Bowery Bombshell (1946) User Reviews (17)

One Of The Better "Bowery Boys" Flicks

[sataft-2 · 7/10 · 4 February 2002]

When I was a kid back in the 1940's, a "Bowery Boys" film was one of the most anticipated "Saturday Mornings at the Movies" draws. And incredibly, the films attracted both adults and the pre-teen set almost equally. Upon examination, I would suspect the explanation for this bi-level attraction was the group's ability to know their cinematic level. And not only did they manage to maintained this level through a slew of inexpensive, quickly made films, but also excelled within the films limited sphere. In essence, they were unique on the cheap.

This group, starting out in the late 30's film, "Dead End", progressed to the "Eastside Kids" by the mid 40's, finally settling in as the "Bowery Boys" during the mid to late 1950's. At about that time, their comic style succumbed to the rapidly changing demands of the comedy scene on all levels and the "Boys" simply ran out of steam.

If however, you've ever wondered what made them so popular in the first place, pop some popcorn, empty your mind of any serious thought and sit back and enjoy this excellent entry for nothing more than it is. Trust me, you'll enjoy it.

A rather 'normal' installment...at least compared to most others.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 3 August 2020]

Through the course of the 48 films in the Bowery Boys franchise, the writers tried a lot of insane plot ideas...including monsters, clairvoyance, super-strength and many other weird twists...mostly involving Sach. However, in "Bowery Bombshell", the film is amazingly normal...at least by comparison!

The story begins with Louie needing money and the gang out trying to sell their jalopy to raise money for him. While they are in front of the bank, Sach gets his picture taken...and it also happens to catch one of the crooks as he's robbing a bank! While you'd think they'd just take the photo to the police, they go about doing this in the worst possible way and in the end, the cops think Sach was the robber! So, it's up to the guys to pretend to be mobsters in order to get the real crooks to return the money.

This film is free of crazy plot elements (apart from watching Slip and Bobby pretend to be movie-style gangsters) and is much more watchable for non-Bowery Boys viewers. Enjoyable and surprisingly well made.

"You can get ten years in this town for assault without a battery."

[utgard14 · 7/10 · 10 December 2015]

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.

Lots of snappy-brim hats, double-breasted suits, great character actors and female decoration.

[horn-5 · 15 April 2006]

Slip (Leo Gorcey), Sach (Huntz Hall), Bobby (Bobby Jordan), Whitey (Billy Benedict) and Chuck (David Gorcey) unsuccessfully try to sell a dilapidated card to a street cleaner (Vince Barnett) for a fabulous amount, so they can get enough money to save Louie's (Bernard Gorcey) Malt Shop.

Sidewalk photographer Cathy Smith (Teala Loring) snaps a pictures of three bank robbers as they are fleeing a robbery but when the Bowery Boys and Cathy realize that Sach is also in the photograph, they break into the photo lab to destroy the negative, which might make the police think Sach was involved in the robbery.

An explosion in the lab, caused by one of the inventions of Professor Schrackenberger (Milton Parsons), brings in Detective O'Malley (James Burke) and his assistant Dugan (William Newell), who get the negative.

Gangster Ace Deuce (Sheldon Leonard), who actually engineered the bank robbery with Feather-Fingers (Lester Dorr), gives out the story that it was the job of a rival gang. Impersonating the rival gang, the Bowery Boys frighten Ace into giving them evidence that his boys committed the robbery. With one of the Professor's wild inventions, the Bowery Boys capture the gang and turn them over to the Police. They get the reward money and give it to Louie to save his shop, and Cathy gets a newspaper job as the result of her photograph.

Dawn Kennedy sings "I Love Him", written by the father-and-daughter team of Lou and Ruth Herscher, cute-and-cuddly Nancy Brinckman has a bit as a hatcheck girl, and Teala Loring brightens the landscape more than somewhat.

At the time this was made, Leo Gorcey was also appearing weekly on Bob "Bazooka" Burns N.B.C. radio program, and Sheldon Leonard could be heard on that network's "Maisie" show (with Ann Southern)as well as on the comedy program starring Parkyakarkus.

"Wait 'til I dehydrate my thoughts."

