Are These Our Children
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Wesley Ruggles
Eric Linden
Beryl Mercer
Billy Butts
Rochelle Hudson
William Orlamond
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
After New York high school student Eddie Brand loses an oratory contest on the Constitution, he becomes despondent and deserts his faithful girl friend Mary to pursue a relationship with Flo Carnes and her rowdy, heavy-drinking group of friends. Ignoring his grandmother's pleas that he slow down, Eddie stays out late with Flo, Maybelle, Agnes, Nick Crosby and Bennie Gray, drinking gin in jazz clubs and dance halls and then robbing strangers at gunpoint. After dropping out of school, Eddie goes from one job to another, growing more and more cocky and dependent on alcohol.
One night, while driving around New York in a taxi with Flo and her crowd, Eddie, desperate for liquor, makes the cab driver stop near a Jamaica delicatessen, which is owned by old family friend Heinrich "Heinie" Krantz. In the shop, Eddie demands that Heinie supply him with a "bottle," but Heinie, distressed by Eddie's drunken condition, refuses. Dazed by alcohol, Eddie then shoots and kills Heinie in front of Nick and Bennie. Although they have sworn themselves to secrecy, Nick and Bennie feel the pressure of guilt, and after they are all arrested for the murder, Nick blurts out the truth on the witness stand as an over-confident Eddie questions him.
Eddie receives the death penalty, while Nick and Bennie are sentenced to life imprisonment. Before his execution, a remorseful, frightened Eddie talks with Mary and his family about the folly of his life and the path he chose to walk.
Director
Wesley Ruggles
Cast
Eric Linden
Beryl Mercer
Billy Butts
Rochelle Hudson
William Orlamond
Arline Judge
Roberta Gale
Mary Kornman
Ben Alexander
Bobby Quirk
Ralf Harolde
James Wang
Robert Mckenzie
Earl Pingree
Russell Powell
Harry Shutan
Crew
Joseph Biroc
Robert Coburn
Doran Cox
George Diskant
Howard Estabrook
William Hamilton
Fred Hendrickson
Lloyd Knechtel
William Lebaron
Clem Portman
Max Rée
Max Rée
Wesley Ruggles
Louis Sarecky
Dewey Starkey
Max Steiner
Leo Tover
Harold Wellman
Harry Wild
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Eric Linden made his screen debut in this film. Artist Frederic Madan did artwork for the film's advertisements, which billed Rochelle Hudson and Mary Kornman as the "pick of the Wampas Babes," a distinction that was awarded annually from 1922 to 1934 to promising starlets by the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers. A Film Daily news item adds Harry Hellingsworth and Bradley Knoche to the cast, but their participation in the final film has not been confirmed. In 1937, RKO applied for a certificate from the Association of Motion Picture Producers so that they could re-issue the film but was told that because the "picture caused a great deal of unfavorable reaction when first released, by reason of its detailed portrayal of the wild life among high school students," it would "seem to violate the Code provisions" and therefore be ineligible for approval.
