''Wild Boys of the Road'' is a 1933

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines, popularly known ...

Depression-era 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 ...

directed by

William Wellman William Augustus Wellman (February 29, 1896 – December 9, 1975) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor and military pilot. He was known for his work in crime, adventure, and action genre films, often focusing on a ...

and starring

Frankie Darro Frankie Darro (born Frank Johnson, Jr.; December 22, 1917 – December 25, 1976) was an American actor and later in his career a stuntman. He began his career as a child actor in silent films, progressed to lead roles and co-starring roles ...

, Rochelle Hudson, and Grant Mitchell. It tells the story of several teens forced into becoming hobos. The screenplay by

Earl Baldwin Earl Baldwin (January 11, 1901 in Newark, New Jersey – October 9, 1970 in Hollywood, California, age 69) was an American screenwriter. During his career he wrote more than 50 produced screenplays, including '' Wild Boys of the Road'', '' Br ...

is based on the story ''Desperate Youth'' by Daniel Ahern. In 2013, the film was selected for preservation in the United States

National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception ...

by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Plot

One Saturday night, Eddie Smith (

), Tommy Gordon (Edwin Phillips) and Eddie's girlfriend Grace ( Rochelle Hudson) go to the high school prom. Casually chatting about the unemployment situation, Tommy tells Eddie that he is going to drop out of high school to look for work to help support his struggling family. Eddie offers to speak to his father ( Grant Mitchell) about getting him a job, only to discover that his father has himself just lost his own job. Eddie sells his beloved car and gives the money to his father, but when his father remains unemployed, the bills keep piling up, and the family is threatened with eviction. Eddie and Tommy decide to leave home to ease the burden on their families. Eddie leaves a note, then they board a freight train, where they meet Sally ( Dorothy Coonan), another teenager, who is hoping her aunt in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

can put her up for a while. They have to jump from the train, and end up in a milk transfer station, where many teens in similar dire straits hop aboard another train. When they reach Chicago, they are met by the police, who inform them and other hobos that the unemployment crisis has hit Chicago as well. Most of the transients are sent to detention, but Sally has a letter from her aunt, so they let her through. She claims her companions are her cousins; the kindly policeman is skeptical, but lets them go. Sally's Aunt Carrie (

Minna Gombell Minna Marie Gombell (''née'' Gombel; May 28, 1892 – April 14, 1973) was an American stage and film actress. Early years She was born Minna Marie Gombel in Baltimore, Maryland, the daughter of William and Emma M. Debring Gombel. Her father ...

) welcomes all three into her apartment, which is in reality a brothel. She warmly welcomes the three, and starts to feed them, however, before they even have a chance to eat, the place is raided by the police. The trio hastily depart, climbing out a window, and continue their rail journey east. Nearing Columbus, one girl ( Ann Hovey), caught alone in a railcar, is raped by the train

brakeman A brakeman is a rail transport worker whose original job was to assist the braking of a train by applying brakes on individual wagons. The earliest known use of the term to describe this occupation occurred in 1833. The advent of through brakes, ...

(an uncredited Ward Bond). When the others find out, they start punching the assailant. By accident, the brakeman falls out of the train to his death. A little later, as the train approaches the city, everyone jumps off. Tommy hits his head on a switch and falls across the track in front of an oncoming train. He crawls desperately towards safety, but his foot gets mangled and his leg has to be amputated. They live in "Sewer Pipe City" near

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

for a while, until the city authorities decide to shut it down to discourage

vagrancy Vagrancy is the condition of homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants (also known as bums, vagabonds, rogues, tramps or drifters) usually live in poverty and support themselves by begging, scavenging, petty theft, temporar ...

, prompted in part to Eddie's theft of a misfitting

prosthetic In medicine, a prosthesis (plural: prostheses; from grc, πρόσθεσις, prósthesis, addition, application, attachment), or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through trau ...

leg for Tommy. Finally, the three end up living in the New York Municipal Dump. Eddie finally lands a job, but needs to find $3 to pay for a coat which the job requires. They panhandle to raise the money. When two men offer Eddie $5 to deliver a note to a movie theater cashier across the street, he jumps at the chance. The note turns out to be a demand for money. Eddie is arrested, and the other two are taken in as well when they protest. The judge (

Robert Barrat Robert Harriot Barrat (July 10, 1891 – January 7, 1970) was an American stage, motion picture, and television character actor. Early years Barratt was born on July 10, 1891, in New York City and was educated in the public schools there. He ...

) cannot get any information out of them, particularly about their parents. However, Eddie's embittered speech moves him. He dismisses the charges and promises to get Eddie's job back for him. He also promises to help the other two, and assures them that their parents will magically be back to work soon.

Cast

Accolades

In December 2013, the film was selected for the 2013

References

External links

''Wild Boys of the Road'' essay
by Gwendolyn Audrey Foster at

* ''Nothing Sacred: The Cinema of William Wellman'' by John Andrew Gallagher and Frank Thompson. Men With Wings Press, 2018. , pages 232-238. * * * *
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,from www.thechiseler.me {{DEFAULTSORT:Wild Boys Of The Road (1933 Film) 1933 films 1933 drama films 1930s teen drama films American teen drama films American black-and-white films 1930s English-language films Films directed by William A. Wellman Rail transport films First National Pictures films United States National Film Registry films 1930s American films Films scored by Bernhard Kaun

Plot

Cast

Accolades

See also

References

External links