Secret Philadelphia (A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful and Obscure)
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Released December 20, 1940
Featuring Shemp Howard (Solo)
Featuring Shemp Howard (Solo)
Universal
62 min. (Feature Film)
62 min. (Feature Film)
Universal's Dead End Kids, aka The Little Tough Guys (Billy Halop, Huntz Hall, Gabe Dell, Bernard Punsly and Bobby Jordan), head south hoping to earn their wings working for Arnold Carter's (Victor Jory) crop dusting business. Carter runs everything on a shoestring, buying used planes and driving his head mechanic Buzz (Shemp Howard) to keep them in the air, safe or unsafe. Pilot Tex (Milburn "Doc" Stone) befriends the kids, but is soon a victim of Carter's methods. General manager Mr. York (Wallace Ford) rides the kids hard, teaching them to be responsible pilots, despite themselves and Carter. Aviation authorities crack down on Carter, which threatens his contracts with the local farmers, so he cons one of the kids to take an action that leads to tragedy.
Shemp's character of Buzz is one part comic relief... and another part good-hearted friend (and smarter than he seems) to the Dead End Kids, York, and Carter's secretary Julie (Anne Gwynne).
The fish fry musicians are The Jimmy Wakely Trio: Jimmy Wakely, Johnny Bond and Dick Reinhart.
Avg. Rating: 
[7.50/10]
[7.50/10]
Billy Halop
Tom
Bobby Jordan
Rap
Huntz Hall
Pig
Gabe Dell
String
Billy Benedict
Link
Anne Gwynne
Julie Mason
Shemp Howard
Buzz
Victor Jory
Arnold Carter
Wallace Ford
Mr. York
James Flavin
Mr. White
Addison Richards
Capt. Stern, FAA
Dick Reinhart
Fish fry musician
Jimmy Wakely
Fish fry musician
Johnny Bond
Fish fry musician
Tom Steele
Fish fry brawler
Ethan Laidlaw
Fish fry brawler
Eddie Parker
Fish fry brawler
Etta McDaniel
Cook
Milton Kibbee
Gas station attendant
Paul White
Black employee
Ben Lewis
Foreman
Jack Clifford
Motorcycle policeman
Ken Goldsmith
Producer
Charles Lamont
Director
Charles S. Gould
Assistant Director
Eliot Gibbons
Original Story
Robert Lee Johnson
Screenplay
Arthur T. Horman
Screenplay
John Boyle
Director of Photography
Frank Gross
Film Editor
Ralph M. DeLacy
Associate Art Director
Jack Otterson
Art Director
Russell A. Gausman
Set Decoration
Bernard B. Brown
Sound Supervisor
Charles Carroll
Sound Technician
Frank Skinner
Original Music
Charles Previn
Musical Director
Hans J. Salter
Musical Director
Vera West
Gowns
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