Gorgeous set piece and an interesting story. I must admit I expected a bit more Bogart and a bit less kids. That said the kids here do it well and their little gang is fun to watch here. I kinda liked the movie but it feels hard to really connect with for me. A class commentary done nicely but lacks something special for me

Gorgeous set piece and an interesting story. I must admit I expected a bit more Bogart and a bit less kids. That said the kids here do it well and their little gang is fun to watch here. I kinda liked the movie but it feels hard to really connect with for me. A class commentary done nicely but lacks something special for me

The atmosphere is great, but the movie itself is entirely forgettable. It feels more like a stage play than a film, and it really drags in the middle. The biggest hurdle for me was the "Dead End" kids—they were just annoying and grating rather than charming or scrappy. Bogart is always a win, but even he can't save this from being a mediocre watch

The atmosphere is great, but the movie itself is entirely forgettable. It feels more like a stage play than a film, and it really drags in the middle. The biggest hurdle for me was the "Dead End" kids—they were just annoying and grating rather than charming or scrappy. Bogart is always a win, but even he can't save this from being a mediocre watch

2026 is the year of my William Wyler discovery. Right at the end of last year I introduced myself to his directing style with the jaw-dropping western epic The Big Country, and now, quite early into the year, I’m already back for more from a director I foresee becoming a favorite of mine in the coming months. There’s a lot about this that shocked me in a great way, for a film that came out in 1937 I wasn’t expecting this in-depth a look at gentrification and the effects it can have on both friendship and love, another happy surprise was Humphrey Bogart since I missed his name in the cast on here and in the opening credits. For someone I’ve only seen in romances so far I loved seeing him take on this villainous character, he did well with the role too as he gave what I might call the best individual performance here. Sylvia Sidney is the only challenger to that last statement and gives a great performance next to Bogart and the others, just based off watching this, seeing how old she was at the time, and not knowing much anything about her I’m surprised I don’t hear her mentioned with the Bette Davis's or Katharine Hepburns, she might’ve not had the filmography they did but based on what I just saw here she had the talent. Next to those two I loved the boys here, the group of them had a Stand By Me vibe to their banter which added a comforting feeling to the whole thing, out of those four the standout was pretty clearly Billy Halop as Tommy. I saw a review on here that said something along the lines of “you can tell how much Wyler loved this set” and you definitely can, you also can’t blame him when the set looked as good as this, I know it’s based on a play which probably laid the foundations for a lot of the design but I still have to give props to Richard Day, Wyler, and the crew for the work there. I don’t have much else to add beyond that, William Wyler’s style is a glass-slipper fit for my taste and I can’t wait to see what else his filmography has to offer.

“Ever since he was a little kid I tried to teach him what’s right. I don’t know what else to do- I’ve tried to bring him up decent.”

“Aw, what chance have they got against all this? They gotta fight for a place to play, fight for a little extra somethin’ to eat, fight for everything. They get used to fightin’. “Enemies of society” it says in the papers… why not? What’ve they got to be so friendly about?”

2026 is the year of my William Wyler discovery. Right at the end of last year I introduced myself to his directing style with the jaw-dropping western epic The Big Country, and now, quite early into the year, I’m already back for more from a director I foresee becoming a favorite of mine in the coming months. There’s a lot about this that shocked me in a great way, for a film that came out in 1937 I wasn’t expecting this in-depth a look at gentrification and the effects it can have on both friendship and love, another happy surprise was Humphrey Bogart since I missed his name in the cast on here and in the opening credits. For someone I’ve only seen in romances so far I loved seeing him take on this villainous character, he did well with the role too as he gave what I might call the best individual performance here. Sylvia Sidney is the only challenger to that last statement and gives a great performance next to Bogart and the others, just based off watching this, seeing how old she was at the time, and not knowing much anything about her I’m surprised I don’t hear her mentioned with the Bette Davis's or Katharine Hepburns, she might’ve not had the filmography they did but based on what I just saw here she had the talent. Next to those two I loved the boys here, the group of them had a Stand By Me vibe to their banter which added a comforting feeling to the whole thing, out of those four the standout was pretty clearly Billy Halop as Tommy. I saw a review on here that said something along the lines of “you can tell how much Wyler loved this set” and you definitely can, you also can’t blame him when the set looked as good as this, I know it’s based on a play which probably laid the foundations for a lot of the design but I still have to give props to Richard Day, Wyler, and the crew for the work there. I don’t have much else to add beyond that, William Wyler’s style is a glass-slipper fit for my taste and I can’t wait to see what else his filmography has to offer.

“Ever since he was a little kid I tried to teach him what’s right. I don’t know what else to do- I’ve tried to bring him up decent.”

“Aw, what chance have they got against all this? They gotta fight for a place to play, fight for a little extra somethin’ to eat, fight for everything. They get used to fightin’. “Enemies of society” it says in the papers… why not? What’ve they got to be so friendly about?”

Dead end is a production marvel with great acting all around, but the plot could've really gone further with rich v poor, preventing Young Gangsters and the death of the Adult Gangsters.


The bogart scenes were nice we get to see a man with time against him see how bad his hometown has gotten with his mom and ex-girl both leaving him.


Tommy's story is really nice as we get to see how Baby Face Martin was in his teenage years and due to a good support system around him hopefully Tommy will become better than Baby Face Martin was.

Dead end is a production marvel with great acting all around, but the plot could've really gone further with rich v poor, preventing Young Gangsters and the death of the Adult Gangsters.


The bogart scenes were nice we get to see a man with time against him see how bad his hometown has gotten with his mom and ex-girl both leaving him.


Tommy's story is really nice as we get to see how Baby Face Martin was in his teenage years and due to a good support system around him hopefully Tommy will become better than Baby Face Martin was.

I think William Wyler edged himself into one of the premier directors of all time. From Ben-Hur to Roman Holiday to this, each film is a new genre, a new challenge that Wyler was never fazed by. He took on those challenges with ease and style. 

Dead End reminds me of a noir version of Do the Right Thing, On the Waterfront, and the original Public Enemy. Although not nearly as exciting or groundbreaking as those films, Dead End really grabbed my attention during its bullet-filled climax. I’m pretty sure I said it before, but Humphrey Bogart was made to smoke cigarettes in black-and-white films. I particularly appreciated the film cyclical nature—violence and crime can happen in the slums of NYC or the city, and it’s deemed to be repeated. 3.5/5.

I think William Wyler edged himself into one of the premier directors of all time. From Ben-Hur to Roman Holiday to this, each film is a new genre, a new challenge that Wyler was never fazed by. He took on those challenges with ease and style. 

Dead End reminds me of a noir version of Do the Right Thing, On the Waterfront, and the original Public Enemy. Although not nearly as exciting or groundbreaking as those films, Dead End really grabbed my attention during its bullet-filled climax. I’m pretty sure I said it before, but Humphrey Bogart was made to smoke cigarettes in black-and-white films. I particularly appreciated the film cyclical nature—violence and crime can happen in the slums of NYC or the city, and it’s deemed to be repeated. 3.5/5.