Boys of the City 1940

To escape the heat of the city and a looming court sentence for malicious mischief, the East Side kids head for a summer camp in the Adirondacks. En route, their car breaks down and they are reluctantly taken in at Judge Malcolm Parker, Forrest Taylor. The Judge is under indictment for bribery, and both his life—and that of his niece Louise Mason, Inna Gest—are threatened by a ruthless gang of racketeers; his ally Giles, Dennis Moore has accused him of embezzling Louise’s fortune, while Agnes, Minerva Urecal the housekeeper, blames Parker for the death of her former mistress, Leonora. Parker’s worries multiply when he meets Knuckles Dolan, the boys’ guardian, Dave O’Brien a man Parker once sentenced to death before that verdict was reversed and Knuckles exonerated.

That night, Louise is kidnapped and the Judge is found strangled; Giles, Dennis Moore and Simp, Vince Barnett accuse Knuckles of the murder. The East Side kids seize Simp and Giles and vow to uncover the killer themselves. Muggs McGinnis, Leo Gorcey and Danny Dolan, Bobby Jordan, discover a hidden panel in the library wall and slip into a secret passage. There they find Louise unconscious and catch a glimpse of a fleeing man. Knuckles Dolan, Dave O’Brien captures the man, who claims to be Jim Harrison from the district attorney’s office, Stephen Chase.

Amid the chaos, the real killer seizes Louise again, but the kids press on and unmask Simp. Harrison then identifies the bodyguard as the triggerman seeking revenge on the Judge. With the case finally solved, the youngsters are free to head back to their summer camp, carrying the weight of the mystery behind them and the confidence that their teamwork helped bring a shaken town back to its rhythm.