Although he received credit as "assistant director" on several
Dead End Kids films, he was actually hired to keep the kids in line. A
former football player, Saunders was originally hired on
The Angels Wash Their Faces (1939) because Warner Bros. was fed up with the kids'
disruptions, pranks and vandalism to the sets and studio property (they
once crashed a truck through a soundstage wall). The first time they
started to act up on "Angels Wash Their Faces", Saunders grabbed a fire
hose off the wall, turned it on full blast and knocked the kids to the
floor with a powerful stream of water. They were informed that if they
continued to act up, they would receive the same treatment every time.
They behaved themselves for the rest of the picture, and Saunders had a
job for as long as they were at the studio.
