Kid Dynamite (film)

Plot

Muggs McGinnis is getting ready for a boxing match scheduled for the following night. To scrape together some cash, he takes his gang to Nick's pool hall and challenges the regular, Harry Wycoff, to a game. Muggs had set things up with a fellow gang member named Danny, planning to use a special trick chalk on the cue to guarantee Wycoff would lose. But Danny has so much faith in Muggs's skill that he never uses the chalk, and Muggs ends up losing the match. When Wycoff demands payment for the bet, Muggs punches him in the gut and walks out without settling the debt.

Looking for payback, Wycoff teams up with a bookie named Tony to make sure Muggs doesn't make it to the fight. On the night of the match, a man posing as a reporter kidnaps Muggs and keeps him locked in the back of a car for the whole event. Since Muggs is a no-show, Danny steps into the ring to keep the East Side Kids from being disqualified. Even though he's out of shape, Danny shocks everyone by winning the bout. Once Muggs is freed, he snatches the championship belt from Danny and accuses him of being behind the kidnapping. Muggs keeps giving Danny a hard time after finding out Danny landed a job at a garage where Muggs had wanted to work, and that Danny has been dating his sister, Ivy.

When Danny discovers that Wycoff was involved in the kidnapping, he tries to tell Muggs, but Muggs kicks him out of the club. Muggs later learns from Scruno's father, Jackson, that Wycoff works for Tony, who also happens to be Jackson's boss. This leads the East Side Kids to start a brawl with Tony and his crew. The police arrest the Kids for disturbing the peace, but the judge lets them go without any punishment, while Tony and his men get six months in jail for illegal bookmaking.

After that, Danny and Ivy enter a jitterbug contest. Muggs and his date are initially declared the winners, but the judge finds out that Muggs's partner is a professional dancer. Muggs gets disqualified, and the fifty-dollar prize goes to Danny and Ivy. Danny reluctantly hands the money over to Muggs after Muggs threatens him. Danny's boss, Louis Gendick, who acts as a father figure, tells Danny that he has outgrown friends like Muggs and suggests he join the Army. Danny's mother gives her permission for him to enlist, and he heads off to training camp.