DEAD END (1935) Broadway stage photo

Vintage original 13 x 10 ” (32 x 26 cm.) black-and-white double weight glossy silver gelatin print still photo, USA. Joseph Downing, Charles L. Duncan, Elspeth Eric, Huntz Hall, Billy Halop, Leo Gorcey, David Gorcey, Bobby Jordan, Marjorie Main, dir: Sidney Kingsley; Belasco Theatre. So popular was this cautionary tale of misguided youth in New York City’s East Side, written and directed by Sidney Kingsley (produced by Norman Bel Geddes and running for 687 performances between Oct. 1935 and Jun. 1937), that Warner Brothers had the film in production and released within two months of the show’s closing.

So popular were the kids who played in the show that the studio brought them back to recreate their roles, becoming known as “The Dead End Kids” in a series of low-budget films. Marjorie Main was brought to Hollywood to recreate her role as the downtrodden mother of gangster “Babyface” Martin. Humphrey Bogart would play the film characterization, but here is Joseph Downing in the role in a scene with Marjorie Main. The photo is by White Studio, NY. Some reinforcement tape, informational writing and Culver Pictures stamps on the verso. Light wear at all four corners, VERY GOOD.