Editing Dead End (1937 film) (section)

==Plot==
In the slums of New York City, on the [[East River]] just below the [[Queensboro Bridge]], wealthy people live in opulent and luxurious apartments because of the picturesque views of the river, while the destitute and poor live nearby in crowded, cockroach-infested [[tenement]]s.

At the end of the street is a dock on the East River; to the left are the luxury apartments, and to the right are the slums. The Dead End Kids, led by Tommy Gordon, are a gang of street urchins who are already well on the path to a life of petty crime.  Members of the gang besides Tommy include Dippy, Angel, Spit, T.B., and Milty, the new kid on the block in search of friends.  Spit is a bit malicious with a cruel streak, and initially bullies the newcomer and takes his pocket change. However, Tommy eventually lets Milty join the gang, and he turns out to be both a loyal and generous friend.

Tommy's sister, Drina, dreams of marrying some dashing, rich stranger, who will save  Tommy and her from this miserable life of poverty, and help prevent Tommy from growing up to be a mobster like Hugh "Baby Face" Martin, who has returned to the neighborhood to visit his mother and childhood girlfriend.  Dave Connell, raised on the same street as Martin, recognizes him and warns him to stay away, but Martin contemptuously ignores him. Dave, a frustrated architect who currently works odd jobs, is Drina's childhood friend.  He is having an affair with a rich man's mistress, Kay Burton.  Although Dave and Kay love each other, they know they cannot be together because Dave cannot provide Kay with the kind of lifestyle she desires.

Meanwhile, the kids lure Philip, a rich kid from the apartments, into a cellar, where they beat and rob him.  When the boy's father tries to intervene, Tommy winds up stabbing him in the arm.  He escapes the police and goes into hiding.

Martin is subsequently rejected by his mother, who denounces him as a murderer, and repulsed by his ex-girlfriend, Francey, who says she is tired and "sick". He realizes she is now a prostitute and dismisses her with a few twenties pulled from a wad of cash. Despondent over the failed visit, he decides to kidnap the rich child for ransom to make the trip back worthwhile.  Dave sees Martin and his accomplices planning the kidnapping, and again warns him to leave.  Martin knifes him, and Hunk pushes him into the river.  Managing to pull himself out of the river, Dave pursues the hoodlums, knocking out Hunk and chasing Martin on the rooftops before cornering him on a fire escape.  Amid a hail of bullets, he manages to mortally wound Martin, who falls onto the street below. While on the ground, Martin engages oncoming police officers in a firefight, shooting a couple before they open fire and kill him.

As the police and a crowd of people gather around Martin's body, the doorman recognizes Spit as being a member of the gang that attacked the rich kid's father, and identifies him to Officer Mulligan. Spit exonerates himself by informing the police that the man was cut by Tommy, who has returned to say goodbye to Drina before running away.

Meanwhile, Kay approaches Dave, asking him to go away with her, using the reward money that he is owed for killing Martin.  Dave refuses, and Kay returns to the man whom she does not love, but who can provide her with financial security.

Tommy hears of Spit's betrayal, and tries to give him the mark of the "squealer", which is a knife wound across the cheek.  Before he can do so, Dave intervenes, and  Drina and he convince Tommy to surrender to the police. Dave then offers to use his reward money to pay for Tommy's defense.  As Drina, Dave, and Tommy leave with Mulligan, the rest of the Dead End Kids meander off into the night, singing "If I had the wings of an angel, over these prison walls I would fly".