An unhappy child, accompanied by his dog, runs away from home and is befriended by a gangster on the lam.An unhappy child, accompanied by his dog, runs away from home and is befriended by a gangster on the lam.An unhappy child, accompanied by his dog, runs away from home and is befriended by a gangster on the lam.
- Davis
- (scenes deleted)
- Gangster
- (uncredited)
- Man in Ford
- (uncredited)
- G-Man
- (uncredited)
- Trooper Murphy
- (uncredited)
- Finley
- (uncredited)
- Gas Station Attendant
- (uncredited)
- Mack
- (uncredited)
- Police Dispatcher #4
- (uncredited)
- Police Dispatcher #2
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaJoseph Calleia sang a couple of bars from a popular Maltese folk song. He was the first person to sing in Maltese on the big screen.
- GoofsIn the Chief's office at the police station, there is a large map covering the wall behind the Chief's desk, showing much of Eastern Los Angeles County (California), and a bit of San Bernardino County to the East of that. Most of the cities are placed more or less correctly on the map in relation to one another, although the distances between them are not always to scale. Two exceptions are Azusa and Glendora, which are shown above (North) of Ontario and East of Pomona. Both Azusa and Glendale are several miles to the West of Pomona and even farther away from Ontario.
- Quotes
Joseph 'Joe' Calerno: [the Chief refuses to let the crook go free to try and find the missing boy] All right, wise guy. Be smart and see what happens.
Joseph 'Joe' Calerno: [to the cop standing by him] Take me back, flatfoot. I'm fed up.
Mr. Frederick Martindale Vincent II: Chief, you can't let him go. What about my boy?
Joseph 'Joe' Calerno: You think I took that kid, don't you? Well, I didn't.I didn't even want him. I tried to make him go back to you, but he wouldn't go. What do you know about that, huh? A swell papa you are! Not even lettin' him have a dog. Why, that kid was happier with me than he ever was with you. Yeah, with me, a crook. Say, if I wasn't so crazy about that kid, do you think I'd be standing here, answering my own questions?
Chief Davison: Take him out, boys.
Mr. Frederick Martindale Vincent II: Now wait, he may be right at that.
Joseph 'Joe' Calerno: You bet I'm right. Why, that kid was nuts about me, and I was the same about him. Gee, what a great time we had. We swam together, fished together. Why, he slept right beside me. Me, and him, and the dog.
Mr. Frederick Martindale Vincent II: I may be crazy, but I'm beginning to believe him.
Chief Davison: Well, you've got one fan, anyway, Joe.
One has to suspend all belief in the plot. At the start Calleia is intent on rubbing out young runaway Cooper because he is a witness to a crime he has just committed. But then a common love bond develops for Cooper's dog, who happens to be Rin Tin Tin, Jr. and Calleia does a miraculous if somewhat unbelievable 180. He soon becomes a big brother to Cooper and even does battle with the other baddies to protect him.
I found myself wishing that I could be Jackie Cooper, romping around with a tender hearted gangster and my loyal Rin Tin Tin, swimming in a forest lagoon, frolicking amongst the berry bushes while singing an old Italian tune, and eating roasted rabbit and marshmallows. That being said, I'd have preferred a different ending, but only in regards to the gangster.
- AlsExGal
- Jul 30, 2017
- How long is Tough Guy?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Runtime1 hour 16 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1