Clancy Street Boys
Encyclopedia
Clancy Street Boys is a 1943 film directed by William Beaudine
and starring the East Side Kids
. It is Beaudine's first film with the team; he would direct several more in the series and many in the Bowery Boys
canon. Leo Gorcey married the female lead [Ame]Lita Ward.
The main plot of the film involves Mugs (Leo Gorcey) and his pals posing as a family to impress a friend of his late father's who is visiting the east side from Texas. The friend "Uncle" Pete Monahan (Noah Beery) has been regularly sending checks to Mugs' impoverished mother to help pay for the upbringing of her many children...none of whom actually exist, except for Mugs. Rather than admit the fraud, Mugs persuades his buddies to pose as his siblings for the friend's visit. This requires Glimpy to dress in drag
as a girl and Scruno to claim he was adopted by the family.
Pete and his daughter Judy literally ride into the neighbourhood on horseback with both carrying six guns. The charade initially goes well until Pete keeps the gang and Judy out all night at a night club. When the enraged parents of the gang come over to the McGuinness flat to find out where there children were, Muggs explains the story as Pete and Judy hear as they walk in the flat; they depart enraged. Sensing an opportunity to make a score, gangsters lure Pete and Judy into capture where the combined gangs of the East Side and Cherry Street rescue them and give the gangsters a beating.
There is no mention of "Clancy Street" in the film, but a rival gang at Cherry Street appears at the beginning and climax of the film.
William Beaudine
William Beaudine was an American film actor and director. He was one of Hollywood's most prolific directors, turning out films in remarkable numbers and in a wide variety of genres.-Early life and career:...
and starring the East Side Kids
East Side Kids
The East Side Kids were characters in a series of films released by Monogram Pictures from 1940 through 1945. Many of them were originally part of The Dead End Kids and The Little Tough Guys, and several of them later became members of The Bowery Boys....
. It is Beaudine's first film with the team; he would direct several more in the series and many in the Bowery Boys
Bowery Boys
The Bowery Boys were a nativist, anti-Catholic, and anti-Irish gang based north of the Five Points district of New York City in the mid-19th century. They were primarily stationed in the Bowery section of New York, which was, at the time, extended north of the Five Points...
canon. Leo Gorcey married the female lead [Ame]Lita Ward.
Plot
The film opens with Mugs trying to avoid being seen on his 18th birthday lest he be given a birthday spanking which happens first from his own gang, secondly from the rival Cherry Street Gang, and lastly by the neighbourhood policeman.The main plot of the film involves Mugs (Leo Gorcey) and his pals posing as a family to impress a friend of his late father's who is visiting the east side from Texas. The friend "Uncle" Pete Monahan (Noah Beery) has been regularly sending checks to Mugs' impoverished mother to help pay for the upbringing of her many children...none of whom actually exist, except for Mugs. Rather than admit the fraud, Mugs persuades his buddies to pose as his siblings for the friend's visit. This requires Glimpy to dress in drag
Drag (clothing)
Drag is used for any clothing carrying symbolic significance but usually referring to the clothing associated with one gender role when worn by a person of another gender. The origin of the term "drag" is unknown, but it may have originated in Polari, a gay street argot in England in the early...
as a girl and Scruno to claim he was adopted by the family.
Pete and his daughter Judy literally ride into the neighbourhood on horseback with both carrying six guns. The charade initially goes well until Pete keeps the gang and Judy out all night at a night club. When the enraged parents of the gang come over to the McGuinness flat to find out where there children were, Muggs explains the story as Pete and Judy hear as they walk in the flat; they depart enraged. Sensing an opportunity to make a score, gangsters lure Pete and Judy into capture where the combined gangs of the East Side and Cherry Street rescue them and give the gangsters a beating.
There is no mention of "Clancy Street" in the film, but a rival gang at Cherry Street appears at the beginning and climax of the film.
The East Side Kids
- Ethelbert 'Mugs' McGinnis - Leo GorceyLeo GorceyLeo Bernard Gorcey was an American stage and movie actor who became famous for portraying on film the leader of the group of young hooligans known variously as the Dead End Kids, The East Side Kids and The Bowery Boys. Always the most pugnacious member of the gangs he participated in, young Leo...
- Glimpy Freedhoff - Huntz HallHuntz HallHenry Richard "Huntz" Hall was an American radio, theatrical, and motion picture performer noted primarily for his roles in the "Dead End Kids" movies, such as Angels with Dirty Faces , which gave way to the "The Bowery Boys" movie franchise, a prolific and highly successful series of comedies in...
- Danny - Bobby JordanBobby JordanRobert "Bobby" Jordan was an American actor, born in Harrison, New York, most notable for being a member of the Dead End Kids, the East Side Kids and the Bowery Boys.-Early life and career:...
- Benny - Benny Bartlett
- Scruno - Ernest Morrison
- Stash (a.k.a. Skinny) - Dick Chandlee
- Dave (a.k.a. Eddie) - Eddie Mills
Cast and characters
- Pete Monahan - Noah Beery
- Judy Monaham - Amelita Ward
- George Mooney - Rick VallinRick VallinRick Vallin was an actor who appeared in over 150 films between 1938 and 1966.Born Eric Efron in Russia, Vallin came to America while still young. He started his Hollywood career with an uncredited part in the film Freshman Year...
- Butch, Cherry Street Leader - William BenedictWilliam BenedictWilliam Benedict was an American actor. Born in Haskell, Oklahoma, he took part in school theatricals, and on leaving school he made his way to Hollywood. His first film was $10 Raise starring Edward Everett Horton, which launched Benedict on a busy career...
- Police Sergeant Flanagan - J. Farrel MacDonald
- Violinist - Jan Rubini
- Mrs. Molly McGinnis - Martha WentworthMartha WentworthMartha Wentworth was an American actress.Originally a radio actress, she became a film actress in the 1940s, starring in several Red Ryder Western films...
- Williams - George DeNormand
- Liquor Store Owner - Bernard Gorcey (uncredited)
- Cherry Streeter - Johnny DuncanJohnny Duncan (actor)-Career:Johnny Duncan has appeared in numerous movies including The East Side Kids, The Bowery Boys and the 1949 serial Batman and Robin.-Personal life:...
(uncredited) - Cherry Streeter - William Frambes (uncredited)
- Cherry Streeter - Jimmy Strand (uncredited)