Summaries

A priest tries to stop a gangster from corrupting a group of street kids.

Boyhood friends Rocky Sullivan and Jerry Connolly have taken different paths in life. After Rocky is arrested, he is sent to a juvenile facility and becomes a lifelong tough guy and criminal; meanwhile, Jerry goes straight and becomes a Catholic priest ministering to people in the same neighborhood where he and Rocky grew up. Rocky is released from prison, and he resumes his criminal lifestyle and becomes much admired by many of the local kids. Worried that the kids will follow Rocky into the criminal world, Jerry works hard to keep them on the straight and narrow. After Rocky is convicted and sentenced to the electric chair, Jerry asks him for one last favor.—garykmcd

Rocky Sullivan and Jerry Connolly were tough kids who grew up together in the toughest part of New York: Hell's Kitchen. Early on, Rocky gets sent to reform school, where he learns how to be a first-class criminal. Jerry, who had escaped from the law, goes straight and becomes a priest. As adults, they reunite in the old neighborhood: Jerry works with the kids who, like him and Rocky, could end up on either side of the law. Rocky has returned looking for a safe place to stay until he can get back into his old racketeering organization--something that his old partner isn't anxious to have happen. Lots of rapid-fire wisecracks, roughhousing, and gunfire ensue.—A.L.Beneteau <[email protected]>

In New York, young Rocky Sullivan and Jerry Connelly are best friends and small-time thieves. After a robbery, Rocky is arrested and sent to a reformatory school, where he begins his criminal career. Jerry escapes and later becomes a priest. After three years in prison, Rocky is released and charges his former partner, lawyer James Frazier, his US$100,000.00 and his share in the society, and is betrayed. Meanwhile, he becomes the idol of the street kids in the neighborhood. Although they follow opposite paths in life, Rocky and Jerry are still friends. When Jerry decides to fight against the corruption, Rocky is put against the wall between his friendship with the priest and his society in dirty businesses with his criminal partners.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Details

Keywords
  • street gang
  • new york city
  • organized crime
  • gangster
  • electric chair
Genres
  • Thriller
  • Crime
  • Drama
  • Film-Noir
Release date Nov 25, 1938
Motion Picture Rating (MPA) (Banned)
Countries of origin United States
Language English
Filming locations Stage 18, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA
Production companies Warner Bros. First National Pictures

Box office

Gross worldwide $524

Tech specs

Runtime 1h 37m
Color Black and White
Sound mix Mono
Aspect ratio 1.37 : 1

Synopsis

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