Decent, slightly offbeat, Eagle-Lion programmer adapted from popular radio series Big Town. Four near-homeless boys are caught breaking into a sporting goods store to steal equipment for their basketball team. In court, newspaper editor Wilson and reporter Kilbourne take pity on the boys, and thus take responsibility for them instead of having them sent to reformatory. Trouble is the boy's leader Tommy has money ambitions and hooks up with gangsters to bet on Tommy's basketball team. So what will happen to the teetering boys now on parole under Wilson's kind supervision.
What suspense there is comes from Tommy's (Clements) wayward actions that also endanger the other boys. He's not a bad boy, just one trying to escape from poverty, likely a leftist touch by leftish scripter Mainwaring. Director Thomas films in fairly straightforward fashion making good use of real street scenes. Perhaps biggest draw is the interesting cast, from ex-Dead End kid Clements to the ill-fated Alfalfa Switzer to budding B-movie starlet Martel. But my personal favorite is the commanding Hillary Brooke as Kilbourne. Here she's got a rather bland role, but her specialty was taking men apart with an icy no-nonsense personality. Once you see her in one of those roles, you don't forget. Anyway, if you can get past ordinary boys playing before arena-size crowds, the hour's a decent time passer.
What suspense there is comes from Tommy's (Clements) wayward actions that also endanger the other boys. He's not a bad boy, just one trying to escape from poverty, likely a leftist touch by leftish scripter Mainwaring. Director Thomas films in fairly straightforward fashion making good use of real street scenes. Perhaps biggest draw is the interesting cast, from ex-Dead End kid Clements to the ill-fated Alfalfa Switzer to budding B-movie starlet Martel. But my personal favorite is the commanding Hillary Brooke as Kilbourne. Here she's got a rather bland role, but her specialty was taking men apart with an icy no-nonsense personality. Once you see her in one of those roles, you don't forget. Anyway, if you can get past ordinary boys playing before arena-size crowds, the hour's a decent time passer.