Is it more of a social commentary ?
Life in New York in the early 1930's and the gap between rich and poor.
shareIt definitely has something to say about that for sure.
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MovieChat Forums > Dead End (1937) Discussion > Is it more of a social commentary ?
The 1936 film My Man Godfrey has a similar theme, although there the poor are portrayed even more sympathetically. It's also based in Manhattan.
I would think 1930s Hollywood was as politically liberal as it is now.
You would be wrong. The powers that be in Hollywood were quite conservative throughout the thirties, forties, and fifties, and even well into the sixties and seventies. A few "progressively oriented" movies such as Dead End managed to slip through, but the overwhelming majority of movies, and bosses, were determinedly traditional.
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I've alwats thought The Depression was the main character of this movie. My father used to talk about those times and this movie was one of his favorites. There are snippets here and there that illustrate just how bad things were: The old lady who steals the cookie from the baby in the carriage, Drina talking about getting clubbed by a cop while on the picket line. The settings and the people in this movie are so drab; even the rich people look unhealthy! There are obvious and heavy-handed messages that poverty breeds criminals and indignity. But the film ends with a message of hope and that the decent people among the poor will survive and eventually triumph.
shareMy mother has mixed feelings about this film because she grew up in Brooklyn during the Depression. She always says the slum area is "too Hollywood clean."
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Now established as Goldwyn's director of choice, Wyler made several films for him, including Dead End (1937) and Wuthering Heights (1939). Essentially an employee of the producer, Wyler clashed with Goldwyn over aesthetic choices and longed for his freedom. Goldwyn had demanded that the ghetto set of "Dead End" be spruced up and that "clean garbage" be used in the water tank representing the East River, over Wyler's objections. Goldwyn prevailed, as he did later with the ending of "Wuthering Heights."
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Yep. And the more things change, the more they stay the same.
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Whilst Dead End reflects the desperation of those who were poor, it did not condone turning to crime as a result i.e. "Baby Face" Martin/Tommy's admission of guilt. Dead End tends to support the view of the poor who try their best to succeed in constructive ways, such as Dave, being unfairly left behind.
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