Bowery Bombshell

Third in Monogram's Bowery Boys series starring Leo Gorcey as diminutive tough guy Slip Mahoney, the leader of my favorite gang of street yutes. Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan, William Benedict, and David Gorcey round out the gang in this one. The plot has Huntz Hall's Sach wrongfully accused of bank robbery. Slip and the boys must find a way to catch the real crooks to prove his innocence. Bobby Jordan, one of the lesser members of the gang typically, has one of his funniest bits here impersonating Edward G. Robinson (badly). Sheldon Leonard offers fun support as gangster Ace Deuce. Bernard Gorcey steals his scenes as Louie, owner of the ice cream parlor the boys hang out at. Beautiful Teala Loring (sister of Debra Paget) is a photographer who inadvertently causes all the problems for Sach. James Burke, Wee Willie Davis, and Milton Parsons are all good. Lots of funny lines in this one, particularly Gorcey's many great malapropisms. The scene where Gorcey schools the detectives grilling him on his "institutional rights" is a classic. Ending is a nice nod to the beginning of the Bowery Boys' career.

Bowery Bombshell (1946)

*** (out of 4)

Third film in the series has Sach (Huntz Hall) getting his picture taken outside a bank that's being robbed and soon the picture is in the newspaper with the ad that he was the thief. Slip (Leo Gorcey) and the rest of the gang must try to keep the police away from him while at the same time trying to catch the real crook, which just happens to be gangster Ace Baker (Sheldon Leonard). Up to this point in the series this entry is without question the funniest and I'd say it's probably the best film I've seen from them no matter what you want to call them. While this isn't a classic like their drama pics at Warner, it does manage to be their funniest film with one big laugh after another. The first thirty-minutes is near classic as we get incredibly fast jokes that are flying left and right and the shocking thing is that the majority of them hit their mark. A lot of the films going back to the East Side Kids featured decent laughs no matter how bad the movie was but this is the first time where I was actually laughing out loud. The film starts off with the boys trying to sell a junk car and quickly moves to the robbery where Sach gets a $1,000 reward place on his head. The jokes keep flying with one very memorable one is the "shakes" Slip gets as he discovers a large bill on Sach. This is followed by even funnier sequence including one where Sach has to hide in a phone booth while Slip tries talking a cop away. All of this leads up to another very funny sequence with Sach going in drag. What really helps this film, at least over the previous two, is that the screenplay seems to have been written with care and a lot of details are given to the characters. Slip has his typical mangled words but they are double layered here as they are funny because of how dumb it is to mangle them but then there's an added laugh because of what he's says and how it goes against what the situation is at the time. The screenplay is also smart enough to take some of the spotlight off Gorcey and passing it around. Sach gets more time here and does well with it but Bobby Jordan is still stuck in the background. Another major plus are the supporting players with Leonard, William 'Wee Willie' Davis and James Burke doing fine work. The second half of the movie isn't as funny as the first but things finally pick up again when the boys enter Leonard's nightclub acting like they're the gangsters. In the end, this is a very funny movie that will appeal to more than just fans of the series.

Good all-out comedy in the Bowery Boys series has the gang in trouble when gullible Sach (Huntz Hall) gets his photo taken outside a bank that's in the process of being robbed. With a $1,000 reward offered for his capture, Slip (Leo Gorcey) and his friends have to get Sach out of a jam and try to foil the real gangsters (lead by old standby Sheldon Leonard). This results in some funny comical bits from an overly-animated Gorcey, including his disguised impression of a slow-talking crime boss called Midge Casalotti, who confronts Leonard. A worthwhile early offering from the Boys.

*** out of ****

A really early chapter in the bowery boys adventures, and leo gorcey already has his brother and dad in on the act. If pops can't come up with some cash fast, he's going to lose the ice cream shop. So slip and the boys try to raise money any way they can. And get caught up in a bank robbery. And now, it's sach's photo on the front page. They will need cathy's help to get out of this jam. Co-stars huntz hall and teala loring. Even sheldon leonard, who snagged parts in some huge films...to have and have not, guys and dolls, and it's a wonderful life. He did it all... producer, director, actor. The usual shenanigans, and clever word play, when slip mixes his metaphors. Even a silas marner reference, a story about being falsely accused of a crime. From 1861! This is one of the better chapters of the boys. And all neatly wrapped up in 65 minutes. Directed by phil karlson, who only made two films with the boys. Fun !

I am watching "Bowery Bomshell" right now on TCM. This is officially the third entry in the Bowery Boys series. Leo Grocery and Hunts Hall were in full stride in the development of their "Slip" and "Sach" characters. The slapstick and malaprops are in full view.

The plot involves the gang trying to figure a way to save Louie's Ice Cream Shop from bankruptcy. While trying to sell their broken down car in front of the bank, girl photographer Cathy Smith snaps Sach's picture as robbers are fleeing the bank. The photo winds up in the newspaper and it identifies Sach as one of the robbers. A $1,000 reward is offered for his capture. Ace Deuce, the leader of the robbers, decides to frame Sach for the robbery. Meanwhile, Slip, the Boys, and Cathy are trying to clear Sach and catch the bank robbers.

When the cops question Slip, he snaps, "what are ya chargin' me with, fragrancy? That ain't right cause I ain't a fragrant!"

Teala Loring plays Cathy. She was the older sister of Debra Paget and Lisa Gaye. Teala only stayed in the movie business until 1950. Then she etired to raise a family.

Familiar movie villain Sheldon Leonard is Ace Deuce. He was born to play gangsters.

"Wee Willie" Davis plays Moose McCall, one of Ace's henchmen. He was 6'6" and weighed 270 pounds. Willie was actually a trained engineer. He also wrestled professionally under various names: The Masked Marvel, The Black Panther, Doctor X, and a few others. Willie made a good living as an actor and wrestler.

"Bowery Bombshell" is an OK offering in the long BB series.