The Bowery Boys

The Bowery Boys are fictional New York City characters, portrayed by a company of New York actors, who were the subject of feature films released by Monogram Pictures from 1946 through 1958.[1]

The Bowery Boys
MediumRepertory theatre, film
NationalityAmerican
GenresFarce, comedy
Subject(s)New York City-based story lines
Former membersLeo Gorcey
Huntz Hall
Bobby Jordan
Billy Benedict
David Gorcey

The Bowery Boys were successors of the "East Side Kids," who had been the subject of films since 1940. The group originated as the "Dead End Kids", who originally appeared in the 1937 film Dead End. A few of the actors previously appeared together as "The Little Tough Guys."

Origins

The Dead End Kids

"The Dead End Kids" originally appeared in the 1935 play Dead End, dramatized by Sidney Kingsley. When Samuel Goldwyn turned the play into a 1937 film, he recruited the original "kids" from the play—Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan, Gabriel Dell, Billy Halop, and Bernard Punsly—to appear in the same roles in the film. This led to the making of six other films that shared the collective title "The Dead End Kids".

The Little Tough Guys

In 1938, Universal launched its own tough-kid series, "Little Tough Guys." Gradually, Universal recruited most of the original Dead End Kids, so the series ultimately featured "The Dead End Kids and Little Tough Guys." Universal made twelve feature films, and three 12-chapter serials with the gang. The final film in Universal's series, Keep 'Em Slugging, was released in 1943, with Bobby Jordan replacing erstwhile ringleader Billy Halop.

The East Side Kids

When Warner Brothers released the remaining Dead End Kids from their contracts in 1939, producer Sam Katzman at Monogram acted quickly and hired several of them, including Jordan and the Gorcey brothers, Leo and David, as well as some of the Little Tough Guys, including Hally Chester, to star in a new series using the team name "The East Side Kids." These films also introduced 'Sunshine' Sammy Morrison, one of the original members of the Our Gang comedy team, as part of the gang.

The original members of the "Dead End Kids" were now working at several studios, so these films were made at the same time that Universal was making "The Dead End Kids" and "Little Tough Guys" series. A total of 21 films were made, with the final one, Come Out Fighting, released in 1945.

The Bowery Boys

In 1945, when East Side Kids producer Katzman refused to grant Leo Gorcey's request to double his weekly salary, Gorcey quit the series, which then ended immediately. Bobby Jordan then suggested a meeting with his agent, Jan Grippo. Grippo, Gorcey, and Hall formed Jan Grippo Productions, revamped the format, and rechristened the series The Bowery Boys. (The earlier films' credits appear as "Leo Gorcey and The Bowery Boys".) Gorcey, who owned 40 percent of the company, starred, produced, and contributed to the scripts. The new series followed a more established formula than the prior incarnations of the team, with the gang usually hanging out at Louie's Sweet Shop (at 3rd & Canal St.) until an adventure came along.

The original main characters were Terrence Aloysius "Slip" Mahoney (Leo Gorcey), Horace Debussy "Sach" Jones (Huntz Hall), Bobby (Bobby Jordan), Whitey (Billy Benedict), and Chuck (David Gorcey, sometimes billed as David Condon). "Sunshine" Sammy Morrison, "Scruno" in the East Side Kids films, declined the invitation to rejoin the gang. (He later stated in an interview that he "didn't like the setup", possibly referring to the idea of Gorcey and Hall being in the forefront, and being paid much more than the other members.) When Bobby Jordan quit the series for the same reason, his character was replaced by Butch Williams, with former East Side Kids Bennie Bartlett and Buddy Gorman alternating in the role. The proprietor of the malt shop where they hung out was the panicky Louie Dumbrowski (Bernard Gorcey, Leo's and David's real-life father).

