A standard Roaring '20s New York gangster story is told in a non-standard way with tweens, plus or minus a few years, portraying the usual adult roles leading to a blend of those adult and tween sensibilities in the storytelling. A gang war has erupted between Dandy Dan and Fat Sam, the former who wants to take over the latter's businesses. Those businesses are centered on a speakeasy, the Grand Slam, where Fat Sam's streetwise girlfriend, Tallulah, headlines the floor show. Dandy Dan has taken the upper hand in the war with his henchmen employing the latest in technology, the splurge gun. With his ranks being decimated in the process, Fat Sam turns to Bugsy Malone, a hanger on at the speakeasy who has shown in the past that he is quick on his feet and in his thinking possibly to outwit Dandy Dan. Bugsy has a lot riding on success as he wants to impress Blousey Brown, who is trying to break into show business and whose ultimate goal is to become a Hollywood movie star, Bugsy promising her that he will get her that train ticket west.—Huggo