THE BOWERY BOYS on DVD: continuing discussion of Warner's eventual release plans (NEW UPDATE 10/2 Po (1 Viewer)

[Karrenola]

Got news for you Mr Handley, Hold That Line IS the original old gimmick, Trading Places is a near exact copy of it. Huntzie always said 'We were foist. THEY copied US.'

 

[Mr. Handley]

Oh yeah, I know that Trading Places came decades after the Bowery Boys. Just using it as a reference point as more people would probably know it. Actually, I believe that the Three Stooges were the first ones I saw do it in 1935's Hoi Polloi. Come to think of it, they ALL ripped off Pygmalion, correct?

 

[Karrenola]

Oh yeah, I know that Trading Places came decades after the Bowery Boys. Just using it as a reference point as more people would probably know it. Actually, I believe that the Three Stooges were the first ones I saw do it in 1935's Hoi Polloi. Come to think of it, they ALL ripped off Pygmalion, correct?

Just saw Hoi Polloi after many, many years. You're right! There it is, from 1935, right when our teenaged Boys were on Broadway during their first year in Sydney Kingsley's Dead End, the play that launched 'em.

And yes, Pygmalion, Ovid's original work from over 2,000 years ago, beats 'em both, and so does George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play.

 

[Mr. Handley]

I now have the strange urge to see Leo Gorcey as Professor Henry Higgins!

 

[Joe Davis]

Just watched Hold That Line last night. A bit of a letdown after the previous two films. No more Whitey, which probably had something to do with it.

Oh, yes. Billy Benedict wasn't just another one of the background guys. He actually had a character, and was given his share of funny moments. Gil Stratton, Jr. was evidently brought in as Whitey's replacement, but he only showed up for a quick buck, and never intended to make an impression.

With only David Gorcey (now Condon) and Bennie Bartlett as part of Slip and Sach's group, the series sort of lost that 'gang' feel that had been around since the Dead End Kids days.

On the plus side, Louie gets a heck of a lot more screentime in these later entries!

 

[Mr. Handley]

Just watched Here Come The Marines last night. This was one of the worst I've seen in awhile. I'm not a fan of service comedies in general and this one was no exception. The other boys are mere props at this point with just a few throwaway lines and I'm really missing Whitey. The only real bright spot was Hall's performance as Satch keeps getting promoted and the power quickly goes to his head. I'm ranking this one towards the bottom:

Here's my standings thru the first 26 films (best-to-worst):
1. Blonde Dynamite
2. Master Minds
3. Hold That Baby!
4. Blues Busters
5. Crazy Over Horses
6. Bowery Bombshell
7. Ghost Chasers
8. Let's Go Navy!
9. In Fast Company
10. Angels In Disguise
11. Fighting Fools
12. Lucky Losers
13. Hold That Line
14. Trouble Makers
15. Live Wires
16. Triple Trouble
17. Jinx Money
18. Bowery Buckaroos
19. Bowery Battalion
20. News Hounds
21. Here Come The Marines
22. Smuggler's Cove
23. Spook Busters
24. Hard Boiled Mahoney
25. Mr. Hex
26. Angels' Alley

 

[Karrenola]

I LOVED Here Come the Marines. I'm a very New York banter loving type of Dead End / Bowery Boys fan, and this one, I feel, gave my Huntzie his chance to be the leader of the gang and in the spotlight.

His comic timing is just sooo good, the more he pissed off Slip the more I roared. My favorite part:

Sach: TWEEEEEEETTTT!!! Private Mahoney, do you mind if I suggest something to you?

Slip: Go ahead.

Sach: Well, you're not doing it quite right. So PULL IN THAT CHIN, BOTH of 'em!!

It was hilarious to see Leo get back marching while mimicking Huntzie. I also enjoyed seeing 6'1" Huntzie decked out in that sharp, pressed Marines uniform with all those stripes, man. More than made up for his nose. You know we girls are indeed head over heels for a sharp dressed man, as ZZ Top pointed out years ago.

It wasn't nice seeing the sexual harassment bits with the female staff, but hey, we're talking 60 years ago.

Or ARE we?!

 

[Karrenola]

Oh, yes. Billy Benedict wasn't just another one of the background guys. He actually had a character, and was given his share of funny moments. Gil Stratton, Jr. was evidently brought in as Whitey's replacement...

On the plus side, Louie gets a heck of a lot more screentime in these later entries!

Yeah Joe, I luuuuuuuved me some Billy Benedict. He DID have character even though Sach was often overpowering. There was a real feel that everybody in the gang was there because he had a special skill or skills, and they instinctively knew when they were needed to use what they had. I loved Whitey most in Ghost Chasers. But I also think in that one brief moment Leo's brother David stole everybody's thunder with Uncle Jake.

 

[Randy Korstick]

Agreed I never thought that Whitey gets enough credit. He really wasn't a background boy. He had his own character and played great with Sach.
Gil Straten Jr. was the 5th boy replacement but only for 2 films. Mr. Handley has already finished with Jr.
They never went back to a 5th Bowery Boy until 1957 for 2 films: Spook Chasers and Looking for Danger when they added Blinky. The closest thing to another Bowery Boy with a character since Whitey. They dropped Myron (Butchs replacement starting with Crashing Las Vegas) after Looking for Danger and wisely kept Blinky for the final 2 films. I would have like to have seen more Blinky. I thought he was a good addition. But sadly came too late and was only in the final 4 films.

