Hells Kitchen (Warner Bros.) (1939)

CURRENT PUBLICITY—“‘HELL’S KITCHEN”’ 17 (Opening Day) ‘Dead End’ Kids At Strand Today Mat 213—30c Famous sextette of young toughies who head casi of “‘Hell’s Kitch en,” which opens at the Strand today. More sympathetically presented than they ever have been before, the ‘“‘Dead End” Kids are the central characters of ‘‘Hell’s Kitchen,” the Warner Bros. picture which opens today at the Strand Theatre. ~ The story is also unusual in that it includes as a foil for the boisterous youngsters an adult character who is. in effect just such a kid grown much older, much wiser and much tougher. This character is played by Stanley Fields. The other leading roles are taken by Margaret Lindsay, Ronald Reagan, Grant Mitchell and Frankie Burke, the erstwhile Cagney impersonator being in this instance added to the “Dead End” gang. In a series of absorbing sequences which range from the luridly melodramatic to the hilariously humorous, the picture tells of the regeneration of the thuggish racketeer played by Fields as a result of the sympathy aroused in him by the tough but essentially good inmates of a shelter home for boys. The boys, the leaders among who are depicted by the ‘Dead Enders,” are just such kids as Fields realizes he was himself as a youngster. They are halfstarved and brutally treated and eventually they revolt against their intolerable lot. Fields’ original interest in the shelter home has been that of a racketeer who has just come across something from which he can make some money but it hasn’t taken long for the boys to arouse in him a rough but genuine paternal interest. And he proves this effectively when he voluntarily surrenders himself for a prison term just so that he can help in defending and exonerating the boys from the consequences of their revolt. The screen play was based by Crane Wilbur and Fred Niblo, Jr., on an original story by Wilbur, and the: production was directed by Lewis Seiler and A. E. Dupont in collaboration. Allergic To Windows Failing any windows that could be broken in the blank stucco walls of the Warner Bros. Studio sound stages, Frankie Burke, and Billy Halop and Huntz Hall of the “Dead End” Kids managed to crash the windows in Bette Davis’ station wagon while playing soft ball. The kids were playing between scenes of their latest Warner Bros. picture, “Hell’s Kitchen,’ which makes its local debut today at the Strand Theatre. Hamburger Magnates “The “Dead End” Kids bought a hamburger stand recently. The eats spot, however, will continue to be operated by its former owner, who retains a share. Point is that the kids may now be sure of special service when the yen for a hamburger develops. The Kids’ latest Warner Bros. picture, “Hell’s Kitchen,” is the current attraction at the Strand Theatre. Kids Fell For Her Margaret Lindsay, all unintentionally, stirred up some romantic rivalry among the “Dead End” Kids, who were with her in Warner Bros.’ “Hell’s Kitchen,” which is now showing at the Strand Theatre. And two or three of them openly admitted that they’d like the jol of Ronald Reagan in the picture. He was the handsome hero who did all the kiss-and-clench scenes. Is Doughnut Merchant Leo Gorcey’s side line, a string of doughnut shops, has turned in such a fine profit for the “Dead End” kid that he’s having to add quite a bit to his income tax. BITS ABOUT THE PLAYER'S Kids’ Goats Were Got While they were working in “Hell’s Kitchen,” the Warner Bros. picture which is now showing at the Strand Theatre, Margaret Lindsay shocked the “Dead End” Kids into open-mouthed admiration by her penny-pitching skill, And then she burned them to a erisp by returning their coins, saying she’d been taught by her mother not to take pennies away from children. Fields Is A Fan Favorite pastime of Stanley Fields, who has a leading role in “Hell’s Kitchen,” the Warner Bros. picture now showing at the Strand Theatre, is watching the stars — cinema, not heavenly. Though famous himself, he is as fascinated by the stars as any fan and always is to be found at previews on the sidelines watching the cinema names arrive. You Said It! There’s a new name for the lot at the Warner Bros. Studio hitherto called ‘Thirty Acres.” The whole space was taken over for the picture, “Hell’s Kitchen,” now playing at the Strand Theatre, so now they’ve (“they” being chiefly the “Dead End” Kids, Margaret Lindsay and Ronald Reagan) retitled it “Hell’s Thirty Acres.” Burke Own Best Fan Frankie Burke (the juvenile Cagney) was one of. the best patrons of his first joint film with Cagney, whom Frankie idolizes. Burke went to see “Angels with Dirty Faces” six times, paying his way on five of the occasions. “Hell's kitchen” wilt=Moving Action Drama (Prepared Review) Entertainment of the sort that is guaranteed by the inclusion of the “Dead End” Kids in the cast of any picture is provided by them in heaping measure in their latest Warner Bros. production, entitled “‘Hell’s Kitchen,’ which opened yesterday at the Strand Theatre. They have come to stand for a swell combination of exciting, melodramatic action and uproarious humor, and that is just what they supply in *“*Hell’s Kitchen.” Of course, they have plenty of adult as well as juvenile aid, particularly in the person of the gravel-voiced Stanley Fields, who strikes one in this production as nothing more nor less than a “Dead End” Kid grown up, older certainly, wiser maybe and tougher perhaps. The romantic interest, in what amounts to a side