The East Side Kids take on a gang of Japanese spies.The East Side Kids take on a gang of Japanese spies.The East Side Kids take on a gang of Japanese spies.
Ernest Morrison
- Scruno
- (as Sunshine Sammy Morrisson)
Philip Ahn
- Joe Matsui
- (as Phil Ahn)
Jack Cheatham
- Recruiting Officer
- (uncredited)
Pat Costello
- Navy Recruiter
- (uncredited)
George Eldredge
- Marine Recruiter
- (uncredited)
Moy Ming
- Mr. Matsui - Joe's Father
- (uncredited)
Patsy Moran
- Mrs. Glimpy
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe failure of the original copyright holder to renew the film's copyright resulted in it falling into public domain, meaning that virtually anyone could duplicate and sell a VHS/DVD copy of the film; therefore, many of the versions of this film available on the market are either severely (and usually badly) edited and/or of extremely poor quality, having been duped from second- or third-generation (or more) copies of the film.
- GoofsAt many points, the Eastside Kids are far too noisy as they infiltrate spy headquarters.
- Quotes
Muggs: [watching a parade of troops march by] Okay, boys, we've seen enough. Come on.
Danny Connors: Why? Where're we going?
Muggs: We're gonna clean up on some Japs.
- ConnectionsFollowed by Smart Alecks (1942)
Featured review
Fair East Side Kids Material, Of Interest For the Historical Context
For the most part, the material in this East Side Kids feature is, in itself, fair to about average for the series. The main point of interest comes in its depiction of the gang in the days following Pearl Harbor, when the national mood had swung suddenly in favor of war with Japan. Like a good number of other movies in this era, including others in the same series, this one takes many opportunities to promote its version of patriotism.
The story has the gang turned away from the enlistment offices because of their young ages, and proceeding instead to channel their energies into taking on a local group of Axis spies and sympathizers. The stereotyped depictions of the Japanese and German characters may not have elicited any significant degree of objection at the time, but they are very obvious now. Only the generally comic tone of the movie keeps them from becoming a more serious flaw.
In itself, the story and the movie do have their share of good moments, usually when Leo Gorcey, Bobby Jordan, Huntz Hall, and the rest are allowed to indulge their free-wheeling style for a bit. There are better features in the series, but this one is all right, and it provides an interesting example of the many kinds of movies, stars, and genres from the early 1940s that showed a strong wartime influence.
The story has the gang turned away from the enlistment offices because of their young ages, and proceeding instead to channel their energies into taking on a local group of Axis spies and sympathizers. The stereotyped depictions of the Japanese and German characters may not have elicited any significant degree of objection at the time, but they are very obvious now. Only the generally comic tone of the movie keeps them from becoming a more serious flaw.
In itself, the story and the movie do have their share of good moments, usually when Leo Gorcey, Bobby Jordan, Huntz Hall, and the rest are allowed to indulge their free-wheeling style for a bit. There are better features in the series, but this one is all right, and it provides an interesting example of the many kinds of movies, stars, and genres from the early 1940s that showed a strong wartime influence.
helpful•70
- Snow Leopard
- Dec 29, 2005
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Little MacArthurs
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 2 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content