User reviews

Coming WAAAY at the end of the Bowery Boys films, this was old territory for Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall and the gang. Not that anyone knows what "the bowery" is anymore. In this one, Miss Kelly is getting tossed out of her home for not being able to keep up with the rent. The boys win a trip for a week in Las Vegas, and the adventure begins. When they are loud and rowdy in the casino, Slip and Sach attract the attention of some rough characters. this chapter has the usual intentional, goofy word play, but also a whole lot of lowbrow, slapstick humor. A 25 year old bombshell (Mary Castle) distracts Sach. It's all pretty straight-forward. not bad. Directed by Jean Yarbrough; had directed a bunch of the Bowery Boy films. PS. Bowery comes from the dutch word for Farm, as there were many farms there at one time. later, a pretty rough area, also known as skid row. then the edge of Greenwich Village. this one only has about 260 votes so far, so must not be shown on Turner Classics very often.

This was the first and last Bowery Boys comedy Leo Gorcey made after the death of his father, Bernard. While it can be seen that he is intoxicated during most of the filming, this film is hysterical. Leo and Huntz recite the old wheezy jokes as if they were brand new. The supporting players are poor, but their ineptitude adds to the comedy. This is the first film with Jimmy "Myron" Murphy replacing Bennie "Butch" Bartlett. Murphy and David Gorcey actually get to do more than usual and they even get some good punch lines. True, the story revolves around Huntz Hall, but Gorcey has a lot of funny comments to make during the 63 minutes. It is surprising that the film is so funny since neither Ed Bernds nor Elwood Ullman have anything to do with it. Jean Yarbrough directs this time and he makes it look like his work with Abbott and Costello. The Bowery Boys series was never the same after Leo Gorcey left. He was replaced by that "other guy", Stanley Clements. Clements is OK, but it's like Joe Besser replacing Shemp (not to mention Shemp replacing Curly) in the Three Stooges. Besser and Clements are good performers, but they just don't have the spark of their predecessors. I always wondered why David Gorcey just didn't get promoted; "Chuck" could have been the new chief of the Bowery Boys. Why not?

At the beginning of the episode, Satch (Huntz Hall) gets electrocuted. But instead of dying, this is a Bowery Boys comedy and so that means that he's suddenly endowed with amazing computational skills. When he and Slip go to see a game show, Satch instantly knows who will be picked each time. After seeing him demonstrate this, Slip insists they head to Vegas to win a fortune in order to help a nice old lady they all know. However, Satch keeps finding ways to win huge fortunate...and then lose it. The second time is to a group of crooks who also convince Satch that he's killed someone--and if he just gives them the money, they'll tell the cops it was all an accident!! By now you've clearly noticed that although Satch's brain is changed, when it comes to common sense he's the same old dope he always was!! And, once they get the money back, once again Satch figures out a way to lose it! Will they ever be able to get the money for the old lady? And, will Satch continue to possess extraordinary computational skills?

Overall, this is a very entertaining entry--much more than normal. My only complaint is that the Boys are getting pretty long in the tooth here...and it's no wonder as it came out towards the end of this VERY long series of B-films.

Crashing Las Vegas marked the end of the line for Leo Gorcey and really the end of the line for the Bowery Boys. When Stanley Clements came on to replace Gorcey he was not really a good foil for Huntz Hall to play off. With the death of Bernard Gorcey the year before who played lovable little Louis Dumbrowsky, a whole lot was taken out of the series as well as out of Gorcey who can't quite get animated enough in this film. The rehashed plot line didn't help either, Allied Artists was plain running out of ideas for the Bowery Boys.

An electric shock gives Huntz Hall psychic powers he can pick numbers out of anywhere. Where else to put this power to good use but in Las Vegas. So it's off to Vegas where Frank Sinatra and the rest of the developing Rat Pack were getting started.

The film could have used the Rat Pack. Not much to say about Leaving Las Vegas. Slinky Mary Castle becomes the latest in a long line of women to vamp a secret out of Satch. The old badger game is tried on him as well. Only Huntz Hall could be fooled into thinking the first floor is the 21st floor, that was a gag more silly than funny.

Sad to say The Bowery Boys were running out of gas.

"Crashing Las Vegas" is not the Bowery Boys' finest hour. It is a lost opportunity. Putting the Boys in Las Vegas is a great premise. Unfortunately, this movie wastes whatever potential the idea may have had. There are very few laughs in "Cashing Las Vegas". It gets tedious after a while. "Crashing Las Vegas" is watchable but just barely.

