Tweet Wild Boys of the Road

Better late than never, I finally got a chance to see Wild Boys of the Road last night. What a great film.

My initial reaction to the film's ending was "wrong." It jarred me. But as I thought about it (and isn't that the mark of a good film? that you think about it?) I realized that the 1933 audience didn't need a dose of stark reality. If they still had a window they could look out and get all the reality they needed. They needed to see light at the end of the tunnel. So I disposed of "wrong" and replaced it with "what a great film."

Apropos of nothing, what a shame that Dorothy Coonan didn't have more of a career. I know (from listening to the commentary) that she didn't care much about an acting career, but she was such a cutie and she did a great job in Wild Boys.

Great commentary, too.

I wonder if they felt they needed a little uplift because "kids" (OK, teenagers) were the focus of the story. It's all well and good to leave poor Richard Barthelmess out on the road hustling from nowhere to nowhere (HEROES FOR SALE) or send audiences home with a musical punch in the face (GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933), but kids. . . .

Though I vaguely remember Andrew Bergman arguing in WE'RE IN THE MONEY that it had to do with the timing of WILD BOYS' release, later in 1933 when FDR was starting to be an inspirational force. But I haven't read that book in years.

I wonder if they felt they needed a little uplift because "kids" (OK, teenagers) were the focus of the story. It's all well and good to leave poor Richard Barthelmess out on the road hustling from nowhere to nowhere (HEROES FOR SALE) or send audiences home with a musical punch in the face (GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933), but kids. . . .

Though I vaguely remember Andrew Bergman arguing in WE'RE IN THE MONEY that it had to do with the timing of WILD BOYS' release, later in 1933 when FDR was starting to be an inspirational force. But I haven't read that book in years.

"We're In The Money"...man, I loved that book when I was in HS. Mainly because it was the first place where I saw movie attendance numbers listed throughout the depression. That was a big revelation to me to realize just how popular movies were and what movie going patterns were like back then.

Wellman wrote of his wooing of Dorothy after they made this film together. It basically took a year before she said yes. He writes that she had zero interest in acting. It was just something to do while she figured out what she wanted out of her life.

Gary J.

Wellman was already wooing Dottie when he cast her in "Wild Boys." They were married soon after production wrapped. She, of course, had a very successful career as a dancer, most notably with Busby Berkeley, and, as others have said, had no interest in acting. Wellman convinced her to act (briefly) one more time, in "The Story of G.I. Joe." Her real dream, as she said to me more than once, was to be a wife and mother. And with Wild Bill and seven kids, she sure got to see that dream come true.

I wonder if they felt they needed a little uplift because "kids" (OK, teenagers) were the focus of the story. It's all well and good to leave poor Richard Barthelmess out on the road hustling from nowhere to nowhere (HEROES FOR SALE) or send audiences home with a musical punch in the face (GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933), but kids. . . .

Though I vaguely remember Andrew Bergman arguing in WE'RE IN THE MONEY that it had to do with the timing of WILD BOYS' release, later in 1933 when FDR was starting to be an inspirational force. But I haven't read that book in years.

The original script was much, much bleaker. Sally becomes a prostitute, one of the kids is killed and Eddie is sent to prison at the end. The studio decided that the message of the film would be more effective if it ended on a note of hope. If I remember correctly (I haven't gone through the production files in more than a year the new ending was shot some time after production had wrapped. I even have a vague memory that Wellman was not present for that one scene, having already moved on to his next picture.

The original script was much, much bleaker. Sally becomes a prostitute, one of the kids is killed and Eddie is sent to prison at the end. The studio decided that the message of the film would be more effective if it ended on a note of hope. If I remember correctly (I haven't gone through the production files in more than a year the new ending was shot some time after production had wrapped. I even have a vague memory that Wellman was not present for that one scene, having already moved on to his next picture.

Wow, that's dark--darker than HEROES FOR SALE. Thanks for the info.

I love the shots on the real moving trains, it's a bit like WINGS where the camera was mounted on real flying airplanes...

Frankie Darro's acting reminds me a lot of James Cagney. According to IMDB he had an uncredited bit part in another great Wellman picture, WESTWARD THE WOMEN, two decades later.

I guess the tagged-on happy ending was necessary for Depression time audiences, otherwise they would all have gone home and kill themselves...

Apropos of nothing, what a shame that Dorothy Coonan didn't have more of a career. I know (from listening to the commentary) that she didn't care much about an acting career, but she was such a cutie and she did a great job in Wild Boys.

She died just half a year ago, September 16th, 2009, aged 96. I always find it stunning when people get so old.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0177739/bio

She died just half a year ago, September 16th, 2009, aged 96. I always find it stunning when people get so old.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0177739/bio

Prepare to be stunned with greater regularity. 90 is the new 80 (or is it 75?)

She died just half a year ago, September 16th, 2009, aged 96. I always find it stunning when people get so old.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0177739/bio

Prepare to be stunned with greater regularity. 90 is the new 80 (or is it 75?)

Actually, experts are predicting that this generation of children will be the first in 200 years to have a shorter lifespan than their parents. The reason is our unhealthy lifestyles.