Drama | Dir: William A. Wellman | 68min At the height of the Great Depression, two teenage lads strike out on their own in order to help their struggling parents but find life on the road much tougher than expected. Warner Brothers was never the sort of studio to shy away from exploring social ills or the harsher aspects of American life and Wild Boys of the Road (1933) is a perfect example of their commitment to this sort of picture during the early sound era. Set during the Depression, the film follows two middle-class boys who take to the road when economic hardships drastically alter their situations at home. Riding east on a freight train, they befriend other homeless youths along the way until railroad authorities force them off the train in Ohio where they create their own hobo camp. Wild Boys of the Road was William Wellman's attempt to dramatize some disturbing developments in the social fabric of America while at the same time reflecting some of the optimism inherent in the New Deal politics of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Though normally very frugal with film budgets, Wellman went over his allotted production costs on this film due to his emotional involvement in the subject matter. Part of the reason Wellman succeeded in capturing such a naturalistic, documentary-like flavor is because of the real locations used and a cast of mostly unknown actors, Frankie Darro and Rochelle Hudson being the two exceptions. Dorothy Coonan, who plays Dottie, a tough, young girl who rides the rails, is a particular standout and had previously worked as a dancer in Busby Berkeley musicals such as Gold Diggers of 1933.