Engrossing Pre-Code drama from William Wellman about two teenage boys (Frankie Darro, Edwin Phillips) who leave home to try and find work so they won't be a burden to their unemployed parents. They hop a freight train where they meet a runaway girl (Dorothy Coonan). The trio stick together as they travel and find out how dangerous life on the road can be.
Darro, Phillips, and Coonan are terrific. Coonan actually married the director William Wellman after this film. They were married forty-one years and had seven kids. The rest of the cast features some fine character actors like Robert Barrat, Sterling Holloway, and Grant Mitchell. Ward Bond plays a rapist railroad brakeman. Wellman's direction is superb, which I'm sure will surprise no one. Great look at Depression-era America. Gritty, tough, and packed full of social commentary like only Warner Bros. could do in the '30s. Also, being a bit of a train nut, I loved all the train scenes. Cop-out ending is a drawback but not enough to ruin the film for me.
Darro, Phillips, and Coonan are terrific. Coonan actually married the director William Wellman after this film. They were married forty-one years and had seven kids. The rest of the cast features some fine character actors like Robert Barrat, Sterling Holloway, and Grant Mitchell. Ward Bond plays a rapist railroad brakeman. Wellman's direction is superb, which I'm sure will surprise no one. Great look at Depression-era America. Gritty, tough, and packed full of social commentary like only Warner Bros. could do in the '30s. Also, being a bit of a train nut, I loved all the train scenes. Cop-out ending is a drawback but not enough to ruin the film for me.