''Mickey the Kid'' is a 1939 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Arthur Lubin Arthur Lubin (July 25, 1898 – May 11, 1995) was an American film director and producer who directed several ''Abbott & Costello'' films, ''Phantom of the Opera'' (1943), the ''Francis the Talking Mule'' series and created the talking-horse TV se ...

and starring

Bruce Cabot Bruce Cabot (born Étienne de Pelissier Bujac Jr.; April 20, 1904 – May 3, 1972) was an American film actor, best remembered as Jack Driscoll in ''King Kong'' (1933) and for his roles in films such as ''The Last of the Mohicans'' (1936), Fri ...

Ralph Byrd Ralph Byrd (April 22, 1909 – August 18, 1952) was an American actor. He was most famous for playing the comic strip character Dick Tracy on screen, in serials, films and television. Early life and career The son of George and Edna May ...

and

ZaSu Pitts Zasu Pitts (; January 3, 1894 – June 7, 1963) was an American actress who starred in many silent dramas, including Erich von Stroheim's epic 1924 silent film ''Greed'', and comedies, transitioning successfully to mostly comedy films with the ...

. It was produced and distributed by

Republic Pictures Republic Pictures Corporation (currently held under Melange Pictures, LLC) was an American motion picture production-distribution corporation in operation from 1935 to 1967, that was based in Los Angeles. It had studio facilities in Studio City an ...

Plot

Dr. Ben Cameron is worried about 12-year-old Mickey, son of Jim Adams, a widower who leads a corrupt and complicated life. Jim rebuffs a request by Jim to have Mickey be raised by Veronica Hudson, the boy's maternal grandmother. Mickey idolizes his father and wants to remain with him. Pulling a bank robbery, Jim shoots and kills an unarmed teller. While on the run from the law, he realizes Mickey would be better off with Veronica and leaves his son in her care. Veronica enrolls the boy in school. His teacher, Sheila Roberts, is engaged to marry Ben. Jim sneaks into Veronica's house one night to see his son. He hides in the attic at night, then takes the boy along when he leaves. Desperate to get away, Jim hijacks a school bus filled with children. When the bus gets waylaid by a snowstorm, Jim abandons the kids and is unable to persuade Mickey to do the same. FBI agents shoot Jim, who realizes as he dies that Mickey's life will be better without him.

Cast

as Jim Adams *

Jessie Ralph Jessie Ralph Patton ( Chambers; November 5, 1864 – May 30, 1944), known as Jessie Ralph, was an American stage and screen actress, best known for her matronly roles in many classic films. Early life Jessie Ralph Chambers was the 13th child ...

as Veronica *

as Ben *

as Lilly *

June Storey Mary June Storey (April 20, 1918 – December 18, 1991) was a Canadian-born American film actress who appeared in 45 films during the 1930s and 1940s. She was leading lady to cowboy singer Gene Autry in 10 films. Early years Storey was bor ...

as Sheila *

John Qualen John Qualen (born Johan Mandt Kvalen, December 8, 1899 – September 12, 1987) was an American character actor of Norwegian heritage who specialized in Scandinavian roles. Early years Qualen was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, the son ...

as Mailman

Production

The film was known as ''Stand Up and Sing''. It was based on the heroism of a school boy in a Colorado blizzard a few years previously. Cabot was cast in April. The title was changed in May. Filming started in May.

Reception

The ''Los Angeles Times'' called it "fairly good though slightly spotty."Melodrama Given Preview Los Angeles Times 23 June 1939: A10. Lubin considered the film "horrible" and said it was one of the eight flops in his career.

References

External links

''Mickey the Kid''
at

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

Mickey the Kid
at BFI
Mickey the Kid
at Letterbox DVD
Mickey the Kid
at

TCMDB Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of Atl ...

1939 films 1939 drama films Films directed by Arthur Lubin American drama films American black-and-white films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films Republic Pictures films {{1930s-drama-film-stub