I obviously know better, but the ending to this film had me thinking it might have been a reworking of 1931's "The Champ", in which a nine-year-old Jackie Cooper had one breaking out the handkerchiefs for the passing of his washed-up boxer dad, Wallace Beery. The idea that his character here would get so sentimental over the death of gangster Joe Calerno (Joseph Calleia) comes across as all too incredible in this story, although the filmmakers did their best to make it look somewhat believable. The setup is something of a stretch too, as young Freddie Martindale Vincent, Jr. (Cooper) runs away from home with his dog Duke (Rin Tin Tin Jr.), and gets right in the middle of gunfire at a holdup after climbing aboard a truck at a gas station. (Quick aside, a buck seventy to fill up the truck might be the most amazing thing about the movie!).
Off to a shaky start, things get worse when Calerno fires blindly and hits Duke in the neck with a stray bullet. Taking responsibility, the gangster finds a vet for Duke, and through the miracle of 1930's movie making, the dog is back to good as new in no time. At which point the teen and the criminal begin to bond while camping out, fishing and generally having a good time while on the run. There was another scene in particular that reminded me of "The Champ", and that was when Freddie shared Calerno's jacket with him as they went to sleep in the woods. A similar scene played out in that film with Cooper's character placing his drunk father in bed and putting him under the covers.
All the while, you know this situation couldn't last forever, and it was soon enough that the rest of Calerno's gang would come looking for the both of them, especially after learning Freddie's dad posted a fifty-thousand-dollar reward for his son's return. Quite a piece of change in those days, considering that earlier gas fill up. By this time though, the cops caught up with the criminal, but surprisingly allowed him to go free in order to have him lead authorities to the rest of the gang. A gambit that worked, but during a rough and tumble fight in double time between Calerno and his main henchman Tony (Edward Pawley), the good-hearted bad guy took a bullet that led to the maudlin conclusion. Whereas it was a sad ending for young Freddie, the resolution didn't pack the kind of emotional punch as it did in "The Champ".
Hey, wait a minute. Where did they get those marshmallows to roast while on the run?
Off to a shaky start, things get worse when Calerno fires blindly and hits Duke in the neck with a stray bullet. Taking responsibility, the gangster finds a vet for Duke, and through the miracle of 1930's movie making, the dog is back to good as new in no time. At which point the teen and the criminal begin to bond while camping out, fishing and generally having a good time while on the run. There was another scene in particular that reminded me of "The Champ", and that was when Freddie shared Calerno's jacket with him as they went to sleep in the woods. A similar scene played out in that film with Cooper's character placing his drunk father in bed and putting him under the covers.
All the while, you know this situation couldn't last forever, and it was soon enough that the rest of Calerno's gang would come looking for the both of them, especially after learning Freddie's dad posted a fifty-thousand-dollar reward for his son's return. Quite a piece of change in those days, considering that earlier gas fill up. By this time though, the cops caught up with the criminal, but surprisingly allowed him to go free in order to have him lead authorities to the rest of the gang. A gambit that worked, but during a rough and tumble fight in double time between Calerno and his main henchman Tony (Edward Pawley), the good-hearted bad guy took a bullet that led to the maudlin conclusion. Whereas it was a sad ending for young Freddie, the resolution didn't pack the kind of emotional punch as it did in "The Champ".
Hey, wait a minute. Where did they get those marshmallows to roast while on the run?