Crime School 1938

A junk dealer does business with the Dead End Kids: Frankie Warren, Lester ‘Squirt’ Smith, Charles ‘Spike’ Hawkins, Richard ‘Goofy’ Slade, George “Fats” Papadopolous, and Timothy “Bugs” Burke. When the kids ask for a $20 payoff, he counters with an offer of only $5. Charles ‘Spike’ Hawkinss temper erupts, and he bludgeons the junk dealer, leaving him unconscious. The kids are arrested and brought to trial, where the judge, Judge Robert E. Clinton, sentences them to reform school after they refuse to name who struck the blow.

Inside the reform school, the warden, Morgan, is harsh and cruel, administering discipline and even flogging Frankie after a failed escape attempt. The superintendent of the state reformatories, Mark Braden, visits the school and uncovers evidence of Morgan’s subtle cruelty, such as feeding new inmates poor-quality food. He then goes to Frankie in the hospital ward and finds the doctor inebriated. As a result, Braden fires the doctor, Morgan, and four ex-convict guards, while keeping the head guard, Cooper. Braden takes charge of the reformatory and begins to win over the boys with thoughtful, steady treatment, all while pursuing a romance with Frankie’s sister, Sue Warren.

Meanwhile, Cooper fears Braden will uncover Morgan’s embezzlement of the food budget, and he learns that Spike is the one who dealt the blow to the junk dealer. He manipulates Spike into telling Frankie that Braden’s kindness is because of his sister’s approval—and, although untrue, the lie helps spur the boys to escape from the school in Cooper’s car, with Cooper armed. Frankie climbs the fire escape with the gun to confront Braden, but Sue Warren and Braden dispel Frankie’s suspicions.

As the escape plan unfolds, Cooper pretends to be unaware, while Morgan calls the press to discredit Braden and get him fired. Braden then drives the boys back to the reform school and tucked them into bed, just as the Commissioner, Frank Jaquet, arrives with the police for inspection. The scheming is exposed, Morgan and Cooper are arrested, and the boys are paroled into the care of their parents, ending the ordeal with a new sense of possibility and a chance to start over.