' party on the road. The Judge, hiding from the mob, is desperately heading to his mountain manor when he runs the boys' vehicle off the road, nearly disabling it right before his own car conks out. With only the boys' car barely able to travel, they all wind up at the judge's manor where ghostly sightings, spooky organ music, death threats and a creepy housekeeper await them. Judge Parker is the very judge who once nearly put Knuckles on death row for murder. When the judge turns up dead, Knuckles is in trouble again, with little brother Danny and the gang ready to help him out. I used to love the Bowery Boys / East Side / Dead End Kids when they ran on local TV as a kid. These guys sure knew how to milk a series and they might have lasted as long as the 3 Stooges. In movies, from 1937-1956! With nearly 70 features to their credit. Huntz Hall isn't in this one yet, and he's missed. The movie is only 68 minutes long but feels like 3 hours! Half the film is over before they even get to the haunted house.As an aside, the guy from Reefer Madness is in this movie. It's not a very good film. The later humor filled movies were far better.

wes-connors The fourteenth "Dead End"-related film introduces "The East Side Kids" as a series banner. Herein, Bobby Jordan replaces Harris Berger (as Danny Dolan), from the previous "East Side Kids" movie. Dave O'Brien (as "Knuckles" Dolan) continues as Mr. Jordan's reformed older brother. Fellow "Dead End" kid Leo Gorcey (as Muggs McGinnis) joins "Danny's Gang" (after three films, Mr. Gorcey will become the undisputed leader). The returning junior gangsters are: Hally Chester (as Buster), Frankie Burke (as Skinny), Donald Haines (as Peewee), and David Gorcey (as Pete).This film most notably introduces former "Our Gang" member Ernest "Sunshine Sammy" Morrison (as Scruno), a new member of the Bowery "kids". Unfortunately, Mr. Morrison is included as insulting, race-based comic relief; and, the story doesn't take advantage of Joseph H. Lewis' relatively fine direction (or some good locations). Fortunately, Morrison would be allowed to bring some integrity to the "Scruno" character; in later films (like "Bowery Blitzkrieg") he plays a more dignified humorous role.The story begins with Mr. O'Brien and well-to-do Eugene Francis (as Algy Wilkes) expressing concern about "Danny's Gang", and their propensity for trouble. Their fears prove to be well-founded, as Jordan and the "Boys of the City" decide to get relief from hot New York City streets by opening up a fire hydrant. The incident lands the lads in juvenile court - but, the judge allows them cool their heels by spending some time in the country. They wind up in a spooky old mansion, with scene-stealing Minerva Urecal (as Agnes).***** Boys of the City (7/15/40) Joseph H. Lewis ~ Bobby Jordan, Leo Gorcey, Ernest Morrison, Minerva Urecal

classicsoncall The East Side Kids had a couple of films going by "Spooks Run Wild" and "Ghosts on the Loose", but this one seems even better suited to a ghost story than the other two. It's got some atmospheric creepy sets, a long dungeon like room, and someone even dons the white sheets unlike the aforementioned films. What hampers the story though is some really shoddy writing and a make it up as you go sensibility that just about kills any interest in the story once it's under way. For me, this was not one of the better East Side Kids efforts.It starts out with a familiar premise; get the boys out of the city to keep them out of trouble, under the watchful eye of Danny's (Bobby Jordan) big brother Knuckles (Dave O'Brien). The core group this time out includes Muggs (Leo Gorcey) and Scruno (Sunshine Sammy Morrison), with a little help from Peewee (Donald Haines) and Skinny (Frankie Burke). Burke looks every bit the young Jimmy Cagney here, maybe even more so than he did as the young Rocky Sullivan in "Angels With Dirty Faces".If you're not used to it, the racial connotations to Scruno's character get a workout in the film to the point of embarrassment. In the bouncy car ride to the country, he complains of getting bruised 'black and blue'; at Briarcliff Manor, he's the only one served a huge slice of watermelon and he fairly dives right into it. Scruno takes it all in stride as in all of his appearances, also making the most of the bug eyed stereotype whenever something remotely scary might happen.The surprise of the film for me was Minerva Urecal, she's really got the sinister housekeeper act nailed in this outing. The next time you see Cloris Leachman in "Young Frankenstein", she's doing Minerva's Agatha character from this film, I would bet on it.Once things get going, the film gets some mileage out of the old sliding bookcase trick and the occasional sound of sinister organ music. The murder mystery itself is handled a bit sloppy, especially when the unknown character under the Manor turns out to be from the District Attorney's office. The revelation that Judge Parker's bodyguard was a member of the Maury Gang who wanted him rubbed out seemed a bit curious after the fact. Didn't anyone have an idea what Maury's guys might have looked like? Best line of the film this time around goes to Leo Gorcey - "Say, what's the Thin Man got that I ain't got?"