Movie Review: That Gang of Mine (1940)
Synopsis: After the Eastside Kids convince Mr. Wilkes to provide the race entry fee for a thoroughbred, Bluenight, Muggs Mahoney uses the opportunity to pursue his dream of being a jockey. He, however, soon learns it is more difficult than he imagined and a chance to redeem himself is put at risk by a crooked bookie tries to sabotage Bluenight.
Who's in it? The movie stars Bobby Jordan, Leo Gorcey, Clarence Muse, Dave O'Brien, Milton Kibbee, Joyce Bryant.
Review: It had been a few weeks since I last watched an Eastside Kids/Bowery Boys movie, so I figured I'd add one to my list and after searching, chose That Gang of Mine primarily because the idea of Muggs Mahoney (Gorcey) riding a horse seemed interesting. I watched it this morning and it proved to be an OK choice.
There were a couple things I liked about this movie. One of the main ones was the journey Muggs needed to take to be a jockey. The movie acknowledged a kid from New York probably wouldn't know anything about riding a horse and made full use of that, both with the training sequence, the paralyzing fear during the race and the self-doubt/stubbornness that followed.
Even his desire to be a jockey seemed genuine. He saw it as a way to make money, see the world and get respect. It was the kind of motivation I would expect a young man living in poverty to have. The hard work he put in (something that seemed a bit uncharacteristic of Muggs) also made his early failures much more impactful because it made it clear he cared deeply about what he was trying to do and the disappointment believable.
The movie's plot also proved not to be as predictable as a movie like this would be expected to be. There were multiple obstacles in addition to Mugg's inexperience. This included the bookie, Nick (Wilbur Mack) doing his best to sabotage the East Side Kids' efforts and the reliance on Mr. Wilkes (Kibbee) to provide the funding and allow Muggs to ride when he could be getting a much better return on his investment with a much more experienced jockey.
Even Ben (Muse) was someone I had a hard time fully trusting. He seemed OK and I probably shouldn't have been suspicious, but he was a character who wasn't from the area, they knew nothing about and could have just as easily been scamming them.
The film's ending was completely unexpected, with a last-second twist that I didn't see coming. I won't go into details and will just say it's not the comeback story you'd expect.
Final Opinion: This is a solid movie that is much more drama than comedy but has a good story and just enough twists to keep it from being too predictable. I'd put it toward the top of my list of favorite Eastside Kids/Bowery Boys films.
My Grade: A
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Here are some reviews of other movies from 1940:
Movie Review: Haunted House (1940)
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