Newsies

Synopsis of Movie

“Headlines don’t sell papes. Newsies sell papes.”

They tried. They really did. Maybe the world just wasn’t ready for Newsies. Disney stacked the deck as much as they could: director Kenny Ortega, who choreographed the smash hit Dirty Dancing; The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast composer Alan Menken; Robert Duvall, Ann-Margret and a cast of fresh-faced lads ready to hoof it up on the city streets a la West Side Story. All the ingredients were there for a good old-fashioned musical, but something didn’t click with the moviegoing public.

They even had the “based on a true story” angle. The movie follows the historically-semi-accurate trials of a ragtag bunch of “New Yawk” street urchins who hawk papers for publishing magnates Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst. When the tyrants raise the prices the newsies must pay for their papers, cutting into their already-miniscule profits, the boys decide to strike back.

Juvenile Hall escapee Jack Kelly assumes the leadership of the motley crew, which includes kids with names like Crutchy, Boots, Mush and Snitch. Befriended by dance hall performer Medda Larkson and reporter Bryan Denton, the newsies unionize to fight the powers-that-be through song, dance and stick-togetherness.

Maybe the time for musicals had passed, or maybe the story of paperboys in 1899 just wasn’t hip enough for 1990’s audiences. Whatever the reason, Newsies was gone from theaters before the ink dried. The film won its share of very loyal fans (many of the “Gee, those boys are cute” variety); it just didn’t earn any money. And somewhere in their graves, Pulitzer and Hearst cracked a pair of cruel smiles.

Movie Release History

1992 - Newsies

Movie Sub Categories

live-action
drama
musical
disney

Movie Studio

Disney

Cast

Jack Kelly Christian Bale
Francis Sullivan Christian Bale
David Jacobs David Moscow
Les Jacobs Luke Edwards
Racetrack Max Casella
Crutchy Marty Belafsky
Boots Arvie Lowe Jr.
Mush Aaron Lohr
Kid Blink Trey Parker
Spot Conlon Gabriel Damon
Snitch Dee Caspary
Jake Joseph Conrad
Itey Dominic Maldonado
Snipeshooter Matthew Fields
Specs Mark David
Dutchy Ivan Dudynsky
Snoddy  Robert Feeney
Skittery  Michael A. Goorjian
Bumlets   Dominic Lucero
Pie Eater  David Sidoni
Swifty  Kevin Stea
Bryan Denton  Bill Pullman
Medda Larkson  Ann-Margret
Sarah Jacobs  Ele Keats
Mayer Jacobs   Jeffrey DeMunn
Esther Jacobs  Deborra-Lee Furness
Kloppman  Marc Lawrence
Ten-Pin  Kevin Michaels
Nun  Sylvia Short
Nun   Melody Santangello
Nun  Lois Young
Patrick's Mother  Jo Ann Harris
Toby the Candy Butcher   Gregg Kent-Smith
Theodore Roosevelt   David James Alexander
Joseph Pulitzer   Robert Duvall
Weasel   Michael Lerner
Snyder   Kevin Tighe
Seit . Charles Cioffi
Oscar Delancey  Shon Greenblatt
Morris Delancey   David Sheinkopf
Jonathan   Mark Lowenthal
Judge "Movealong" Monahan   William Boyett
Mayor Van Wyck   Ryan MacDonald
Chief of Police Devery   Frank Girardeau
Captain McSwain  Shay Duffin
Bailiff   Terry Kohl
Bunsen   Tom Finnegan
Gammon   I.M. Hobson
Policeman   Frank Novak
Medda's Helper  Louise Bale
O'Rourke  Lonnie Burr
Short Round  Harrison Cheung
Tumble Boy   Jimmy Grant
Newsie  Jean-Paul Hellendall
Fireman  Frank Slaten

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