(1939) {Streets of New York} Starring Jackie Cooper as Jimmy, a young newspaper stand owner who has a handful of lads working the stand with him, and has a threat in the form of a young hoodlum, Spike, who is envious of Jimmy's self made success and would like nothing more than to take the profits of Jimmy's labours by use of threats of violence. The only thing in Spike's way is the knowledge that Jimmy has an elder brother who is an infamous 'legitimate businessman'. What Spike does not know is the two brothers have been estranged for some years. Jimmy attends classes for law, in the hope that he will become a lawyer, and the person he would like to emulate is Abraham Lincoln. This film is set around a Christmas period and is about making moral choices, some of which are easier than others. There is some sentimentality, but suprisingly little is sugar sweet. The run time is about an hour, and the print is reasonably good, but there are some rough edits [censorship?] particulary noticeable by its absence is the actual fight between Jimmy & Spike, which the viewer had been waiting for. Video 7 / Sound 8. Worth a watch if you are fed up with the usual Christmas fare that gets re run every year.
Category
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Short film