I'll tell you why so serious

Brilliant and touching

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

The he-man woman haters club are invaded by the most unwanted of pests: an intrusive little girl who won't take no for an answer. She is the smart one, it turns out, advising them not to do something that goes all wrong. One is caught and pleads guilty without incriminating his pals, and then poof. Time goes by and that loyal little thug is the king of the old neighborhood known as Hell's kitchen, aka the title, the devil's playground.This is moderately enjoyable yet more of the same, Dead End on the Hudson as opposed to the East River, and it's the same story of young boys choosing different paths as the big boss us taken down. Victor McLaglen takes on the lead role, holding good natured reunions every year which includes the now older pesky girl (Beverly Roberts) who sings in a night club. Rival gangs cut in, resulting in murder, and from there, it's only a matter of time for violence to erupt and innocent parties to be caught in the middle. Like "Angels With Dirty Faces", one of the old gang (Paul Kelly) becomes a priest, with the other (William Gargan) remaining with McLaglen. The script is filled to the brim with clichés, and in spite of a fast pace, it often becomes convoluted. Pretty much the same film as "Angels With Dirty Faces" which had the benefit of good acting and a good script. This just ends up with the former.

This one wasn't bad - I expected the film to be far worse so it came as a nice surprise. It's not a great story but kinda fun to watch in a way. It's about the kid's club "Hell's Kitchen"... where a gang of kids, 4 boys and 1 girl, become friends. The oldest boy, Marty Malone, accidentally set fire to a building and was sent to reform school. Then the story fast-forwards to their adulthood where we find them meeting every year, the year we peer into their story there is a murder that leads to another murder - Marty Malone is involved.All grown up: A night club owner, a singer, a priest and 2 cops. I found my favorite of the gang to be the Priest Jerry. He was the one trying to keep the others calm and reasonable.It's not the grandest of stories but I found this one watchable and enjoyable.6.5/10

The film begins with a group of five kids playing around a warehouse. They accidentally light the place ablaze and run when the police arrive. However, one of the gang (Marty) is caught and he refuses to tell them who else was involved. So, he takes the rap for everyone and ends up growing into a guy who is a shady character--owning his own casino and consorting with disreputable types.The other four members of the gang grew into a not particularly talented lounge singer who works for Marty (Helen), a priest (Jerry) and two brothers who are firemen (Joe and Mike). Each year, they all meet for a reunion and are life-long friends.This friendship is tested when two thugs that work for Marty kill a man. Joe suspects it is not an accident and when he goes back to investigate, the thugs kill him as well! Now Mike takes up where Joe left off and he begins to suspect Marty's involvement. As for Marty, he did NOT want anyone killed and is stuck having to cover for the two thugs because this all began when he ordered the two to rough up a customer who refused to make good on his gambling debts. The problem is that the thugs have plans of their own and they refuse to leave town when Marty tells them to beat it.In the middle of this mess is Father Jerry. He cannot allow Mike to kill Marty but also cannot just ignore Marty's involvement. How all this is worked out is something you'll just have to see for yourself.Overall, this is a very interesting B-film with some nice twists and turns thanks to some excellent writing. As far as the acting goes, it's just fine, though Victor McLaglen in the lead is a real standout--in a tough but very sympathetic performance.

Devil's Party, The (1938) ** (out of 4) Okay, the story here is pretty confusing but I'll try to explain it. Four kids, growing up in Hell's Kitchen, have their lives changed when the oldest pulls a prank, which sets a warehouse on fire. He's sent to reform school but twenty years later he's out on the streets as a gambler/night club owner. Two of the other friends are cops and another is a priest. The gambler sends a couple men to rough a guy up but they eventually kill him and the two cops are put on the case. This film only runs 61-minutes but it seems the screenplay was missing around twenty minutes worth of additional footage that might have tied up various plot holes. With that said, I found myself somewhat entertained but there's really nothing going on in the film. I've heard this was an influence on Leone's Once Upon a Time in America but that connection would be very loose. Victor McLaglen stars.