The Bowery Boys

[topcat]

Any serious fans here of Slip and Satch and the rest from Louie's sweet shop?
A very ,very underated comedy team that of Leo Gorcey and Huntz Hall.

Gotta love Slip's way of wearin' a fedora. With the front brim flipped up and stapled to the crown and he makes it work! There's got to be somethin more to a character that can wear a fedora like that and be a leader at the same time.

Abbot and Costello? Laurel and Hardy? Sure. For me Slip and Satch belong right up there with them. Rip roaring hilarious. No? Then you haven't seen enough Bowery Boys films.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Under rated and often ignored,.......

.....those boys were. It's interesting to note that they got their start in the film "The Dead End Kids" with Humphrey Bogart. 1930 - something, I think,or early 40's....not sure of the year.

 

[The Wolf]

I just watched "They Made Me a Criminal" which is one of the gang's early "serious" films.
Yeah, I like their early stuff and the crazy later films when the Bowery Boys were far from being boys.
Did you ever see Gorcey going solo in "Midnight Manhunt"? I got a copy on the cheap. He plays a variation of his Bowery Boys personailty. Instead of being named Slip or Muggs though he's called Clutch. http://www.thefedoralounge.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

When the Jerky Boys were popular I had a young co-worker that loved them and found them to be completely original. I pointed out that the one guy was ripping off Leo Gorcey.

Sincerely,
The Wolf

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Satch was a hoot,...

A very under rated comic character actor. I loved that name he took for the bowery Boys series.

Horace Debussey Jones, I believe it was.

 

[K.D. Lightner]

The first movie was Dead End in 1937. The movie was from a sucessful Broadway play of the same name and the original kids in the play were in the movie. They were called the Dead End Kids and, after a number of serious films became the Bowrey Boys.

Humphrey Bogart was the bad guy in it, Joel McRae the good guy. Also had Sylvia Sidney and short cameos by Marjorie Main and by Claire Trevor.

Angels with Dirty Faces came out in 1938 and had Bogart in it and also Cagney as well as the Dead End Kids.

Both good films.

karol

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Yeah, okay,....Dead End

Now I remember it. Haven't seen that in ages. Bogie was the "successful" gangster from the neighborhood, and the kids wanted to be just like him I think?

 

[Scuffy]

I believe so. I was actually just recently introduced to the movie by my dad. He happened to catch it on TCM a couple months ago and taped it for me. He couldn't stop talking about it. I can now see why!

 

[Sefton]

I agree,the Bowery Boys were great! When I was younger way back in the 70s the local TV station in San Francisco KBHK 44 used to show their films just about every weekend and I loved them. At the time it didn't seem strange to me that these "boys" looked older and older as the films went on. 30-40 something yr. old "boys"? I like 'em just the same. Nearly forgotten now...classic stuff!

 

[K.D. Lightner]

Dead End

Yes, Bogart is on the lam from the law, actually had facial surgery to conceal his features, and has come back to his old neighborhood to look up his mother and old girlfriend. The tough boys look up to him.

There's also love stuff in the film involving McRae and a socialite he is attracted to, played by Wendy Barrie. Sylvia Sidney is a working gal whose younger brother is involved in the gang's mischief.

I won't tell you anymore, you all ought to see it. There are a couple of memorable fedoras and caps in it, too.

It was the first time I had ever seen The Bowery Boys in a film in which they were actually boys.

karol