Like the previous incarnations of the team, the members went through a number of changes over the course of the series. Thirteen actors were members of the team at one time or another. Bobby Jordan, an original Dead End Kid, appeared in the first eight films, but left after being injured in an elevator accident. Jordan was also unhappy with the direction of the series, which favored Gorcey and Hall, and limited the participation of the other gang members.

Gabriel Dell returned in the fourth entry, Spook Busters (1946), as "Gabe Moreno," a former member of the gang just out of the Navy with a French war-bride in tow. He remained (minus spouse) for the next 16 features. Gabe was a convenient "utility" character, frequently changing jobs (private investigator, policeman, songwriter, reporter, Nazi spy) to suit the story at hand—and the limited casting budget. Dell often acted as a bridge between the real world and those of the Boys who he would summon to assist him. He reprised one of his East Side Kids roles in Hard Boiled Mahoney (1947), playing Gabe as a myopic nerd with thick glasses, ascot and cap. His final appearance was in Blues Busters in 1950, generally regarded as one of the funniest in the series.

The early films such as In Fast Company (1946) flirted with the same humor-laced crime drama of the previous series, but they gradually shifted to all-out comedy, growing more slapstick and fantasy-oriented over the next decade.

After filming Dig That Uranium in 1955, Bernard Gorcey was killed in an automobile accident, devastating his son Leo, who began to drink heavily, and it visibly affected his performance in the following film, Crashing Las Vegas, which was his last. (During filming, he became violently unhinged, trashing the set and destroying every prop in sight.) At a subsequent meeting with Allied Artists, Gorcey demanded an increase on the 40% interest he held in the series. This was denied, and after a heated exchange, he quit the series and stormed off the studio lot.

The studio owed exhibitors three more films for the 1956 season, so Gorcey was replaced by Stanley Clements, a former tough-teen actor who had been in a few East Side Kids movies. Clements, as "Duke Coveleskie," adapted to the series easily and completed the three films, which now starred "Huntz Hall and The Bowery Boys." The new Hall-Clements partnership was successful enough to be renewed for the 1957 season. Four more films were made, with Eddie LeRoy joining the cast as bespectacled "Blinky." With Bernard Gorcey gone, Louie's Sweet Shop was replaced by Clancy's Cafe with a similarly put-upon proprietor, "Mike" (Percy Helton, later played by Dick Elliott).

Legacy

In all, there were 48 Bowery Boys films, making it the third-longest feature-film series of American origin in motion-picture history (behind the Charles Starrett westerns at 131 titles, and Hopalong Cassidy at 66). The final Bowery Boys film, In the Money, was released in 1958. Only Huntz Hall and David Gorcey had remained with the series since 1946.[2]

The Bowery Boys and East Side Kids picked up a new generation of mostly younger fans when the films were repackaged and syndicated for television in the 1960s and 1970s. They became a staple for independent stations across the U.S., often used to fill up the early-afternoon time-slots on weekends.

List of the Bowery Boys

  • Leo Gorcey as Terrance Aloysius "Slip" Mahoney (1946-1956)
  • Huntz Hall as Horace DeBussy "Sach" Jones (1946-1958)
  • Bobby Jordan as Bobby (1946-1947)
  • William "Billy" Benedict as Whitmore "Whitey" Williams (1946-1951)
  • William Frambes as Homer (1946)
  • David Gorcey as Charles "Chuck" Anderson (1946-1958)
  • Buddy Gorman as Butch/Bud/Copy Boy/Andrew T. Miller/Messenger/Sandy/Page/Paper Boy (1946-1951)
  • Gabriel Dell as Gabe Moreno/Ricky Moreno (1946-1950)
  • Bennie Bartlett as Butch Williams/Harry "Jag" Harmon (1948-1955)
  • Gil Stratton, Jr. as Junior (1952)
  • Jimmy Murphy as Myron (1956-1957)
  • Stanley Clements as Stanislaus "Duke" Coveleske (1956-1958)
  • Danny Welton as Danny (1956)
  • Eddie LeRoy as Blinky (1957-1958)

