While Huntz Hall (as Horace Debussy "Sach" Jones) reads "Hair Trigger Western Yarns", sweet shop proprietor Bernard Gorcey (as Louie) sings "Louie, the Lout" to Bobby Jordan (as Bobby), William "Billy" Benedict (as Whitey), and David Gorcey (as Chuck). Wrapped up in his western pulp stories, Mr. Hall daydreams about the days of "Cowboys & Indians", and "Louie" hints about a western past... Suddenly, a sheriff enters the scene, on horseback; he claims "Louie, the Lout' is a WANTED outlaw. Then, Bowery leader Leo Gorcey (as Slip Mahoney) arrives to find (his real-life father) the elder Gorcey hiding from the sheriff. Gorcey takes "The Bowery Boys" out west, to solve the case of the falsely accused "Louie".
The New York City group meet up with Cowboys and Native American Indians, in an old-fashioned western setting. Bowery chum Gabriel Dell (as Gabe) arrives in the town ("Hangman's Hollow"), undercover as "The Klondike Kid", to help the "Bowery Buckaroos" clear "Louie" and locate a gold mine. This is one of the cleverest movies in the "Bowery Boys" series. Gorcey delivers some of his best "malaprops" (a nude baby picture is "Exhibition A"); and the rest of the cast is uniformly smooth. The story is very nicely plotted, with Mr. Hall figuring prominently. "Marshall" Minerva Urecal and "Indian" Iron Eyes Cody are terrific. Regulars Bernard Gorcey and Gabriel Dell have good roles, too.
And, this is the last appearance of Bobby Jordan, who was in the originally named "Dead End" (1937) group. In the early 1940s, Mr. Jordan was featured much more prominently in these films - the stories were often about his character - but, as the comic antics of Gorcey and Hall took center stage, Jordan was derailed by both "Uncle Sam" and injury. In "Bowery Buckaroos", Jordan leads the secondary "Bowery Boys" in making the most out of their supporting roles. It's a shame the producers couldn't work Jordan into more stories, perhaps in spin-offs with Mr. Benedict's "Whitey" character (they have some good "bits" herein). In future films, Jordan will be missed.
******* Bowery Buckaroos (10/8/47) William Beaudine ~ Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan
