They Made Me a Criminal

Plot

Johnnie Bradfield (John Garfield) is a world champion boxer falsely accused of murder. He disappeared and is presumed dead. The only witnesses who could have exonerated him were his manager and girlfriend, both of whom have died in an automobile accident. Detective Monty Phalen (Claude Rains) believes that Johnnie is still alive and hasn't given up the search for him. Johnnie, meanwhile, is hiding out on Grandma Rafferty's (May Robson) farm in Arizona. It is there that Johnnie meets up with some juvenile delinquents, Tommy (Billy Halop), Angel (Bobby Jordan), Spit (Leo Gorcey), Dippy (Huntz Hall), T.B. (Gabriel Dell), and Milty (Bernard Punsly), who are under the guardianship of Tommy's sister Peggy (Gloria Dickson).

Johnnie, using the fake name of Jack Dorney takes Tommy under his wing and encourages him to go in business for himself by buying a gas pump for the farm. He helps the kids raise money by returning to the boxing ring for a match against an up-and-coming boxer. Johnnie sees Phalen arriving at the fight and decides to hide who he really is by not using his trademark stance in the ring. However his determination to help the kids overcomes him and he reveals who he really is, although he is defeated in the fifth round. He surrenders to Phalen, but the detective allows him to remain in Arizona instead of returning to New York.

Main cast

The Dead End Kids

Malaprop

This film also contains the first malapropism of the Dead End Kids/East Side Kids/Bowery Boys series when Jordan says Regenerate, ya dope when Hall used the word degenerate. Malapropisms became a staple of these films, with Gorcey using them on a regular basis throughout the series.

Home media

As this film is in the public domain, there have been several DVD releases from a variety of companies over the years. The Alpha Video DVD was released on July 30, 2002.