Racial Stereotypes in American Films: Smart Alecks (1942)

Smart Alecks is an adventure featuring the East Side Kids, a motley group of misfits in New York City who rely on sight gags and racial stereotyping for humor. While very funny, the film is also an interesting examination of cultural humor in the forties when racism was acceptable in mainstream entertainment. The backdrop for the comedy is that the Kids discovered an escaped convict and turn him in, earning a large sum of reward money. They then have to make a choice about whether to use the money to help a friend get an operation, or buy new baseball uniforms. Smart Alecks is a simple kid’s gang comedy, but it also is an amusing time capsule.