[classicsoncall · 6/10 · 24 November 2015]

It's hard to imagine that a gangster bunch could be even dumber than the Bowery Boys. Consider this - in order to further implicate Sach (Huntz Hall) as one of the robbers who pulled off a bank heist, Ace Deuce Baker (Sheldon Leonard) came up with the idea to plant thousand dollar bills on his person as further evidence. Really?!?! Maybe they didn't need the money in the first place!

Well, just like a lot of B Westerns coming out of the era, the story didn't have to make a lot of sense for the young matinée fans of the day. Just stick the Boys in some goofy situation and watch them try to work their way out of it, it's a formula that worked every time. I really got a kick out of this one when Sach admitted that he had the brains of a moron. It went something like this - Slip: 'You don't have the brains of a moron'. Sach: 'Yes I do'. I'm still rolling over that one.

The story gets under way with the Bowery Boys attempting to help Louie's (Bernard Gorcey) Sweet Shop avoid a default over a three hundred dollar debt. Scraping up just $4.95 among the five of them, it'll take some doing to come up with the rest. You know, they would have been home free if they just kept the first thousand dollar bill they found on Sach, but then it would have been a half hour movie. So instead, Slip (Leo Gorcey) impersonates big time gangster Midge Casalotti and attempts to intimidate the Baker Gang into implicating themselves in the bank job in order to collect a reward for their capture. And just for the record, Bobby Jordan does the world's worst Edgar G. Robinson impression here when the Boys hit the Flamingo Club.

The story comes to a mindless conclusion when Ace's strong-arm Moose McCall (Wee Willie Davis) inadvertently downs a glass of Professor Schnackenberger's (Milton Parsons) latest chemical concoction (don't ask), and the Baker Gang is subdued by the local cops. In a cool nod to an earlier incarnation of the Bowery Boys, the picture closes with Slip and Sach collared by the spare tire from their blown up jalopy - it read quite simply - 'DEAD END'.

Bowery Bombshell (1946) ***

[JoeKarlosi · 7/10 · 29 March 2010]

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 ****

You wait her while I take a precautionary look at the terrain.

[sol1218 · 6/10 · 21 March 2010]

**SPOILERS** Things couldn't be worse for candy store owner Louie Dumbrowsky in him losing his store if he doesn't come up with $300.00 by the end of the week. It's when Louie's friends in the neighbor the Bowery Boys headed by the self confident Aloysius Terence "Slip" Mahoney get into the act that Louie's hopes in saving his candy store go from bad to worse.

Going down to the bank to get a loan to bail Louie out Slip and his bumbling friend Sach Jones run smack into a bank robbery! With Sach getting his photo taken by news photographer Cathy Smith as the robbery was in progress! Realizing that the photo if published in the newspapers would implicate Sach in the robbery Slip and his friends try to get a hold of it at Cathy's workplace. It's there where her screwball co-worker Prof. Schnackenberger is conducting his wacky experiments in nuclear physics. In all the confusion with one of Prof. Schnackenberer's experiment blowing out the side of the building the Bowery Boys lose the incriminating photo that gets published the next day with both Sach and a $1,000.00 reward for his capture dead or alive!

As all this is happening there's a subplot going on in all this shenanigans with gangster Ace Duce Baker who's gang in fact robbed the bank-that Sach is now accused of knocking off-trying to pin the bank robbery on his rival the Howard Hughes of mobsters, since no one ever saw his face, Midge Casalotti! With the not to on the ball Sach not realizing that he's a wanted man he's now in danger of being shot on sight by the police! That's in Sach being set up by Ace's men in being not only the person who robbed the bank that Ace's boys knocked off but being a member of the Casalotti Mob as well!

With Slip impersonating the invisible, in never being see in public or even private, Midge Casalotti he and his boys dressed up and talking like New York hoods crash Ace's swanky and only by invitation night club demeaning that he pay them off with 90% of the money his boys robbed from the bank that Sach was framed, by Ace & Co, for! It's later when Ace realizes that he's being had by a phony Midge Casalotti that the sparks really start to fly. That leads to the final encounter between the Bowery Boys and the Ace Baker Mob in the office where Prof. Schnackenberger conducts his both wacky and dangerous experiments.

***SPOILER*** It's in Ace's top enforcer the 6 foot five 250 pound ex-professional wrestler Moose McCall taking a swig , out of a whiskey bottle, of the professors latest experiment that in the end blows all of Aces plans to pin the tail, or bank robbery, on the donkey, Sach, to smatterings! Along with him and his gang!

