Dead End main backdrop
Dead End main poster

7.0/10 • 131

1937-08-271h 33m

CrimeDrama

THE GREATEST GANGSTER THRILLER THAT EVER EXPLODED FROM THE SCREEN!

Mobster "Baby Face" Martin returns home to visit the New York neighborhood where he grew up, dropping in on his mother, who rejects him because of his gangster lifestyle, and his old girlfriend, Francey, now a syphilitic prostitute. Martin also crosses paths with Dave, a childhood friend struggling to make it as an architect, and the Dead End Kids, a gang of young boys roaming the streets of the city's East Side slums.

Directors
William Wyler
Editors
Daniel Mandell

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Sylvia Sidney

    Sylvia Sidney

    Drina Gordon

  2. Joel McCrea

    Joel McCrea

    Dave

  3. Humphrey Bogart

    Humphrey Bogart

    'Baby Face' Martin

  4. Wendy Barrie

    Wendy Barrie

    Kay

  5. Claire Trevor

    Claire Trevor

    Francey

  6. Allen Jenkins

    Allen Jenkins

    Hunk

  7. Marjorie Main

    Marjorie Main

    Mrs. Martin

  8. Billy Halop

    Billy Halop

    Tommy Gordon

  9. Huntz Hall

    Huntz Hall

    Dippy

Reviews1

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CinemaSerf Avatar

CinemaSerf

Jun 20, 2022

7/10

OK, so this is definitely not the cheeriest of stories but Bogart and Joel McCrea are on good form throughout this gritty drama of hardship and depravity on the East Side of New York. "Baby Face Martin" - who, to be fair, maybe benefits a bit optimistically from the moniker - returns to his childhood home to reunite with his mother and childhood sweetheart. His mother wants nothing to do with him and his ex "Francie" (Claire Trevor) turned to prostitution and hasn't long to go before syphilis does for her. Meantime his friend, aspiring/struggling architect "Dave" (McCrae) is juggling his romantic interests between sweet but rather dreary "Drina" and "Kay" (Wendy Barrie) who already has a rich boyfriend. All of this misery is made all the more poignant by the fact that this ghetto is overlooked by the apartments of the wealthy that have relocated to new properties that overlook the adjacent East river. When Bogart decides that he wants to re-assert himself in the community by organising a high-profile kidnapping, he and his erstwhile friend find themselves on opposite sides of the plot! The crime drama is there, but it is comparatively weak compared with the pretty blatant social commentary from Lillian Hellman's screenplay that draws attention, unashamedly, to the stark contrast between the standards of living (and dying) of those just yards apart.

Media

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
$900,000.00
Revenue
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Keywords
gunfightclass differencesdead end kidsdeep focuspoker gameinformantjuvenile delinquentknifingdoormanstreet urchinrewardtenement