Bad Boy

"Bad Boy" is the story of Johnny, perhaps one of the stupidest characters I can recall in any low-budge B-movie. Again and again, Johnny has a chance to do something with his life and time and again he throws it away because he is a complete fool...perhaps too much so to make the film realistic.

The story begins right after Johnny graduates from college. He's young and eager and heads to the big city to make his fortune and to help support his longsuffering mother. At first, he works very hard an earns the boss' admiration. However, Johnny makes a new friend at work, Carson, and soon Carson leads Johnny astray...though he didn't have to work that hard to do this! The sober and straight-laced Johnny now drinks, gambles and dates a real golddigger...who he simply cannot afford. So how does he try to manage this? At first, by gambling more. And when that doesn't work, he steals from the company...and ends up, briefly, in jail.

Now you'd think Johnny would have learned his lesson. But Johnny apparently has gerbils living inside his skull and soon he's back with Carson and the hard-hearted ex-girlfriend...and living a life of crime! Will he ever get his comeuppance or will his mother, once again, rescue him?

The film could have worked had it had any subtlety at all...but it doesn't. Like too many cheapo B-movies, it sacrifices realism for economy...economy in not just cost but in the short run-time. As a result, it's not especially good and very obvious. Plus, they make Johnny too stupid to be realistic in any way...and his wife too obviously wicked. Heck, I'm almost surprised they didn't have her dress up like a wicked witch she was so obvious!

By the way, one of the only things I liked about the film was Spencer Williams...at least for a while...later, they, too made him pretty dim! Williams was a very prolific actor during this era and mostly acted in black-only films. It's interesting to see him in a more mainstream film here...even if it is a bad one. Later, Williams would gain a lot of fame playing Andy Brown on TV's "Amos 'n Andy".