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Newsboys' Home

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Wikipedia article




'Newsboys' Home' is a 1938 crime film that starred Jackie Cooper and 'The Little Tough Guys'.

Plot



When his father, a small town sheriff, is slain by a big city gangster, "Rifle" Edwards becomes a homeless vagabond, drifting from town to town. Arriving broke and hungry in a large metropolis, he seeks food and shelter at the Newsboys' Home, where the kids force him to fight an amateur bout with the champ, Danny Shay, before he can eat. When Rifle knocks Danny out, the country boy is accepted into the gang of newsies. He goes to work selling the 'Globe', which is published by Howard Price Dutton, the founder and benefactor of the home. When Dutton dies, his daughter Gwen becomes the new publisher. 'Globe' reporter Perry Warner is in love with Gwen, but they quarrel over her ideas about turning the 'Globe' into a highbrow paper. Perry warns Gwen that she will ruin the paper, but she is stubborn and refuses to listen.

Meanwhile, Tom Davenport, a crooked politician, buys the opposition paper, the 'Star', in order to swing the election for his candidates, and tries to bribe Perry to work for him. After Perry refuses, Davenport starts a ruthless circulation war, and 'Globe' sales begin to fall off dramatically. Gwen still refuses to heed Perry's advice and abandon her disastrous editorial policies, and in frustration, Perry quits and leaves on a trip. When the 'Globe' can no longer support the Newsboys' Home, Danny and some of the boys go to work for Bartsch on the 'Star', leaving only Rifle and Sailor behind at the 'Globe'. Perry returns to find the 'Globe' in dire straits and Gwen tearfully refutes her policies. Assuming editorship of the paper, Perry sets out to whip the 'Star' at its own game.

Growing bolder, Davenport hires mobster Francis Barber to escalate the circulation war, and 'Globe' trucks are wrecked, newsstands smashed and burned. The war comes to a climax when a street fight erupts during which boys from the two rival papers meet in open combat, and police squads are required to quell the riot. Angered because one of his pals has been shot by one of Barber's men, Danny goes to Barber to quit his job while Rifle follows the gangsters to Barber, whom he recognizes as his father's killer. Barber and his men are preparing to take Rifle "for a ride" when Danny and the newsboys stage a sensational rescue in which they take Barber prisoner and turn him over to the police. With the newspaper war brought to a close, the 'Globe' regains its popularity and Gwen and Perry are married.

Cast



The Little Tough Guys

* Harris Berger as Sailor

* Hally Chester as Murphy

* Charles Duncan as Monk

* David Gorcey as Yap

* William Benedict as Trouble

Additional cast

* Jackie Cooper as "Rifle" Edwards

* Edmund Lowe as Perry Warner

* Wendy Barrie as Gwen Dutton

* Edward Norris as Francis 'Frankie' Barber

* Samuel S. Hinds as Howard Price Dutton

* Irving Pichel as Tom Davenport

* Elisha Cook, Jr. as Danny Shay

* Harry Beresford as O'Dowd

* Horace McMahon as Bartsch

* George McKay as Hartley

References




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