Jail Busters

Chuck, usually along just to fill one of the three back seats in the Bowery Boys jalopy, actually has a pivotal role in this entry in the series. He gets the role that was ordinarily played by Gabe Dell. But only because Gabe Dell isn't in this one.

In "Jail Busters," Chuck (David Gorcey billed as David Condon), a reporter for The Blade newspaper, gets beaten up while trying to get a story on prison corruption, and the rest of the Bowery Boys, Slip (Leo Gorcey), Sach (Huntz Hall), and Butch (Bennie Bartlett), get themselves arrested so that they can complete the expose from inside the prison, while serving a short---they think---six month sentence.

Inside the Big House, they learn that ex-gangsters Ed Lannigan (Anthony Caruso), Tom Tomcyk (John Harmon) and "Big Greenie" (Michael Ross), are living in the lap of luxury within the prison, by paying off Jenkins (Barton MacLane), the corrupt Captain of the Guards.And, on the side, the Boys, Sach in particular, slowly send Dr. Fordyce (Fritz Feld), the prison psychiatrist, off the deep end as they clumsily go about their investigation.

They also learn from the new Prison Warden, Mr. Oswald (Percy Helton), that they have been framed by Bowman (Lyle Talbot), a "Blade" reporter. and are there for a full six-year term.

Outside, Chuck and Louie Dumbrowsky (Bernard Gorcey)are marked for death as they try to help Slip, Sach and Butch. Clearly, it is time for the Bowery Boys to make an exit stage-left out of the prison. Using a tunnel map given them by Hank Gaffney (Harry Tyler), their stir-crazy cellmate, they try an escape. But Gaffney's map brings them up through the floor of the Warden's office, and out of the frying pan into the fire.

Drat! What next?

In this surprisingly energetic later Bowery Boys flick, the thirty-ninth in the series, Chuck gets a job as a reporter and goes undercover -- wait wait wait! Did I just say Chuck? As in the guy played by Leo Gorcey's brother who stood around in the background for over thirty Bowery Boys movies, sometimes not even getting a line?!? Holy crap they not only finally gave Chuck some lines, but he even gets an old leftover story from the Gabriel Dell days. I'll be damned. Anyway, the plot to this miraculous entry has Chuck going undercover at a prison, where he promptly has the stuffing beaten out of him by some toughs. So the rest of the Boys - Slip, Sach, and Butch - get themselves arrested so they can go into the pen to investigate. I use 'boys' only in reference to the official title of the gang, since these guys are all looking paunchy and middle-aged by this point.

So yeah, David Gorcey gets his moment to shine here. It will come as a surprise to no fan of this series that he doesn't make the most of it. His big part only lasts the first ten minutes or so of the film. Back to being wallpaper, Chuck. Leo Gorcey and Huntz Hall are up to their usual buffoonery. Leo also gets to play it serious in a cringeworthy dramatic hospital scene. Bernard Gorcey's Louie is fun, particularly when he tries to help the boys escape prison. Bennie Bartlett also gets a lot more lines this time around. Someone was being very charitable towards the lesser Bowery Boys in this entry. Good support from Barton MacLane, Lyle Talbot, Percy Helton, and Anthony Caruso. No pretty girls in this one. Poor Chuck. Back when Gabe got these kinds of stories there was always a pretty girl waiting for him at the end.

I liked this one quite a bit. There's a 'pep' to it that's lacking in this series around this time when it was showing its age more with every movie. There are some really funny scenes and a cute ending. The stuff with the psychiatrist is terrific. Definitely worth a look for fans, if for no other reason than to see David Gorcey finally get the spotlight for a brief moment.

Jail Busters (1955)

** (out of 4)

Number thirty-nine is yet another weak one. This time out Chuck is an undercover reporter who enters prison for an assignment but he's nearly beaten to death when he finds too much out. Slip, Sach and Butch agree to go undercover as well but they end up getting taken advantage of by a reporter (Lyle Talbot) who has a gambling debt. JAIL BUSTERS isn't the worst film in the Bowery Boys series but it's certainly no where near the top either. At 61-minutes there's very little in terms of story but I guess that's to be expected as the series was clearly running on more fumes than anything else. There's not really any type of story here because the only crooked thing being done inside the prison is that certain members get to take hot baths and enjoy good food. That's certainly far from ground breaking material and that's one reason why nothing here is too interesting. Another problem is that the screenplay doesn't offer many laughs, which is the main reason this thing stalls out. I'm really not sure why more wasn't tried but perhaps director Beaudine simply didn't get any laughs on his first take and decided to leave things as is. It's not like we're treated to several comic bits that don't work because the fact is that very few attempts at humor are even made. When they are they really don't work either and especially several sequences where a doctor tries to figure out why the boys are so stupid. Both Leo Gorcey and Huntz Hall seem bored with the project as neither of them seem too interested in anything going on. It seems like both are pretty bored with the material as their performances lack any energy. Bernard Gorcey doesn't have much to do and the rest of the cast are wasted as well. Even Talbot doesn't get to do much. Percy Helton gets a few good moments as the Warden but it's not enough to save the film.

Bowery Boys member Chuck gets promoted to be a newspaper reporter. His first assignment is to infiltrate a prison to expose the corrupt system. He is immediately outed and beaten by the prisoners. Slip (Leo Gorcey), Sach (Huntz Hall), and Butch get themselves arrested for real to finish the job. Unbeknownst to them, Chuck's supervisor is the one working with the criminals and the corrupt guards.

This is a silly prison movie. I don't expect anything better from the Bowery Boys. It allows them to do some Three Stooges stuff and the least reasonable prison story ever. Don't take any of this seriously and it'll be fine.

At last, David "Condon" Gorcey (as Charles "Chuck" Anderson) has a job! - he's working undercover, for the "New York Blade", to expose prison corruption. But, just when you thought "Chuck" might take center stage, he's beaten up by gangsters, and sent to a hospital "full of sick people." Learning about his noble task, fellow "Bowery Boys" Leo Gorcey (as "Slip" Mahoney), Huntz Hall (as "Sach" Jones), and Benny Bartlett (as "Butch" Williams) get themselves arrested, to continue the investigation from within prison walls. Or, so they think! - "Jail Busters" features the usual idiocy, with an immensely satisfying supporting cast. Mouth-popping psychiatrist Fritz Feld (as Fernando F. Fordyce) steals the show, as he loses his mind.

***** Jail Busters (9/18/55) William Beaudine ~ Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Fritz Feld