Other recurring players

Filmography

YearMovieNotes
1946Live WiresLeo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan, Billy Benedict, William Frambes
1946In Fast CompanyDavid Gorcey replaces William Frambes
1946Bowery Bombshell
1946Spook BustersFirst film with Gabriel Dell
1946Mr. Hex
1947Hard Boiled Mahoney
1947News Hounds
1947Bowery BuckaroosLast film with Bobby Jordan
1948Angels' Alley
1948Jinx MoneyBennie Bartlett replaces Bobby Jordan
1948Smugglers' Cove
1948Trouble Makers
1949Fighting Fools
1949Hold That Baby!
1949Angels in Disguise
1949Master Minds
1950Blonde DynamiteBuddy Gorman replaces Bennie Bartlett
1950Lucky Losers
1950Triple Trouble
1950Blues BustersLast film with Gabriel Dell, who is not replaced
1951Bowery Battalion
1951Ghost Chasers
1951Let's Go Navy!Last film with Buddy Gorman
1951Crazy Over HorsesLast film with Billy Benedict; David Gorcey becomes David Condon; Bennie Bartlett replaces Buddy Gorman
1952Hold That LineGil Stratton, Jr. replaces Billy Benedict
1952Here Come the MarinesLast film with Gil Stratton, Jr., who is not replaced
1952Feudin' FoolsGang becomes standardized: Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, David Condon, Bennie Bartlett
1952No Holds Barred
1953Jalopy
1953Loose in London
1953Clipped Wings
1953Private Eyes
1954Paris Playboys
1954The Bowery Boys Meet the Monsters
1954Jungle Gents
1955Bowery to Bagdad
1955High Society
1955Spy Chasers
1955Jail Busters
1956Dig That UraniumLast film with Bernard Gorcey; last film with Bennie Bartlett
1956Crashing Las VegasLast film with Leo Gorcey; Jimmy Murphy replaces Bennie Bartlett; Doris Kemper replaces Bernard Gorcey
1956Fighting TroubleFirst film with Stanley Clements; Danny Welton replaces Jimmy Murphy; Queenie Smith replaces Doris Kemper
1956Hot ShotsJimmy Murphy replaces Danny Welton
1957Hold That HypnotistHuntz Hall, Stanley Clements, David Condon, Jimmy Murphy
1957Spook ChasersDavid Condon reverts to David Gorcey; first film with Eddie LeRoy; Percy Helton replaces Queenie Smith
1957Looking for DangerLast film with Jimmy Murphy; Dick Elliott replaces Percy Helton
1957Up in SmokeHuntz Hall, Stanley Clements, David Gorcey, Eddie LeRoy
1958In the MoneyLast film in the series.

Home media

All 48 Bowery Boys films were released on DVD by Warner Brothers via their "made-to-order" Archive Collection label in four volumes, each consisting of 12 films on 4 recordable media discs, beginning November 20, 2012. Initial distribution was advertised by Warner as being traditionally replicated on "pressed disc" media in anticipation of high demand for these first Bowery Boy releases to be "remastered from the best available elements."

References

  1. Getz, Leonard (2015). "The Bowery Boys". From Broadway to the Bowery: A History and Filmography of the Dead End Kids, Little Tough Guys, East Side Kids and Bowery Boys Films, with Cast Biographies. McFarland & Co. pp. 173–175. ISBN 9780786487424. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  2. Me and the Dead End Kid, Leo Gorcey, Jr., Spirit of Hope Publishing, 2003.

Further reading

  • Hollywood's Made-to-Order Punks: The Dead End Kids, Little Tough Guys, East Side Kids and the Bowery Boys by Richard Roat, Mendi Koenig and Brandy Gorcey-Ziesemer, BearManor Media (2009)
Preceded by
East Side Kids
1940–1945
The Bowery Boys
1946–1958
Succeeded by
Disbandment
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