Peck's Bad Boy with the Circus
Cast & Crew
Edward F. Cline
Tommy Kelly
Ann Gillis
Edgar Kennedy
Benita Hume
Billy Gilbert
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
On the day before he is to leave for summer camp, the mischievous Bill Peck, whose parents have already left on their vacation, volunteers to put up posters for a traveling circus in exchange for free admission. Although Bill and eleven of his friends earn a circus pass that is marked for twelve, they are turned away by a skeptical ticket taker. A sympathetic circus employee, however, sneaks the children into the show, but after watching a ten-year-old bareback rider named Fleurette De Cava, the boys are exposed to the ushers by Herman Boggs, Bill's most hated rival. As revenge for having to pay for twelve tickets with his camp money, Bill slips the circus lions some of his mother's sleeping pills, and during their act, the animals fall asleep on their pedestals, humiliating their fellow performer, the ambitious Myrna Daro. Broke, Bill, who must be at camp by five the next afternoon in order to compete with Herman in an obstacle race, asks Fleurette for a ride to the next town. While Fleurette practices a new routine, Myrna, who is envious of the bareback rider's popularity, orders her dog to scare Fleurette's horse, and to Myrna's delight, Fleurette is thrown and injures her leg. To prevent Fleurette from breaking her contract, which stipulates that she loses her job if she misses a single performance, Bill volunteers to ride in her place. With the help of wires and lion tamer Arthur Bailey, the unsure wire puller, Bill, dressed as Fleurette, performs her routine and saves her career. Then, while still wearing Fleurette's clothes and a wig, he rides in a circus chariot driven by Arthur and arrives in camp in time to defeat Herman in the obstacle race and win the coveted trophy.
Director
Edward F. Cline
Cast
Tommy Kelly
Ann Gillis
Edgar Kennedy
Benita Hume
Billy Gilbert
Grant Mitchell
Spanky Mcfarland
Nana Bryant
William Demarest
Wade Boteler
Harry Stubbs
Fay Helm
Mickey Rentschler
Louise Beavers
Crew
David Boehm
Leonard Fields
Arthur Hilton
Sol Lesser
Al Martin
Jack Mckenzie
Abe Meyer
Robert Neville
Robert Neville
Lewis J. Rachmil
John Sherwood
Richard Van Hessen
Victor Young
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
In 1906, George Peck published a novel called Peck's Bad Boy with the Circus, but this particular book is not mentioned in the film credits or in reviews as a literary source. In 1934, Sol Lesser produced and Edward Cline directed Peck's Bad Boy, which also used the Peck characters. Earlier in 1938, Tommy Kelly starred in the Selznick International hit The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, which also featured Ann Gillis. For information on previous "Peck's Bad Boy" films, listing for Peck's Bad Boy.
