Newsies

This Disney musical film stars Christian Bale (around 17 years old at the time) as a parentless paperboy working for Joseph Pulitzer's paper (Pulitzer is played by Robert Duvall). Based on a real story, the paperboys strike when the big newspapers raise the prices of what they have to pay for the papers (the poor and often homeless boys would have to buy the papers to re-sell them, any they didn't sell they couldn't sell back).


There is a sympathetic reporter for a smaller paper (Bill Pullman) who reports on their story, a music hall singer (Ann Margret), and another paperboy (David Moscow) who has to work due to his father's injury.

There is also a subplot of Bale's character dreaming of going to the Southwest and joining his family although that is all a fantasy.

You can already see what charisma Bale has in this film, he holds his own against heavyweights like Duvall and has sexual charisma with Ann Margret and another girl in the film.

None of the actors, other than Ann Margret, originally had any dance or singing training (even Bill Pullman sings and dances in this). Being a Disney film I was surprised they had the boys doing stuff like drinking and smoking, and flirting with music hall singers, but I guess that was germane to the characters and times.  I hear this film is soon to be a Broadway musical.