In a plot rehash, an electrical jolt gives Huntz Hall (as Horace Debussy "Sach" Jones) psychic powers, so luckless Leo Gorcey (as Terrence Aloysius "Slip" Mahoney) decides to take his pal and fellow "Bowery Boys" David "Condon" Gorcey (as Chuck) and Jimmy Murphy (as Myron) to Las Vegas. This film featured the last appearance of Mr. (Leo) Gorcey, who had been with the troupe since "Dead End" (1937). Gorcey had already become somewhat secondary to Mr. Hall, who would become the series' credited "star" with the next film ("Fighting Trouble").

Sadly, the noticeably absent "Sweet Shop" owner Bernard Gorcey (who played "Louie" in the series) had just passed away, following a car accident; he was the father of "Bowery Boys" Leo and David Gorcey. In this film, Bowery leader Leo Gorcey is clearly drowning his sorrows, and appears unwell much of the time. In an unrelated milestone, "Crashing Las Vegas" featured the first appearance of a new "Bowery Boy", with Jimmy Murphy's "Myron" replacing Benny Bartlett's departed "Butch". Even without the off-screen drama, this is a less than mediocre series entry.

** Crashing Las Vegas (4/22/56) Jean Yarbrough ~ Huntz Hall, Leo Gorcey, Jimmy Murphy

Although this episode came at the end, marking Leo Gorcey's final appearance in the series, it was a long overdue plot, all about the boys getting into gangsta' trouble in Vegas.

This is another one of those magic marvels for Sach, this time being able to predict winning roulette numbers due to a shock from an electric mixer. They also win a gameshow contest, that promises four glorious weeks in Las Vegas for one fellow? To which Slip grumbles, "How about four glorious fellows in Vegas for one week?"

"Do you think that can be deranged???"

And off the Bowery Boys go to the gambling capital, naturally getting mixed up with some goofy goons, thanks to Sach's special powers.

There's a hilarious, if not classic scene with Sach rubbing elbows with a pretty girl named Carol (played by 50s character actress Mary Castle). Her bad guy friend, Tony (Don Haggerty), pretends to fall out a window --thanks to Sach! To keep it all "quiet", poor Sach agrees to give the thousands and thousands of bucks he won to Carol and her other crooked pal, Sam. What dirty rats!

A goofy dream sequence, all dreamed up by Sach naturally, finds the Bowery Boys playing "musical electric chairs"! Now that's original, and watch Slip slow dancin' 'round the chairs so he won't get electrocuted. The hanging judge and jury is played by the stuffy hotel clerk (popular character actor Jack Rice), who never liked the guys in the first place!

With the death of Bernard Gorcey, Louie's sweetshop was disbanded and the boys were now hanging out at Mrs. Kelly's (Doris Kemper) boarding house, which actually is good news. It took all these years to find out just where the guys actually lived! Also look for kooky actor Emil Sitka, a regular with the THREE STOOGES, in a bit role and character actress Minerva Urecal, who was working with the gang since the early days of the series, also in the EAST SIDE KIDS films.

I agree with the last reviewer that Jean Yarbrough directed this much in the style of ABBOTT AND COSTELLO. He directed most of their tv show episodes. Although Leo Gorcey appears a tiny bit drunk in this one, he's still funny and always the clown. Director Ed Bernds later commented that "he always thought Leo was a better actor with a few drinks, but it eventually caught up to him." To tell you the truth, if you watch Huntz Hall in a few scenes, he also looks likes he's feeling no pain!

Make no mistake, CRASHING LAS VEGAS made money, and Gorcey asked the producers for a hefty raise and was turned down. He subsequently quit and moved his family to a ranch in northern California to become, as he put it, a "gentleman farmer." He also was a great father, according to his daughter Brandy. He was always there for them, right up until his death in 1969.

This was followed by a revamping of the BOWERY BOYS, now with Huntz Hall in the lead, beginning with FIGHTING TROUBLE.

Remastered on dvd via Warner Brothers with 6 to 8 episodes per box set.

