Call a Messenger
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Arthur Lubin
Billy Halop
Huntz Hall Of The "dead End" Kids
Robert Armstrong
Mary Carlisle
Anne Nagel
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Jimmy Hogan, the leader of a gang of street kids who must fight for their existence, is arrested for robbing the Postal Telegraph Service when the police arrive in the middle of the robbery attempt. Feeling sorry for the boy, Kirk Graham, the district manager of the office and a former street kid himself, takes pity on Jimmy and offers him the choice of taking a job as a messenger boy or going to reform school. Jimmy takes the job, and after initial razzing by the members of his gang, he coerces them into enlisting. With Graham's help, Jimmy gets them jobs as messengers boys, and for the first time in their lives, the kids are treated with kindness and respect. Meanwhile, at home, Jimmy is disturbed that his sister Marge is mixed up with Chuck Walsh, a gangster who has promised to help get their brother Ed out of jail. Jimmy finally succeeds in convincing Mary to stop seeing Walsh and introduces her to Bob Pritchard, a fellow messenger. When Ed is released from jail, he joins Walsh's gang in a series of robberies of postal branches. When Walsh decides to rob Jimmy's office, however, Ed turns against his gangster friends to protect his brother. In the ensuing fight, Walsh shoots Ed and Jimmy races after the gangster. With the help of his fellow messengers, Jimmy brings the gang to justice, and for their honesty and bravery, the "little tough guys" are rewarded with motorcycles to use on their routes.
Director
Arthur Lubin
Cast
Billy Halop
Huntz Hall Of The "dead End" Kids
Robert Armstrong
Mary Carlisle
Anne Nagel
Victor Jory
Larry Crabbe
El Brendel
Jimmy Butler
George Offerman Jr.
Hally Chester
William Benedict
David Gorcey
Harris Berger
Jimmy O'gatty
Joe Gray
Cliff Clark
John Hamilton
J. Anthony Hughes
Kay Sutton
James Morton
Frank O'connor
Sherwood Bailey
Joey Ray
Lyle Moraine
Ruth Rickaby
Frank Mitchell
James Farley
Payne Johnson
Jack Gardner
Kernan Cripps
Russ Powell
Wilson Binge
Louise Franklin
Crew
Elwood Bredell
Bernard B. Brown
Ralph M. Delacy
R. A. Gausman
Ken Goldsmith
Hal Herman
Arthur T. Horman
Michel Kraike
Charles Maynard
Jack Otterson
Robert Pritchard
Hans J. Salter
Sally Sandlin
Henry Spitz
Vera West
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
A news item in Hollywood Reporter notes that this picture was originally written for Universal's own "Little Tough Guys," but when Warner Bros. terminated their contract with the "Dead End Kids," Universal decided to negotiate with them for their services in this picture. As a result, Call a Messenger merged Billy Halop and Huntz Hall, two of the "Dead End Kids," with the "Little Tough Guys." For additional information about the series, see entries below for Crime School and Little Tough Guy, and consult the Series Index for "The Dead End Kids," "The East Side Kids" and "The Little Tough Guys."