P.S In the end Louie does get his $300.00, as part of the reward money that the Bowery Boys got in solving the bank robbery, to save his candy store with the Bowery Boys getting free sodas and milkshakes for as long as its in operation!

You Know the Routines

[wes-connors · 4/10 · 21 March 2010]

As usual, leader Leo Gorcey (as Slip Mahoney) and "The Bowery Boys" are hard-pressed for cash. After unsuccessfully trying to sell their old jalopy, the lads look for help at the local bank. There, hapless Huntz Hall (as Sach) has his picture taken by pretty photographer Teala Loring (as Cathy Smith). But, since the shot was snapped during a robbery, it makes Mr. Hall look like the prime suspect. With pals Bobby Jordan (as Bobby), William "Billy" Benedict (as Whitey), and David Gorcey (as Chuck); Mr. Gorcey wants to clear Hall, and collect the $1,000 reward money. "Bowery Bombshell" goes through the motions, with Ms. Loring a main strength.

**** Bowery Bombshell (7/20/46) Phil Karlson ~ Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Teala Loring, Bobby Jordan

WHY WE LOVE THESE GOOFY GOOFS...

[tcchelsey · 10/10 · 18 December 2021]

BOWERY BOMBSHELL is, in a way, the opener for the long series, if you take into consideration how it all begins. In tv reruns, it usually runs first, though LIVE WIRES is the premier episode, released in January, 1946. The Bowery Boys were a spin off of the East Side Kids series, which was also produced through Monogram Pictures from 1940 to 1945.

The story goes that Leo Gorcey wanted a substantial RAISE from producer Sam Katzman, which was out of the question. Accordingly, Gorcey and partner Huntz Hall united with a new producer, Jan Grippo, got a cut of the profits as co-executive producers and thus became the BOWERY BOYS.

Pretty ingenious, but then again that was Gorcey's style, kind of being the boss of the outfit. He also had "cruise" control over the scripts and malaprops(!), basically ad-libbing a lot of his lines along with Huntz Hall, which made the series an instant winner. Legendary director Phil Karlson (early in his career), handled this episode, and you can see some of his early touches at work, at least it runs and keeps on running.

Additionally, when the bulk of the lengthy series (running no less than 12 years) was rerun on tv it became a staple for weekend viewing around the country.

True, there have been critics who just didn't like their antics.... but how WRONG they were. The series inspired many future tv writers, and in fact, the Archie Bunker character in ALL IN THE FAMILY, is a salute to Leo Gorcey and his malaprops. More over, Gorcey's daughter, Brandy, commented in later years her late father would have been amazed at how popular the movies became. Guess he got the job done right. The films made a fortune and kept Monogram and later, Allied Artists, in business for a long stretch, and a lot of people employed. Huntz Hall in later years always mentioned that and said they deserved a lot of credit for originality.

There is a funny store how one of the later episodes, HIGH SOCIETY (1955), was actually confused with the Bing Crosby/Grace Kelly film of the same title --and was nominated for an Oscar instead. It took long time director William Beaudine to go to the Academy and note the mistake, which they were grateful, as the Bowery Boys film may have gotten the award! What do you think about that? Huntz Hall though stood firm and said they "rightfully' deserved the Oscar for all their hard work no matter what. He had a valid point.

Here, the gang gets mixed up with bank robbers and a mad scientist called Dr. Smackenburger?? Just watching Gorcey and Huntz Hall run through their routines is outrageous. Kudos to the versatile dead-pan Milton Parsons as the absent-minded professor. Best scene has Gorcey, dressed to impress in a three piece suit, entering a nightclub and pretending to be a famous gangster. He exits by throwing a mini parachute into the air which explodes! You can tell everybody was having a blast, why these films have a following. Note the DEAD END gag at the end of the film.

Check out the box set series via Warner Brothers, which contain about eight films per set. Great gifts for the ultimate fan and with nice artwork.

the gang has some fun

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 18 December 2021]

The gang's hangout Louie's Malt Shop is in danger. Their friend Louie needs $300 and quick. The guys try to sell their car but nobody is willing to pay for the jalopy. They happen upon a bank robbery and their friend Cathy takes a picture. It shows Sach picking up the stolen loot not knowing that it was stolen. The picture gets on the newspaper and Sach becomes a wanted man.

