Artivels Undescribable Perfection

VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

writers_reign The element that prevented my enjoying this film wholeheartedly was the sound; in 1937 they had yet to perfect the sound department and provide 'natural' sound which includes 'atmos' the normal background noise that you would expect to hear especially in a movie like this where 90% of the action occurs in the street. Though set in the street it was clearly shot in a studio and the mic was in a soundproof booth so that what we hear is 'clean' sound which is, of course, unnatural. Screenwriter Lilian Hellman has 'opened out' the Broadway play as little as possible so that no imagination is required to visualise the story on stage. Probably the stage version of Street Scene was very similar. Wyler retains the theatricality by having the disparate characters come together in an area no larger that a Broadway stage and exaggerate the social divisions. The drawback in this approach is that the characters don't seem quite real and give the impression that they are playing solitaire just out of camera range while waiting for their cue to move to stage centre, say their lines and exit. Having said that there are several fine performances to admire and it remains watchable close on eighty years later.

Leofwine_draca DEAD END is an odd mix of social commentary and crime drama. For the first half of the running time, not much happens apart from the obnoxious Dead End Kids gang getting into various scrapes in their local area. The emphasis is on petty crime and degradation, a comparison between the sheltered lives of the rich and the desperate lives of the poor, and how the gulf between the two can lead to hatred and violence.At the same time as all this is going on, a sub-plot involves a decent hard-working local man, played by western star Joel McCrea, and a hard-bitten gangster type, played by Humphrey Bogart. The two men hate each other on sight and eventually their sub-plot takes over the story, leading to some exciting crime thrills. The Dead End Kids too get drawn into the mix, and the whole thing builds to a thrilling climax. DEAD END is a little unsatisfying to begin with - you just want to see someone give those brats a thrashing - but it picks up a lot and ends on a real high. The emphasis is on realism throughout and the film is all the better for it.

Edgar Allan Pooh . . . because if you do, Mom will slap you in the face, your neighborhood will be "gentrified," your best girl will now be a hooker, your old buddy will rat you out to the coppers, and your local bulls will put five in your stomach, four in your chest, and three slugs in your head. In DEAD END, the NYPD serves to do the bidding of the Rich. When the wealthy One Per Centers yell "Jump!" these functionaries stammer "H-H-H-ow H-H-H-Igh, S-S-S-Ir?" Though this tale COULD be ripped from today's headlines, many of its actors have been dead more than 50 years now. Yup, this 1937 flick from the Great Depression Era proves that in America, the more things "change," the deeper the 99 Per Centers get stuck in our rut. The Myth of Upward Mobility is the Great Lie. For every "self-made" Millionaire there are a million ripped-of "Thousand-Naires." If one is brave enough to take economic justice into their own hands, The System virtually guarantees that they'll reach a DEAD END, along the lines of Joe "Baby Face" Martin in this flick.

gazzo-2 I liked it, thought it dragged out somewhat despite being only an hour and a half, and sure it's very much a product of it's times-the Depression. This does hold your interest though. One-the cast-Bogie on his way up, Sylvia Sidney-often overlooked today, Trevor's cameo, MacRae. Two-the great set. Quite impressive. No CGI here. Sets. I liked the Dead-end Kids-Hall, Halop, Gorcey, etc. These guys were in dozens of films into their 40's playing the same parts. They're certainly NOT the Cripps or the Bloods, say-more latter day Oliver Twist-level street thugs. But the despair and vicious cycle of slum life is still the same.There's Bogie's being shot dead by Joel MacRae, there's the kid being beat up in the warehouse, there's the cameo of Ward Bond as the doorman, there's the rich gal going off w/ her rich businessman boyfriend, etc. You have seen it all before but it's done fairly well here.*** outta ****, pretty good.