Boy Slaves

Boy Slaves is a 1939 drama film starring Roger Daniel and Anne Shirley. The film was directed by P.J. Wolfson and based upon an Albert Bein story. Boy Slaves is an exposé of child labor.

Boy Slaves
Directed by	P. J. Wolfson
Written by	Albert Bein (story) Ben Orkow
Produced by	Pandro S. Berman
Starring	Roger Daniel Anne Shirley
Cinematography	J. Roy Hunt
Edited by	Desmond Marquette
Distributed by	RKO Radio Pictures
Release date	February 2, 1939 (1939-02-02)
Running time	72 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Plot

Runaway boy Jesse Thompson, hoping to earn enough money to support his mother, follows a gang of other boys. After an infraction gets them all in trouble, they are forced to work in a fenced and guarded turpentine camp, climbing and tapping trees. They are free to leave only if they can first pay off bills they ran up at the company store (peonage). Trapped in a state of de facto slavery, they decide to strike for better food after one boy gets dizzy from hunger and falls from a tree, resulting in the amputation of his arm. When their protest fails, the boys decide to write a letter about the conditions of their detention to the U.S. President's wife, but it is intercepted. The boys believe one of their number is a "snitch", but later discover differently.

Cast

• Anne Shirley - Annie
• Roger Daniel - Jesse Thompson
• James McCallion - Tim
• Walter Ward - Miser
• Charles Powers - Lollie
• Johnny Fitzgerald - Knuckles
• Frank Malo - Tommy
• Paul White - Atlas
• Walter Tetley - Pee Wee
• Charles Lane - Albee
• Arthur Hohl - Sheriff
• Adrian Morris - State Policeman

See also

• List of films featuring slavery

External links

• Boy Slaves at IMDb