Brilliant and touching

Boring

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

Found this movie on Youtube and it parallels the 'East Side Kids' type of movie that stars Freddie Bartholomew and Billy Halop. This time, Freddie is an English chap who is still traumatized by the raids in England during WW 2 and is suffering from PTSD (not named but alluded to in his diagnosis and problems). While Billy Halop is a troublemaker in his neighborhood and sent to a military academy in order to 'shape up' and fly right. The two of them actually become fast friends, despite their differences, and later have to deal with the hazing from the other military school cadets. What is interesting to note, that although other 'east side kids' characters are in the movie, they are not those characters. That being said, the actors like Huntz Hall, etc, are actually REALLY bad kids who support Nazis who want to destroy the military school and the US!!! A very typical and routine ending for a very short and quickly done film. However, if you want to see Freddie Bartholomew as an older teen and his acting abilities, it should be seen.