plot accompanying the main story about the relations of the Dead Enders and Fields, is capably handled by Margaret Lindsay and Ronald Reagan, and this well-teamed pair also have their share in furthering some of the melodramatic moments. The villain of the piece is Grant Mitchell, who gives an impresssive portrait of a brutal but slyly hypocritical rascal, and a stand-out among the scores of other boys besides the Dead Enders in the cast is Frankie Burke, who came to fame first for his portrayal of the juvenile Cagney in “Angels With Dirty Faces.” Gangster Reforms Fields is shown as a former big-shot racketeer who is rebelliously on his good behavior because of the jail threat which hangs over his head in the form of a suspended sentence. The Dead Enders are shown as the leaders among the brutally illtreated and half-starved inmates of a shelter home for boys. Fields becomes interested in the home first as a possible “legitimate” racket out of which he can make money by combining with the villainous superintendent to divert to their own pockets the money contributed for the home’s upkeep. After meeting the boys, however, and realizing they are just such kids as he was once himself, Fields can not go on with his original plans. Instead, he improves the Shelter, introduces the boys to hockey-playing, and sees that they get fair treatment. Boys In Revolt The kids very definitely “get under his skin,” and he proves it eventually in a manner that is essentially noble. The boys have got themselves into a _ serious jam by staging an abortive revolt against their hard lot and even trying to kill the superintendent of the home. Meanwhile the racketeer has been framed by one of his former henchmen and is, as the saying goes, on the lam. But when he hears of the kids’ plight, he voluntarily surrenders and takes a jail term in order to come forward and exonerate the youngsters for what they have done. Every value of melodrama, humor and sentiment is skilfully blended in the screen play written by Crane Wilbur and Fred Niblo, Jr., which was based on an original story by the former. The direction, which sympathetically carried out the intent of the script, was handled by Lewis Seiler, who proved what he couid do-with the “Dead End” Kids in his direction of “Crime School,” and A. E. Dupont. SHADY STICK WORK? HUNTZ HALL Mat 212—30c BILLY HALOP And an unidentified third of the “Dead End” Kids battle out a hockey game in “Hell’s Kitchen” at the Strand. ‘Dead End’ Kids Sing Willingly, Not Well Any set on which the “Dead End” Kids are working is usually far back on the Warner Bros. lot. Perhaps the studio executives want to keep as far away as possible from the headaches those boys bring to directors and other players, and so reserve the most distant sound stages for their pictures. Perhaps it is just accidental. In any event, when the boys work it is usually a long way from the front office. On one particular day recently, it was well that the set of “Hell’s Kitchen,” the Warner Bros. picture now playing at the Strand Theatre, was far removed from both street and executives. For the boys were singing — the “Dead Enders” and some thirty or forty others. They were singing “Auld Lang Syne,” in voices that were loud if not musical, in the final sequence of their new picture. A treble note could be detected oceasionally, in spite of the way Martin Freed, arranger, pounded the piano to drown it out. Changing voices have a way of going soprano under emotional stress— even motion picture emotions. The scene was to be the farewell banquet to Fields, who had violated his parole, according to the story, to help the boys and was scheduled to return for an eight-year term in prison. The banquet was at the dessert stage (real, not prop, ice cream for all), when Fields asks them to sing his favorite song—‘Auld Lang Syne.” At first the boys are ashamed to sing, then as Fields begs them to, they start to give out. The prop men joined in the song. So did the director, the cameramen and the boom boy. There is something contagious about “Auld Lang Syne.” It is difficult not to sing it when others are. It was also easy to understand why the Hell’s Kitchen” set was so far back on the lot at the Warner Studio. ‘Even Steven’ On Film Honors One reason why the “Dead End” Kids have been getting along so amiably of late weeks in their Warner Bros. films together has just come to light. One of the Warner Bros. assistant directors discovered by accident that the six kids not only count the number of scenes in which each works, but count the number of lines of dialogue, and even measure the number of words against each other. The assistant director slipped the word quietly to an executive, with the result that in “Hell’s Kitchen,” their latest vehicle, which is now showing at the Strand Theatre, all of the boys had approximately the same lineage in the script, and all were happy and contented. Of course, the boys concede Billy Halop and Bobby Jordan, the “stars” of the troupe, the right to have more dramatic scenes than the rest of them, but in actual time and footage they all get equal breaks. Qualifications Okay Belatedly, the Warner Bros. Studio received a letter recently from a certain New Yorker who offered to be technical director of the film, “Hell’s Kitchen,” which is now showing at the Strand Theatre. Citing his qualifications, he declared he had been born in Hell’s Kitchen, had lived there all his life, and expected to come to a bad end there.