Mr. Wise Guy
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
William Nigh
Leo Gorcey
Bobby Jordan
Huntz Hall
Billy Gilbert
Guinn Williams
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
In New York, the East Side youth gang, consisting of Muggs McGinnis, Danny Collins, Glimpy, Scruno and Peewee, are falsely arrested on the wharf because the truck they are playing in was stolen. They are remanded to Wilton Reform School, where Muggs, the wise-cracking leader of the gang, is dubbed "Mr. Wise Guy" by the brutal guard Miller. Jim Barnes, the new warden, reassures Danny's older brother Bill, who has bad memories of the school from when he served as a guard there, that his testimony describing the place's cruelty eventually resulted in the dismissal of the former warden and the adoption of gentler rules. Bill is given a tour of the school by Barnes's secretary, Ann Mitchell, and later takes her out to dinner. That night, while Bill buys cigarettes in a drugstore, escaped convict Luke Manning robs the place and murders the clerk. Manning takes Bill hostage in his car and forces him to lead the police on a chase. Manning escapes when Bill crashes the car, and Bill is later convicted of robbery and murder and sentenced to execution. In the reform school, the boys have been battling with two toughs, "Rice Pudding" Charlie and Chalky Jones, but when Barnes witnesses Miller encouraging a fistfight, he demands Miller's resignation. Chalky tries to get the kids in trouble by informing Barnes of their plans to run away, but in an effort to establish a code of honor, Barnes punishes Chalky for being an informer. When Muggs and his pals see newsreel footage of a man and woman accepting the winnings from a lottery, they recognize the man as Knobby, the driver of the stolen truck. They link Knobby to Manning based on information given to them by Charlie, who is Manning's nephew. Armed with information that could prove Bill's innocence, the boys escape from the reform school and go to the apartment of Dorothy Melton, the woman from the newsreel. The kids hold the pair, who had been planning to leave town with the lottery money which actually belongs to Manning, who was afraid of being seen. Manning appears at Dorothy's apartment to demand his money and hits Dorothy for double-crossing him with Knobby. Before the situation can worsen, the police arrive and arrest the criminals. Bill gets a reprieve from the governor, and Ann and the boys see him off as he reports for active military duty.
Director
William Nigh
Cast
Leo Gorcey
Bobby Jordan
Huntz Hall
Billy Gilbert
Guinn Williams
Douglas Fowley
Joan Barclay
Warren Hymer
Ann Doran
Jack Mulhall
Gabriel Dell
Sidney Miller
David Gorcey
Bobby Stone
Dick Ryan
Benny Rubin
Bill Lawrence
Sunshine Sammy Morrison
Crew
Harvey Gates
Art Hammond
Jack Henley
Sam Katzman
[johnny] Lange
Buddy Meyers
Martin Mooney
Carl Pierson
[lew] Porter
Art Reed
Sam Robins
Ed. W. Rote
Barney Sarecky
Gerald Schnitzer
G. C. Van Marter
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The opening title card reads "Eastside Kids in Mr. Wise Guy." Film editor Carl Pierson's surname is misspelled "Pearson" in the onscreen credits. For further information on "The East Side Kids" series, consult the Series Index and see the entry below for Flying Wild.
