Tough Guy

1936
Approved
1h 16m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Joseph Calleia, Jackie Cooper, and Rin Tin Tin Jr. in Tough Guy (1936)

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.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

5.9/10

237

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Photos20

+ 14

Top cast44

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Jackie Cooper

Freddie

Joseph Calleia

Rin Tin Tin Jr.

Duke

Harvey Stephens

Chief Davison

Jean Hersholt

Doctor

Edward Pawley

Tony

Mischa Auer

Robert Warwick

Vincent

Lewis Stone

Davis
(scenes deleted)

Victor Adams

Gangster
(uncredited)

Erville Alderson

Man in Ford
(uncredited)

Brooks Benedict

G-Man
(uncredited)

Hal Craig

Trooper Murphy
(uncredited)

Jack Daley

Finley
(uncredited)

Billy Dooley

Gas Station Attendant
(uncredited)

Dwight Frye

Mack
(uncredited)

William Gould

Police Dispatcher #4
(uncredited)

Eddie Hart

Police Dispatcher #2
(uncredited)

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Joseph 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.

Goofs
In 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.

User reviews12

Review

Featured review

6/10

A boy and his dog and their gangster

It's Jackie Cooper and Rin Tin Tin, Jr. against the world in the opening scenes of this okay crime drama. Having run away together, the two of them can't even hitch a ride--though they both give their best efforts at flagging down passing cars. Claudette Colbert being nowhere to be found, they eventually climb into the back of a parked truck, and....

Joseph Calleia is the crook who, in an early turning point in the plot and in audience sympathies, can't refuse helping a boy with a wounded dog--he did have a dog himself, once, he admits.

Speaking of audience sympathies, the other adult characters in this movie nearly all range from annoying to repulsive--and that includes the boy's neglectful father and the smug detective even more than Calleia's stooges who are ready to turn on him right from the moment we meet them.

No surprises, overall, but Cooper is earnest and Rinny gets to show off his acting chops. And Calleia is actually quite good in a somewhat meatier role than he is normally seen in.