Oh, yes. Billy Benedict wasn't just another one of the background guys. He actually had a character, and was given his share of funny moments. Gil Stratton, Jr. was evidently brought in as Whitey's replacement, but he only showed up for a quick buck, and never intended to make an impression.

With only David Gorcey (now Condon) and Bennie Bartlett as part of Slip and Sach's group, the series sort of lost that 'gang' feel that had been around since the Dead End Kids days.

On the plus side, Louie gets a heck of a lot more screentime in these later entries!

 

[Mr. Handley]

I always felt that Sach and Whitey had a special chemistry. Sach always referred to him as "my pal" or something similar. Another thing I've noticed about the last few films is how much they had to stretch to fit Louie in. I guess any time the film gets away from Louie's shop this is a problem. No matter, I still love Louie's antics no matter how hard they had to shoehorn him in...oy vey!

 

[Mr. Handley]

Ya'll may have seen this before, but it never fails to crack me up:

 

[Randy Korstick]

I always felt that Sach and Whitey had a special chemistry. Sach always referred to him as "my pal" or something similar. Another thing I've noticed about the last few films is how much they had to stretch to fit Louie in. I guess any time the film gets away from Louie's shop this is a problem. No matter, I still love Louie's antics no matter how hard they had to shoehorn him in...oy vey!

That will become something of a standard from the point you are in the series on. To keep new ideas going they frequently have the boys leave the Bowery going forward so they also have to stretch to keep Louie in there. You'll get used to it

 

[Tony Bensley]

Ya'll may have seen this before, but it never fails to crack me up:

It's one of those SCTV sketches that I hadn't really remembered viewing before until I watched it! The Won Ton Ton reference and Bamboo bit at the end did seem familiar to me. I love Robin Williams' gayed up Slip, and I find Martin Short's Sach pretty hilarious, also!

Thanks for sharing!

CHEERS!

 

[Karrenola]

Ya'll may have seen this before, but it never fails to crack me up:

Saw this YEARS ago when it was fresh on SCTV, then maybe over ten years ago when rewatching all on DVD. Pretty hilarious, all the Robin Williams' brilliant nuances that brought to the surface what fans'd been thinking and Martin Short as Sach was riotous. Wonder if Huntzie (who gave his permission with pay of course) was feeling well enough to have seen it, he was alive then doing interviews but in and out of the hospital a lot.

 

[Karrenola]

Sat down to see this again, it gets funnier the more you see it! Man, I sure do miss John Candy.

 

[Mr. Handley]

I was a HUGE SCTV fan back in the day (still am). I was in high school at the time and it seemed like only the smart people watched it Only on SCTV would they combine the Bowery Boys, The Boys In The Band and The Deer Hunter! Now that I'm more familiar with the Bowery Boys, I can appreciate the parody all the more. And yes, Martin Short's Satch is a thing of beauty.

 

[Mr. Handley]

Just watched Feudin' Fools last night and I found it to be a silly, but entertaining entry. I'm a sucker for rural comedy and this one scratched my itch. By the time Louie shows up at the end as a "revenuer" I was laughing pretty good. I'd rank this one upper-middle overall.

Here's my rankings so far (I've also added the chronological number after each title):

1. Blonde Dynamite (17)
2. Master Minds (16)
3. Hold That Baby! (14)
4. Blues Busters (20)
5. Crazy Over Horses (24)
6. Bowery Bombshell (3)
7. Ghost Chasers (22)
8. Let's Go Navy! (23)
9. In Fast Company (2)
10. Angels In Disguise (15)
11. Fighting Fools (13)
12. Feudin' Fools (27)
13. Lucky Losers (18)
14. Hold That Line (25)
15. Trouble Makers (12)
16. Live Wires (1)
17. Triple Trouble (19)
18. Jinx Money (10)
19. Bowery Buckaroos (8)
20. Bowery Battalion (21)
21. News Hounds (7)
22. Here Come The Marines (26)
23. Smuggler's Cove (11)
24. Spook Busters (4)
25. Hard Boiled Mahoney (6)
26. Mr. Hex (5)
27. Angels' Alley (9)

 

[ahollis]

Wanted to chime in that during a move I misplaced, lost, or accidentally threw away Bowery Boys Volume 4. Just so it will turn up, I ordered and received from WAC a new one. The discs are still pressed from them. In case anyone was wondering.

 

[Karrenola]

Wanted to chime in that during a move I misplaced, lost, or accidentally threw away Bowery Boys Volume 4. Just so it will turn up, I ordered and received from WAC a new one. The discs are still pressed from them. In case anyone was wondering.

When it does turn up why not give to a young guy who has never seen our Boys? Let's keep it 'history IS' instead of 'was' and delight the next!

 

[Professor Echo]

I love this thread. Since the release of the films the thread has settled into a true club atmosphere with friendly banter all inspired by our mutual love of the subject. Many threads become contentious after awhile and mired in endless debate and those serve a purpose at times, but it's also nice to just take a break from all that and find a nice cozy little outlet where you can just gab about something you really enjoy and everyone else gets it. I really think if any of the people involved with the Bowery Boys pictures were still around, they would be pleasantly surprised at how sweetly inspiring their modest work turned out to be.