Tough Guy (1936)

This was kind of silly fun made worthwhile by the performances of both Calleia, in familiar gangster role and the young Cooper - who gets to cry about his dog, whom his father does not like. Cooper runs away in the first place to save his dog from dad's ire.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.

Joseph Calleia takes over the parts usually played by Wallace Beery in this corny story of an armored car robber who befriends the runaway kid (Jackie Cooper) who overheard the stick-up occur. After shooting the kid's dog (Rin Tin Tin Jr.), the gangster has a change of heart, and after some hedging, agrees to let the kid go on the run with him. Meanwhile, the kid's father (Robert Warwick) gets involved in the federal case while searching for his son.The MGM sentiment gets in the way of reality here as Cooper cries over his wounded dog, Calleia sings Spanish songs while picking berries and shooting bunny rabbits, and Rin Tin Tin Jr. protects his old pal and new buddy (I guess dogs do forgive) as the law and Calleia's vindictive cronies (sensing ransom money for Cooper) and the law closes in. This was so close to the following year's "Captain's Courageous" in set-up, in fact everything but excellence. This defies reality on all ends, even though the action keeps the viewer from giving up on it although a speeded up fight scene looks absolutely ridiculous. One interesting thought about this film is that while there are a few women extras in the film, not one of the billed actors are female. There's only one moment where a woman reacts briefly out loud to Calleia's being wheeled in on a gurney into a waiting ambulance.

Tough Guy is a film that has not aged well in the can. It was films like this that led to a gradual waning of Jackie Cooper's popularity as a kid star. It's one far cry from The Champ or Treasure Island.Cooper's a rich kid whose dad Robert Warwick won't let him keep his dog, although why anyone would resist owning Rin Tin Tin of any generation is beyond me. Maybe Warwick's a cat person like me. Anyway Cooper runs away from home and dad calls in the cops as personified in this film by Harvey Stephens.But Stephens gets another case that moves the Cooper runaway situation to the back-burner. A truck hijack which left the driver and a cop wounded has sparked a manhunt for a gang headed by Joseph Calleia.But wouldn't you know it, Jackie Cooper and the dog hid in the back of the hijacked truck and naturally of course the gang's all for silencing Cooper. But Calleia just melts with all that pouting innocence that Jackie Cooper could bring to bear. Even after he shot Rin Tin Tin, does Calleia take it on the lam without boy and dog? No with the cops looking for him, he finds a veterinarian, Jean Hersholt, and takes the boy and dog to him.I can't imagine that audiences in 1936 bought that one, let alone audiences seeing Tough Guy today. You can probably figure out how this one is going to end, but there are a few more eye openers left.Joseph Calleia, God Bless him, kept a straight face throughout all this claptrap. I can't believe Jackie Cooper doesn't cringe watching this one.

In 1936 there was no special films about 'Lassie', Rin Tin Tin Sr. and Jr. entertained the movie goers. In this film they even had Rin Tin Tin ride on top of a station wagon and at times you could see a stuffed animal being a stunt dog for the dangerous twists and turns around a deserted road! Jackie Cooper(Freddie), "Chosen Survivors",'74 was the great child star and was the pretty boy of MGM studios. In this film Freddie goes through a rough time being kidnapped by a mean bunch of gangsters. Joseph Callera,(Joe Calerno),"Cry Tough",'59, came to Freddie's rescue, however, Rin Tin Tin Jr.,"Fangs of the Wild",'39, went through plenty of trouble trying to track down his faithful friend Freddie through thick and thin! Jean Hersholt,(Doctor Mulback, Veterinarian), Dancing in the Dark",'49, gave a great supporting role, who was a great veteran actor for many years. This is a great Classic Rin Tin Tin film along with Jackie Cooper, which was shown along with another feature film, newsreel and some cartoons on Saturday night at the local movie houses in the USA!