Boys Will Be Joys

Adults have the Pike and Coney Island amusement parks, so the rascals put up their own rides in a large vacant lot. Mickey's got big plans for expansion when surveyors show up to begin work on a factory. The gang travels by donkey cart to the office of Henry Mills, President of Pan American Export Company, to protest. Henry, in his 60s, is still a boy at heart: he has his chauffeur stop the car so he can join a sandlot game. He bails on a meeting with his board of directors, going with the kids to the factory site where he stops the workers and helps our gang add more rides. The directors follow him, and they get put to work. Will they ever have their meeting?

Directed by Robert F. McGowan, Boys Will Be Joys leans on a strong ensemble — Joe Cobb, Jackie Condon, Mickey Daniels — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about comedy titles of 1925.