BOYS OF THE CITY (1940) The East Side Kids | Comedy, Mystery, Thriller | B&W

Boys of the City (also known as The Ghost Creeps) is a 1940 black-and-white comedy/thriller film directed by Joseph H. Lewis. It is the second East Side Kids film and the first to star Bobby Jordan, Leo Gorcey, and Ernest Morrison.

SYNOPSIS
In an attempt to avoid the sweltering heat of the city and dodge a court sentence for malicious mischief, a group of streetwise kids from the East Side agree to spend their summer at a camp in the Adirondacks. However, their journey takes an unexpected turn when their car breaks down, and they find themselves seeking refuge in the ominous mansion of Judge Malcolm Parker.

Judge Parker, under indictment for bribery and haunted by threats from a gang of ruthless racketeers, is already on edge. His sinister housekeeper, Agnes, holds him responsible for the death of her mistress, while his companion, Giles, accuses him of embezzling his niece Louise’s fortune. The tension escalates when Knuckles Dolan, the boys' guardian and a man whom the Judge once sentenced to death, arrives unexpectedly, only to have his conviction overturned.

As night falls, chaos erupts. Louise is kidnapped, and the Judge is found murdered. Suspicion immediately falls on Knuckles, but the kids are determined to clear his name and solve the mystery themselves. Their investigation leads them to a hidden passage in the mansion, where they uncover more than they bargained for. With the help of Knuckles, they capture the real culprit, unmasking Simp, the Judge’s vengeful bodyguard, as the killer. With the case closed, the boys can finally head to their summer camp, leaving behind the dark shadows of the haunted mansion.

CAST & CREW
The East Side Kids
Bobby Jordan as Danny Dolan
Leo Gorcey as Muggs
Hal E. Chester as Buster
Frankie Burke as Skinny
Sunshine Sammy as Scruno
Donald Haines as Peewee
David Gorcey as Pete
Eugene Francis as Algy Wilkes
Vince Barnett as Simp
Inna Gest as Louise Mason
Dave O'Brien as 'Knuckles' Dolan
Minerva Urecal as Agnes
Dennis Moore as Giles
Forrest Taylor as Judge Malcolm Parker
Alden 'Stephen' Chase as Jim Harrison
Jerry Mandy as Cook
George Humbert as Tony

Directed by: Joseph H. Lewis
Written by: William Lively
Based on: Story by William Lively
Produced by: Sam Katzman
Cinematography: Robert E. Cline, Harvey Gould
Edited by: Carl Pierson
Music by: Lew Porter
Production Company: Four Bell Pictures Inc
Distributed by: Monogram Pictures Corporation
Release Date: July 15, 1940 (U.S.)
Running Time: 68 minutes
Country: United States

NOTES
After completing the pilot film for the series, producer Sam Katzman was able to convince former Dead End Kids Bobby Jordan and Leo Gorcey to join the series. Katzman also brought in Gorcey's younger brother David, and former Our Gang star and Vaudeville entertainer "Sunshine Sammy" Morrison. Morrison had already known Katzman prior to joining the series.

Most of the cast from the previous film did not return. Bobby Jordan replaced Harris Berger in the role of "Danny", and would retain the role for a large portion of the series' run.

Jack Edwards was originally slated to return as "Algernon Wilkes", but immediately declined after being offered a better paid part elsewhere. Eugene Francis took his place the day before filming began. Francis says he was paid $66 a week and the film was shot in five days. New York City exteriors were done at the Roach Studio, with interiors done on a soundstage on Gower St next to Columbia. Francis:

I knew what I was getting into. It was Gower Gulch-bottom of the barrel. The cliche in Hollywood at the time was if you were working in Gower Gulch you’re either on your way up or on your way down... They’d block it out so we knew where we were supposed to walk. Sometimes that was the trouble with the picture. Everyone would pile in a scene like some kind of free-for-all. It looked like it was ad-libbed or at least that's how it seemed to me. I’m a guy who likes rehearsing but they didn’t believe in it. I don’t think Leo Gorcey could ever rehearse. He was pretty wild and you never knew what was going to happen... There was a lot of ad-libbing but [the scenes and storyline were not substantially changed]. You’d never get the picture done otherwise. We didn’t have to be word perfect just approximate... I did know that Boys of the City was terribly shot. You could see the flashlight reflection of a candle during one scene! No one cared. It was junk. They were poverty row films and no one wanted to be in them.

In addition to Chester, Frankie Burke, Donald Haines, and Dave O'Brien all returned, and each reprised their role from the previous film. This would be Burke's last East Side Kids film. After his departure, the character of "Skinny" was given to Haines, while "Peewee" was given to David Gorcey.

The plot of the film was reused a year later in Spooks Run Wild and again four years later in Crazy Knights.