Bobby Jordan

Bowery Blitzkrieg is a 1941 East Side Kids comedy-drama directed by Wallace Fox for Monogram Pictures. Policeman Tom Brady (Warren Hull) spots promising young boxer Danny Breslin (Bobby Jordan) and steers him toward an amateur boxing tournament, hoping to keep him off the streets. But Danny is torn between the ring and easy money, and when a gangster pressures him to throw the fight, Muggs (Leo Gorcey), Glimpy (Huntz Hall), and the rest of the Kids rally around him. The first East Side Kids entry to feature Keye Luke as Clancy, the film's title trades on the wartime headlines of its day. It entered the public domain through non-renewal.

Comedy · Crime

The second East Side Kids film and the first to star Bobby Jordan, Leo Gorcey, and Ernest Morrison. Directed by Joseph H. Lewis and produced by Sam Katzman for Monogram Pictures, the film follows a group of street kids who escape the city heat for a summer camp in the Adirondacks. When their car breaks down, they take shelter in the home of Judge Malcolm Parker, who is under indictment for bribery and has been threatened by racketeers. After the Judge is found strangled and his niece kidnapped, the boys must solve the murder themselves, navigating secret passages and unmasking the real killer. The film is also known by the alternative title The Ghost Creeps. The film is in the public domain.

Comedy · Mystery · Thriller

The East Side Kids return in a sequel of sorts to Spooks Run Wild. When one of their own gets married, the gang tries to fix up a bargain suburban house for the newlyweds but accidentally breaks into the "haunted" house next door, where a mysterious man named Emil, played by Bela Lugosi, slips in and out of secret panels. The boys uncover a Nazi spy ring operating a printing press in the basement. Ava Gardner, on loan from MGM and not yet a major star, appears as the bride. William Beaudine directs with his usual no-nonsense pace. The film is more comedy than horror, with the gang's slapstick carrying most of the running time, and Lugosi used mostly for atmosphere. It entered the public domain because its copyright was not renewed.

Comedy · Horror

The East Side Kids rescue Sylvia, a young girl fleeing her abusive stepfather Morley, and hide her in their clubhouse dressed as a boy. When Morley turns up dead — killed by racketeer McGaffey for a stolen stash of money — Danny is arrested for the murder after returning to the girl's apartment for her clothes. Muggs is then blackmailed into joining a warehouse robbery, leaving the kids to clear their friend's name and catch the real killer, with help from Rusty, a former East Side Kid home on leave from the Navy. The eleventh East Side Kids picture, directed by Wallace Fox for Monogram, and one of the series' more dramatic entries. The film entered the public domain because its copyright was not renewed.

Comedy · Crime · Drama

The East Side Kids earn money for baseball uniforms, but their plans collide with gangster Butch Brocalli when Muggs catches the eye of the ex-boxer's gang. Muggs lands in jail for refusing to inform on an old friend, while Danny's sister Ruth desperately needs money for an operation. Former East Side Kid Hank Salko, fresh out of prison, falls back in with the gang before deciding where his loyalties lie. Former light-heavyweight champion Maxie "Slapsie Maxie" Rosenbloom plays Brocalli, and Gale Storm appears as Ruth. The tenth East Side Kids picture, directed by Wallace Fox for Monogram. The film entered the public domain because its copyright was not renewed.

Comedy · Crime · Drama

The East Side Kids, a gang of streetwise New York teenagers, are shipped off to a summer camp in the country and end up stranded in a town where a "monster killer" is said to be on the loose. After one of them is wounded, they take shelter at a hilltop mansion owned by a mysterious caped figure named Nardo, played by Bela Lugosi, and his dwarf assistant. The boys decide Nardo is a zombie master and tie him up. The film was made to pair Monogram's two biggest draws, Lugosi and the East Side Kids, and it leans into the comedy as much as the scares. Leo Gorcey's malapropism-heavy banter with Huntz Hall is the engine of the picture. The film entered the public domain because its copyright was not renewed.

Comedy · Horror

John Garfield plays Johnny Bradfield, a champion boxer who flees after a night of partying ends with a dead reporter and his face in the papers. He ends up hiding out on an Arizona date farm run by a schoolteacher (Claude Rains is the detective on his trail) and mentoring the Dead End Kids in the boxing ring. Busby Berkeley — better known for his kaleidoscopic musical numbers — directs this remake of The Life of Jimmy Dolan with surprising grit. The film is in the public domain.

Crime · Drama · Romance