The setup is great. I really like the premise. The story gets more and more muddled as it goes. It concentrates more on being a screwball comedy. That aspect is fun. There are some good laughs. All in all, the gang has some fun.

The Bowery Boys make the most unlikely gangsters, well until Bugsy Malone came along...

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 2 October 2014]

Being in the wrong place at the wrong time makes Sach (Huntz Hall) the prime suspect in a bank robbery and it is up to Slip (Leo Gorcey) and the rest of the gang to clear him. With the help of the camera woman (Teala Loring) who snapped his picture at the time of the robbery outside the bank, the gang busts into the club of the gangster (Sheldon Leonard) they are sure was behind it. Posing as members of a rival gang who has never met Leonard's gang, the boys perpetuate every stereotype of every movie gangster they've ever seen with one doing a deliberately bad Edward G. Robinson impression and Loring going overboard as a floozie gun moll. This leads to hilarity as the diminutive Sach steps right up to one of Leonard's gigantic underlings and "gives him the woiks".

This entry gives pretty much all of the gang some moments to shine, one of the few times during this series that any of them other than Gorcey and Hall had anything vital to do. James Burke, who 99.9% of the time played a dumb police detective, does the same thing here, adding some great lines to the typical plethora of malapropisms that Gorcey gets to utter. His coin-flipping fake gangster reminded me of the cartoon gangster who on occasion would go up against Bugs Bunny. In fact, the more animated the boys get here, the funnier they are, and the conclusion results in hilarity as the dumb Moose (William 'Wee Willie' Davis) is made to think that he's swallowed an explosive that could blow him into little bits.

one of the better bowery stories

[ksf-2 · 8/10 · 25 February 2023]

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 !

OK Entry in the Bowery Boys Series

[hogwrassler · 7/10 · 18 December 2021]

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.

Fair to middlin entry

[Paularoc · 5/10 · 26 June 2013]

Louie is in desperate need of $300 and if he doesn't come up with it he will lose his ice cream shop. The boys try to raise the money by selling their old jalopy and when that doesn't work out, Slip decides to try and get a bank loan. Outside the bank, the boys meet their friend Cathy Smith who is a street photographer. Sach begs Cathy to take his photo and just as she snaps the picture, bank robber rush out. Cathy's photo shows Sach holding the bag of loot. First the boys try to get the photo back but that fails and Sach's photo appears on the front page of the newspaper and now the cops are hot on Sach's trail. They find out that the gangster Ace Deuce Baker is behind the theft and that he has planted thousand dollar bills on Sach to ensure that he'll take the fall for the robbery. To infiltrate Ace's night club lair, Slip decides to impersonate a notorious gangster with the boys, sans Sach, pretending to be his henchmen. For me, the lengthy scene at the nightclub fell flat. While mildly amusing, it just wasn't very funny. And the whole bit with Professor Scrackenberger and his experiment with "drinkable" explosives was too dumb even for a Bowery Boys movie. There are a few funny moments (such as Slip's comment that Sach is so dumb he's probably going around bragging about having his picture in the paper) and the supporting cast, especially Sheldon Leonard, Teala Loring (an actress I never recall seeing in any other movie) and James Burke do a good job. The same year Leonard did this role of Ace he also appeared in 'It's a Wonderful Life.' Uh, my guess is he's better remembered for the later role.

Bowery Boys #3

[Michael_Elliott · 21 March 2010]

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.

A pretty good one

[pmtelefon · 7/10 · 4 September 2023]

The Bowery Boys movies are hit or miss. I've never ranked them but I'm guessing that there are more misses than hits. "Bowery Bombshell" goes on the hit side of the ledger. Its story is better than usually and the supporting cast is a lot better than usual. I always like it when Sheldon Leonard shows up in any movie and Teala Loring does great job during the gangster impersonation scene. Leo Gorcey is really good in that scene too. As usual, Sach is more annoying than funny but he's not as annoying as he can be. Also there's not enough of Louie in this movie and when he does show he's too serious. That said, I enjoyed "Bowery Bombshell" with extra credit going to that gangster impersonation scene. It's really funny.

Best Bowery!

[hemisphere65-1 · 7/10 · 7 January 2022]

By far the funniest of the dozen or so Bowery Boys movies I've seen.

Great gangster spoof segment in the last 20 minutes.

It was also nice to see some of the other players get some funny bits.