Keep 'Em Slugging

Plot synopsis:
Teenage gang leader Tommy Banning is preparing for the Summer vacation by telling his members about the importance of doing their share to help out during the war. The best way to do this, according to Tommy's advice, is to end the gang activities and instead take legitimate useful jobs. But this seems to be a greater task than they could imagine, since most gang members have criminal records for juvenile delinquency, and they fail getting regular jobs. When Tommy's sister Sheila asks her boss, Frank Moulton, at the Carruthers' department store where she works, he agrees to hire Tommy only if she goes on a date with him. Sheila has a boyfriend and won't do that, but her boyfriend Jerry Brady instead gets Tommy the job at the department store. Upon starting his new job, Tommy is smitten by a slaes girl, Suzanne Booker, and they go on a movie date together. At the cinema, some of Tommy's gang, Albert "Pig" Gum, String and Ape, turn up and ruin the date. Soon enough Pig, String and Ape all have jobs, the latter two in the same store as Tommy. What Tommy and the gang are unaware of is that Moulton is in cahoots with a gangster, Duke Redman, and meet with him to discuss their dealing. It turns out Redman is disappointed in Moulton for not giving him enough business, and to remedy this Moulton give him the names of Tommy and his gang. After using the sexy singer Lola Laverne as bait, Tommy meets with Redman, but refuses to come work for him stealing goods from the department store. Because of this, Tommy is framed for stealing a piece of jewelry and sent to jail. In protest, Sheila quits her job, and it turns out her boyfriend Jerry is the son of the owner. Jerry gets Tommy out of prison, but his family still think he is guilty of the theft. Tommy decides to act against Moulton and Redman, and meets with his gang. After following Moulton to Redman's headquarters, the gang learsn that Redman plans to rob a silk shipment to the department store. Tommy and the gang manage to hold the Redman gangsters enclosed in a room using a fire hose, until the police arrives. As a reward for catching the gang and stopping the robbery, Tommy gets Moulton's job at the store, the rest of the gang start working in the shipping department and Jerry and Sheila reconcile. Thus the gang is disbanded and the members all go legitimate.

Tags: romantic

Review:
The rest of the story.. While this one still has THE DEAD END KIDS and Little Tough Guys (cased as shown)above the title and on all of the posters, cards and ads connected to this film, The Little Tough Guys are just mentioned primarily because the type was already set.Tommy (Bobby Jordan) and his pals, The Dead End Kids --- "Pig" (Huntz Hall), "Ape"( Norman Abbott, Bud Abbott's nephew)and "String" (Gabriel Dell)---have jobs in a department store where store executive Frank (Frank Albertson)is romantically attracted to Sheila (Evelyn Ankers.) Frank is also secretly involved with a gang of truck hi-jackers. When a load of silk is to be hi-jacked, he tries to involve Tommy in the theft, but Tommy rejects his proposition.Frank frames Tommy with the theft of some jewelry. Tommy is jailed and his friends are fired. Tommy is befriended by Jerry (Don Porter), who also has an interest in Sheila, but shallow Sheila remains loyal to Frank without knowing of his criminal activities.Released on bail, Tommy follows Frank to a warehouse where the gang is plotting to hi-jack one of the store's trucks. Tommy rounds up his pals and they return to the warehouse and the slug'em donnybrook is on.This one gets extra points just because Elyse Knox is also on hand.