Starring Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Gabriel Dell, Alan Napier, Jane Adams
Directed by Jean Yarbrough
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
After Sach displays an ability to predict the future when overcome by a toothache, Slip and the Bowery Boys showcase him in a carnival act, which attracts the attention of a mad scientist.
Another of the Bowery Boys' ventures into horror territory features a legitimate monster played by Glenn Strange, shortly after concluding his roles for Universal as the Frankenstein monster. However, the beast is obliged to trade brains with Hall's Sach, so for the majority of the picture Hall, surprisingly effectively, plays a snarling monster, and Strange plays the dimwitted but jovial young man, easily nailing his silly mannerisms. It's a bit of a departure from the Boys' usual formula, and although the story's paper thin, I still found it to be entertaining.
Showing posts with label Leo Gorcey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Leo Gorcey. Show all posts
Thursday, October 27, 2016
Sunday, March 13, 2016
Spook Busters (1946)
Starring Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Douglass Dumbrille, Bobby Jordan, Gabriel Dell
Directed by William Beaudine
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
The Bowery Boys start their own pest extermination company, and their first job is a haunted house, which unbeknownst to the boys is the secret lair of a mad scientist.
Although the environment for this Bowery Boys picture is a supposedly haunted house, there's not a ghost in evidence, just a spooky old estate on the grounds of a cemetery. Nevertheless, there's still secret passages, lights that mysteriously turn on and off, and a savage gorilla in the basement, providing several "old dark house" elements for Gorcey, Hall, and the rest to play off of. The guest cast is somewhat unusual for a Bowery Boys picture with some quality character actors including Dumbrille as the mad scientist and Charles Middleton and Richard Alexander of the Flash Gordon serials playing his henchmen. Fans of the series will not be disappointed, and those new to the Bowery Boys will find some entertainment value on a low budget.
Directed by William Beaudine
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
The Bowery Boys start their own pest extermination company, and their first job is a haunted house, which unbeknownst to the boys is the secret lair of a mad scientist.
Although the environment for this Bowery Boys picture is a supposedly haunted house, there's not a ghost in evidence, just a spooky old estate on the grounds of a cemetery. Nevertheless, there's still secret passages, lights that mysteriously turn on and off, and a savage gorilla in the basement, providing several "old dark house" elements for Gorcey, Hall, and the rest to play off of. The guest cast is somewhat unusual for a Bowery Boys picture with some quality character actors including Dumbrille as the mad scientist and Charles Middleton and Richard Alexander of the Flash Gordon serials playing his henchmen. Fans of the series will not be disappointed, and those new to the Bowery Boys will find some entertainment value on a low budget.
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
The Bowery Boys Meet The Monsters (1954)
Starring Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bernard Gorcey, Lloyd Corrigan, John Dehner
Directed by Edward Bernds
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
The Bowery Boys visit the Gravesends, who own a vacant lot the boys want to ask permission for the local kids to use, but find out too late they're mad scientists who have designs on the boys' brains.
Although the exploits of the Bowery Boys were likely aimed at children, there were likely a number of kids in the audience who grew up with them into adulthood, after first watching their adventures in earlier film series as the Dead End Kids, The Little Tough Guys, and the East Side Kids. So even though the plots of their films didn't become any more complex, there was likely an appreciative audience that kept coming back for more of their adventures, and this film should have been more familiar comfort food for them, with Gorcey's "Slip" Mahoney again "mangling the English language" as one character remarks, and Huntz Hall's "Sach" continuing to show his smarts, or rather lack of them. I enjoyed it, and the boys tap into the same success Abbott & Costello did when they met their own monsters in this film, playing off a pair of mad scientists, a vampire, a savage gorilla, a man-eating plant, and a werewolf-like butler. It's not as polished or good-looking as Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein but they probably had only a fraction of that budget, and for the kids in the audience, I'm sure it was good enough.
Directed by Edward Bernds
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
The Bowery Boys visit the Gravesends, who own a vacant lot the boys want to ask permission for the local kids to use, but find out too late they're mad scientists who have designs on the boys' brains.
Although the exploits of the Bowery Boys were likely aimed at children, there were likely a number of kids in the audience who grew up with them into adulthood, after first watching their adventures in earlier film series as the Dead End Kids, The Little Tough Guys, and the East Side Kids. So even though the plots of their films didn't become any more complex, there was likely an appreciative audience that kept coming back for more of their adventures, and this film should have been more familiar comfort food for them, with Gorcey's "Slip" Mahoney again "mangling the English language" as one character remarks, and Huntz Hall's "Sach" continuing to show his smarts, or rather lack of them. I enjoyed it, and the boys tap into the same success Abbott & Costello did when they met their own monsters in this film, playing off a pair of mad scientists, a vampire, a savage gorilla, a man-eating plant, and a werewolf-like butler. It's not as polished or good-looking as Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein but they probably had only a fraction of that budget, and for the kids in the audience, I'm sure it was good enough.
Friday, December 6, 2013
Boys Of The City (1940)
Starring Bobby Jordan, Leo Gorcey, Hal E. Chester, Frankie Burke, Vince Barnett
Directed by Joseph H. Lewis
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
The East Side Kids, after another run-in with the law, agree to spend the summer at a home in the country, but end up having to stay the first night at a spooky house where murder strikes.
The East Side Kids, one of several incarnations of a gang of tough young boys living on the street who were featured in numerous films from the 1930s well into the 1950s, headline this production, and it's a pretty entertaining one despite its low budget, featuring memorable parts for some quality character actors. Minerva Urecal, often cast as an old spinster in numerous films for the "Poverty Row" studios, particularly shines as the creepy housekeeper with an evil laugh. The African-American member of the kids is saddled with the familiar stereotypes of the era, and there isn't anything particularly different or exciting about the plot or direction, but one can see why this kind of light entertainment kept audiences coming back for more adventures with this cast.
Directed by Joseph H. Lewis
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
The East Side Kids, after another run-in with the law, agree to spend the summer at a home in the country, but end up having to stay the first night at a spooky house where murder strikes.
The East Side Kids, one of several incarnations of a gang of tough young boys living on the street who were featured in numerous films from the 1930s well into the 1950s, headline this production, and it's a pretty entertaining one despite its low budget, featuring memorable parts for some quality character actors. Minerva Urecal, often cast as an old spinster in numerous films for the "Poverty Row" studios, particularly shines as the creepy housekeeper with an evil laugh. The African-American member of the kids is saddled with the familiar stereotypes of the era, and there isn't anything particularly different or exciting about the plot or direction, but one can see why this kind of light entertainment kept audiences coming back for more adventures with this cast.
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