Cinema Revisited: Peck’s Bad Boy With The Circus (1938)
Peck’s Bad Boy With The Circus
Directed by Edward Cline. Cast: Tommy Kelly, Ann Gillis, Spanky McFarland, Ann Gillis, Edgar Kennedy, Benita Hume, Fay Helm, William Demarest. Running Time: 66 minutes.
RKO studios ranged from top flight A-level movies like “King Kong,” “Top Hat,” and “Citizen Kane,” and a host of wonderful B movies from westerns, to comedies, to action adventures. “Peck’s Bad Boy With the Circus” is clearly a B movie, using the characters from George W. Peck’s 18th century books and placing them in the context of a 1930s programmer. Combining a good cast with laughs and excitement, “Peck’s Bad Boy With The Circus” is a great example of the sort of second-feature that enhanced many a movie program during Hollywood’s golden age.
The film reunites Tommy Kelly and Ann Gillis from “The Adventures of Tom Saywer” (reviewed here). Kelly plays Bill Peck, who is all set to attend camp and compete in a race for a trophy against his neighborhood rival Herman Boggs. When the circus comes to town, Bill and his friends attend, and discover that a young girl bareback rider (Gillis) is being pressured by her rival, who happens to be the wife of the circus manager. When the girl is injured, Bill takes her place, saves the say, and makes it to camp just in time to win the big race.
The simple sincerity of this programmer is quite enjoyable, and it never lulls for its entire running time. Tommy Kelly carries the film with Ann Gillis in clear support, but the inclusion of many welcome character actors help bolster the entertainment value considerably. William Demarest was brilliant at complaining a keen understanding beneath his surface gruffness, and shines as the circus manager. Benita Hume is at her wicked best as her aunt. Fay Helm is sympathetic as the bareback rider’s mother.
It is interesting that Spanky McFarland appears in this film, as he notably took time off from the Our Gang series at the Hal Roach studios to do so (which is why he is absent from the last three Roach-produced Our Gang comedies as well as the first two for MGM, all 1938 releases). While a feature appearance was probably greater prestige, Spanky is given little to do here. He comes off as a bit slow witted compared to the others, where in the Our Gang films he was the savvy leader.
Perhaps the most enjoyable and welcome supporting roles go to Edgar Kennedy as a circus worker and Billy Gilbert as Herman Boggs’ father. Each of these fine comic performers were always able to steal any scene in which they appeared. Among the real highlights of this movie is Kennedy tongue-tied confusion when discussing circus operations with the kids, as well as Gilbert’s passionate, indignant cheering on of his son at camp.
Curiously, research indicates that the film originally ran 78 minutes. Even later 16mm prints that went out to schools some ten years later offer this running time. The current prints for TV and video clock at 66 minutes. One wonders just what might be missing from the footage we have so easily accessible (this movie is in the public domain).
“Peck’s Bad Boy With The Circus” can be seen on YouTube here.