From Broadway to the Bowery
A History and Filmography of the Dead End Kids, Little Tough Guys, East Side Kids and Bowery Boys Films, with Cast Biographies
by Leonard Getz
Average rating:
0 | rating | ![]() |
0 | rating | ![]() |
0 | rating | ![]() |
0 | rating | ![]() |
Your rating: -
Book Presentation:
In 1935 Sidney Kingsley’s play about streetwise urban kids, Dead End, opened on Broadway featuring 14 adolescent actors. For two years on Broadway and then on tour, Kingsley’s play delivered its social commentary contrasting affluent neighborhoods and tenement slums on New York City’s East River. The film industry picked up the story and in 1937 released Dead End which spawned 23 more years of films and serials featuring the Dead End Kids and their offshoots, Little Tough Guys, East Side Kids and the Bowery Boys.
This chronicle follows the street kids through the many assorted incarnations, shifting casts and studios. First the reader is introduced to how the original play and film came about. A cast list and analysis of each production follows. For the major players, the author provides a biography and filmography, and several of these entries include a tribute from a friend or family member. Brief biographical profiles are given for other actors. Sketches of the “Dead End” revivals of 1978 and 2005 follow.
About the Author:
Leonard Getz CPA, lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His work has appeared in such magazines and newspapers as Lifestyles, Inside, Nostalgia Scrapbook, and Jewish Exponent. He was also an interviewer for Steven Spielberg’s Oral History Foundation.
Press Reviews:
""jammed-packed with excellent, well-written cast biographies and good film-by-film commentary. I strongly suggest the very worthy From Broadway to the Bowery…done superbly by the author and the always reliable layout staff at McFarland. Photos are also excellent"—Classic Images; "you will not be disappointed"—The Slide Area; "highly recommended…excellent job"—Rogue Cinema; "cover is a knockout"—Filmfax.
See the publisher website: McFarland & Co
See Dead End (1937) on IMDB ...
> On a related topic:
Making The Best Years of Our Lives (2023)
The Hollywood Classic That Inspired a Nation
by Alison Macor
Subject: One Film > The Best Years of Our Lives
Bigger than Ben-Hur (2016)
The Book, Its Adaptations, and Their Audiences
Dir. Barbara Ryan and Milette Shamir
William Wyler (2013)
The Life and Films of Hollywood's Most Celebrated Director
Subject: Director > William Wyler
Hollywood Boozers, Brawlers and Hard-Luck Cases (2025)
Fifteen Ill-Fated Actors of the Golden Age
by Laura Wagner