Leo Gorcey's final Bowery Boys movie (the forty-first in the series!) is a middling affair with a sad story behind it. Between the last film and this one, Leo's father Bernard Gorcey had been killed in a car accident. Bernard, of course, played the lovable Louie the Sweet Shop owner in the series and often stole the scenery from his younger co-stars. But business is business and "the show must go on," so the next Bowery Boys movie went into production. Unfortunately, poor Leo was still reeling from his father's death and perhaps should have been allowed more time to grieve. Throughout the picture, Leo seems 'off.' This is reportedly due to his drinking. He does look rough and seems tipsy, often grinning and shouting his lines for no apparent reason.

Behind-the-scenes drama aside, the picture has a tired plot about Sach gaining mental powers which Slip and the boys use to get money for their previously unseen landlady Mrs. Kelly. She was meant to replace Louie but she isn't funny and brings nothing to the films like Louie did. There's little reason to see this unless you're a fan who wants to see all the Bowery Boys movies. There are some laughs here and there but they are few and far between. Mary Castle provides a bit of welcome eye candy. Louie is missed and the movie suffers from his absence. Things would get a lot worse with Leo gone, though. He was one of the original Dead End Kids and really the glue that held the different groups of "kids" together (no offense to Huntz Hall). Starting with the next picture, Hall would become the star and Stanley Clements would join the gang. The series would limp along for another two years but would never recover from the loss of Leo Gorcey's Slip Mahoney.

Crashing Las Vegas (1956)

** (out of 4)

The forty-first and final Bowery Boys film to feature Leo Gorcey as he's walk from the series after this entry due to a dispute with the studio as well as fighting his own personal demons after the death of his father Bernard who played Louis in the series. In the film Sach (Huntz Hall) gets electrocuted and begins to see numbers in his head. After winning a trip to Las Vegas Slip (Gorcey) decides to use his dumb friend to make a killing but a couple small-time hoods find out about his talents and kidnap him. CRASHING LAS VEGAS is far from the disaster that its reputation would have you believe but at the same time there's no question that the series was running out of gas. It seems this movie is best remembered for the antics of Leo Gorcey, which apparently had him constantly drunk throughout the making of the flick and apparently he destroyed several props and sets. I'm not sure how much of this leaked over into people judging his performance here but many reviews state that it's obvious he's drunk and I really wouldn't say that. There's a sequence towards the end where his foot is up on a bed while he's questioning Hall and he's shaking during this period but outside of this he really didn't act any different from previous films (where he was drinking as well). At times his eyes are obviously bloating but again, you can see this in previous films. In his final appearance he certainly doesn't have enough energy to carry the picture but he is a step up from the previous film. Hall is also apparently bored and he doesn't add any life to the picture either. None of the supporting players are all that memorable and this includes Doris Kemper who is obviously filling in for Bernard Gorcey. CRASHING LAS VEGAS really doesn't feel like a Bowery Boys picture for several reason. One, of course, is the fact that Bernard and his sweet shop aren't here. Another is that director Yarbrough is obviously not too interested in anything going on and the constant long shots really make you feel apart from the film. There's a game show sequence early in the film that isn't too badly done but at the same time it feels as if it belongs in a different film. There's a prison sequence that contains a couple laughs but that's pretty much it. CRASHING LAS VEGAS said goodbye to Gorcey and while it's not a good film to go out on you can at least respect that he did make it to forty-one films, which isn't something very many actors could do.

The boys have collected money for their beloved landlady Mrs. Kelly's down payment. Sach is working in the kitchen when he gets an electrical shock. Suddenly, he can predict all the numbers. The boys have tickets to television contest "To Live like a King". Slip wins a trip to Vegas. He has an idea for him and the boys. As Sach goes on a winning streak, he gains some unsavory attention.

The story is a bit convoluted, more than usual. They could have done so much more with a Vegas premise. I'm not looking for the real thing, but that would have been amazing. Sach has always been an idiot, but his idiocy here is not fun. It is much more annoying than anything else. One would also think that the casino wouldn't allow Sach to keep winning. It's a whole different side of the story that is ignored. This one is a little frustrating.

I felt Gorcey s performance was very hard to watch. Usually his wise cracking and boisterous remarks are more playful and amusing whereas in this film "Crashing Las Vegas" Gorcey delivered his lines with anger and hostility. Even his facial expressions seemed to be lacking in emotion. They were a bit "over the top". This film was made after the death of Gorceys father, Bernard (Sweet Louie Dumbrowsky) and marked his last film of the franchise. It was a disappointing performance in my opinion. I felt he could have delivered a better quality of demonstrating his craft, despite the unfortunate circumstances that were surrounding his personal life. Danielle V.