Leo Gorcey goes to great pains to portray a totally unsavory character in the first part of this picture. He's a young street thug who gets maneuvered into military life after the dying father he never knew gets a friend's promise to have him attend the Washington Military Academy. Slip Duncan (Gorcey) had to be tricked into it though, when the authorities made it seem he was going to be arrested for a minor street crime he was involved in.
I had to grin over a response Slip had at the Academy when he was undergoing orientation. Nathan Hale was a revered figure on campus and an administrator explained that Hale was executed by the British as a spy. Sounding a lot like Donald Trump, Slip stated that 'any dope can get caught', a reference that the Trumpster took a lot of heat for in his remarks concerning John McCain. Funny how life imitates art, in this case, well after the fact.
The picture has a strong melodramatic approach in telling it's story. Slip Duncan becomes remorseful over an accident he caused and the incident sets him on a path of redemption as a soldier. His fellow 'Dead End Kids' also show up in the story as academy students although they're unknown to each other until they meet at school. It's interesting to see the players prior to becoming the East Side Kids or the Bowery Boys. Huntz Hall for example portrays a serious character, far from the clown fans came to know and love as 'Sach' in the later stories. He does however display a near-Sach moment when he hits a target on the rifle range, but quickly reverts back to form once again.
This one's done pretty much by the book as bad guy turns good under proper supervision and being forced to face up to consequences. All the familiar players are here; along with Gorcey and Hall you have Billy Halop, Bobby Jordan, Gabriel Dell and Bernard Punsley. Every once in a while the military academy's motto shows up as 'Courage - Honor - Conquer', which doesn't quite sound grammatically correct, so I did a quick internet search. Turns out it appears on a crest for Valley Forge Military Academy, though the filming locations in the picture were Warner Studio properties.
I had to grin over a response Slip had at the Academy when he was undergoing orientation. Nathan Hale was a revered figure on campus and an administrator explained that Hale was executed by the British as a spy. Sounding a lot like Donald Trump, Slip stated that 'any dope can get caught', a reference that the Trumpster took a lot of heat for in his remarks concerning John McCain. Funny how life imitates art, in this case, well after the fact.
The picture has a strong melodramatic approach in telling it's story. Slip Duncan becomes remorseful over an accident he caused and the incident sets him on a path of redemption as a soldier. His fellow 'Dead End Kids' also show up in the story as academy students although they're unknown to each other until they meet at school. It's interesting to see the players prior to becoming the East Side Kids or the Bowery Boys. Huntz Hall for example portrays a serious character, far from the clown fans came to know and love as 'Sach' in the later stories. He does however display a near-Sach moment when he hits a target on the rifle range, but quickly reverts back to form once again.
This one's done pretty much by the book as bad guy turns good under proper supervision and being forced to face up to consequences. All the familiar players are here; along with Gorcey and Hall you have Billy Halop, Bobby Jordan, Gabriel Dell and Bernard Punsley. Every once in a while the military academy's motto shows up as 'Courage - Honor - Conquer', which doesn't quite sound grammatically correct, so I did a quick internet search. Turns out it appears on a crest for Valley Forge Military Academy, though the filming locations in the picture were Warner Studio properties.