Boy Slaves

Boy Slaves (1939), even with it's shortcomings, becomes a powerful movie of juvenile exploitation. I guess RKO couldn't get The Dead End Kids for this movie, so they found a bunch of other youth actors to look like them and do a more dramatic version of their shtick. In the middle of it all Anne Shirley gives a notable presence the times she jumps into the story, and they certainly collected some fine unsympathetic character actors to play the mean adults. The result is a meaningful film.