A dim-witted slumlord tries to reform a gang of urban boys (and impress an attractive young woman) by transforming their rough neighborhood into a more decent place.A dim-witted slumlord tries to reform a gang of urban boys (and impress an attractive young woman) by transforming their rough neighborhood into a more decent place.A dim-witted slumlord tries to reform a gang of urban boys (and impress an attractive young woman) by transforming their rough neighborhood into a more decent place.
Ann Brody
- Tenament Mother
- (uncredited)
Bobby Burns
- Attorney
- (uncredited)
Monte Collins
- James - Harmon's Chauffeur
- (uncredited)
Drew Demorest
- Dresser
- (uncredited)
Harry Strang
- Cop
- (uncredited)
Jerry Tucker
- Little Boy Sitting on Curb
- (uncredited)
Dorothy Vernon
- Tenement Woman in Window
- (uncredited)
Harry Wilson
- One of Butch's Henchmen
- (uncredited)
Robert Winkler
- Little Boy
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaBuster Keaton's most commercially successful film to date - to his chagrin, since he made it under protest at "MGM"'s insistence and felt that the studio would feel justified in ignoring his artistic opinions in the future.
- GoofsLefty's pistol, a six shot, is fired twice before Harmon tosses the remaining cartridges into the fireplace. Five bullets subsequently explode in the fire.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Tulips (1981)
- SoundtracksThe Sidewalks of New York
(1894) (uncredited)
Music by Charles Lawlor
Played during the opening credits
Featured review
See it for Keaton and his athleticism
This is another sad example of what happened to the outstanding Buster Keaton when he became controlled by a supposedly "major" studio, but one that had next to no idea of how to make a Buster Keaton movie.
With all the money and facilities available, this movie is not one-one-hundredth the quality of, for example, "The General." Buster Keaton, though, still showed some of the athleticism that make his good movies so good, and co-star Anita Page showed that she is watchable even in horrible movies.
For Keaton, it's a different kind of script, too, in that Buster is a rich guy and has money to try to do good.
Actually, most of the players do pretty well with what they have to work with, and it's a lot better than, for example, "Free and Easy," but "Sidewalks" is probably a title nobody will want to see more than once ... or maybe, since it is Keaton, more than once a year.
This is added after a viewing on TCM, 7 January 2015: Despite my dismal outlook in the previous review, this time around I liked it a lot more.
Partly I liked it more because I paid more attention to Anita Page, who had, I think, a role quite different for her. And she scored.
In previous roles -- that I have seen -- she was just a very pretty girl with no particular strength. Here she was strong as an over-protective sister "and mother and father."
Cliff Edwards was a particular joy. Usually just a with or at best second fiddle, here he showed he too could be a strong character, and his pairing with the acrobatic Keaton was perfect.
Yes, the big studio did not understand what was funny and did not know how to present Keaton.
But my second viewing, contrary to my earlier comment, made me like this a lot more and I raised my rating to seven. And I think everyone ought to see it. At least twice.
With all the money and facilities available, this movie is not one-one-hundredth the quality of, for example, "The General." Buster Keaton, though, still showed some of the athleticism that make his good movies so good, and co-star Anita Page showed that she is watchable even in horrible movies.
For Keaton, it's a different kind of script, too, in that Buster is a rich guy and has money to try to do good.
Actually, most of the players do pretty well with what they have to work with, and it's a lot better than, for example, "Free and Easy," but "Sidewalks" is probably a title nobody will want to see more than once ... or maybe, since it is Keaton, more than once a year.
This is added after a viewing on TCM, 7 January 2015: Despite my dismal outlook in the previous review, this time around I liked it a lot more.
Partly I liked it more because I paid more attention to Anita Page, who had, I think, a role quite different for her. And she scored.
In previous roles -- that I have seen -- she was just a very pretty girl with no particular strength. Here she was strong as an over-protective sister "and mother and father."
Cliff Edwards was a particular joy. Usually just a with or at best second fiddle, here he showed he too could be a strong character, and his pairing with the acrobatic Keaton was perfect.
Yes, the big studio did not understand what was funny and did not know how to present Keaton.
But my second viewing, contrary to my earlier comment, made me like this a lot more and I raised my rating to seven. And I think everyone ought to see it. At least twice.
helpful•103
- morrisonhimself
- Dec 2, 2008
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Calles de Nueva York
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $276,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 14 minutes
- Color
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Top Gap
By what name was Sidewalks of New York (1931) officially released in Canada in English?
Answer