the bowery boys page

The success of this film led Warner Brothers to sign the Kids and feature them in six films which starred such screen luminaries as Ronald Reagan, Pat O'Brien, James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, John Garfield and Claude Raines.

The films were the typical Warner fare of serious social/crime dramas with the Kids heavily involved in the plot and also lending some comedy relief. The quality of the films declined until Warner's threw in the towel and the Kids were reborn as the East Side Kids at the king of the poverty row studios, Monogram.

Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan, Gabriel Dell, Billy Halop and Bernard Punsley played the Kids. Despite the fact that they played the same basic roles in every picture, their characters were given different names in many of the films, although Billy Halop was always the leader and featured "Kid" in these movies.

Generally, these films are the best made of any of the four series. Dead End and Angels With Dirty Faces are considered classics of the genre. They Made Me A Criminal is notable for its strong performance by future superstar, John Garfield. (Garfield would team up with Halop & Jordan in Warner's 1939 Dust Be My Destiny and with Leo & Bernard Gorcey in Warner's 1941 Out Of The Fog) The last two Warner's films are pretty bad though.

Crime School - May 1938 - Warner Brothers
Deputy Commissioner of Correction Mark Braden finds a reform school in terrible condition and assumes control himself. He wins the boys' cooperation by being fair and falls in love with gang leader Frankie's sister Sue. This aides disgruntled employees in unsuccesfully challenging Braden.

Angels With Dirty Faces - November 1938 - Warner Brothers
In New York, the boys Rocky Sullivan and Jerry Connelly are best friends and small time thieves. After a robbery, Rocky is arrested and sent to a reformatory school, where he begins his criminal career. Jerry escapes and later becomes a priest. After three years in prison, Rocky is released and charges his former partner, the lawyer James Frazier, his US$ 100,000.00 and his share in the society, and is betrayed. Meanwhile, he becomes the idol of the street kids in the neighborhood. Although following opposite paths in life, Rocky and Jerry are still friends. When Jerry decides to fight against the corruption, Rocky is put against the wall between his friendship with the priest, and his society in dirty businesses with his criminal partners.

They Made Me A Criminal - January 1939 - Warner Brothers
Johnnie, a prizefighter, is unwittingly involved in a murder, and, unable to prove his innocence, quits boxing and flees to Arizona. He obtains work at a fruit ranch run by a kindly woman known as Grandma. The ranch is worked by delinquent boys for whom Grandma provides a home. Johnnie teaches the boys to box and begins to gentle under the influence of the old woman and her daughter, Peggy. Then a New York police detective shows up...

Hell's Kitchen - July 1939 - Warner Brothers
A paroled convict's efforts to improve conditions at a boys' reform school alarm the school's corrupt warden, who has been embezzling funds from the institution. He hatches a plan to derail the reformed convict's efforts and have him sent back to prison, and part of that scheme involves cracking down hard on the reform school's inmates.

Angels Wash Their Faces - August 1939 - Warner Brothers
A young man just released from a reformatory moves to a new neighborhood with his sister, intending to start a new life. However, he gets mixed up with the local mob boss and corrupt politicians and soon finds himself being framed for an arson and murder he didn't commit.

On Dress Parade - November 1939 - Warner Brothers
WWI hero Colonel Riker now heads Washington Military Academy. His dying pal, Bill Duncan, requests him to school his son Slip, a juvenile delinquent. Slip starts fights, disputes all regulations, but Riker believes in him. When the truth comes out, that Slip got into the academy as a means of evading reform school, Slip leaves, but Jack Rollins tries to stop him. The squad roughhouses Slip, but in the mêlée, Jack is pushed out a window. Hurt badly, he nevertheless begs that Slip be kept. Slip has a change of heart, but now must contend with the boys who hate him.

Generally, the boys retained the same names throughout the series (except the serials). Billy Halop was first Johnny, then Jimmy before becoming Tommy for the duration. Huntz Hall played Pig, Bernard Punsley played Ape, Gabriel Dell played String. Not all the characters appeared in all the pictures. Dead End Kid Bobby Jordan played Rap in 2 of the films and became Tommy(!) in the last entry in the series.

The first film, Little Tough Guy, bad as it may be, is the best of the lot. It's a social/crime drama in the Warner Brothers style. After this the quality of the films falls right off the chart. I can recommend this series only to die-hard fans of the Boys.

Note: In the three films after Little Tough Guy the kids were billed as "Little Tough Guys" and did not feature any of the Dead End Kids. After the Dead Enders re-joined, the kids were billed as "Dead End Kids and Little Tough Guys".

Little Tough Guys in Society - November 1938
A society matron invites the gang to her estate as playmates for her spoiled brat son.
None of the original "Dead End Kids" appear in this film and it is not considered canonical by most fans.

Newsboys' Home - December 1938
A beautiful girl inherits a newspaper that sponsors a charity home for boys.
None of the original "Dead End Kids" appear in this film and it is not considered canonical by most fans.

Code of the Streets - April 1939
The kids must find evidence for a friend framed for murder.
None of the original "Dead End Kids" appear in this film and it is not considered canonical by most fans.

Call A Messenger - November 1939
The boys become postal messengers, fight with criminals and try to get the attention of the beautiful postal manager.

You're Not So Tough - July 1940
The boys are hobo's who travel from ranch to ranch to grab meals and win money at crooked dice games. Gabe Dell joins the series. Tommy tricks Mama Posita, the ranch owner into believing he is her long lost son.

Junior G-Men - August 1940
12 part serial that has the boys joining with the F.B.I. to track down the Order Of The Flaming Torch.

Give Us Wings - December 1940
The kids build airplane engines but they want to fly planes. Carter, a crooked crop dusting agent who uses dilapidated planes and illegal pilots to cut costs, hires the boys to fly for him.

Hit The Road - June 1941
Tom, Pig, Ape, String and Pesky, four of whom are parentless after their fathers are killed in a mob massacre, are paroled into the custody of the father of the fifth. They go to live on a ranch owned by the ex-con pal of the boy's father's.

Sea Raiders - August 1941
12 part serial where the boys work to learn the identity of the dreaded 'Sea Raider' who has been sinking allied merchant ships.

Mob Town - October 1941
Tom Barker idolizes the memory of his brother, Eddie, who was sent to the death house. He and his gang look also look up to gangster Monk Bangor. Policeman Frank Conroy tries to keep the boys from turning bad but fails to motivate the angry Tom.

Junior G-Men Of The Air - June 1942
12 part serial. After warring with spies on land and sea, now the boys take to the air to learn the identity of the Black Dragon saboteurs.

Tough As They Come - June 1942
Law school student Tommy Clark gets a job with the crooked Apex Financing Company instead of a $3.00 a week job as a legal aid attorney. Tommy is hired to repossess a friend's father's cab and the neighborhood turns against him.

Mug Town - January 1943
The boys check into a flop house and meet a sick boy. They take the kid with them on the trains but he gets killed. The boys locate the mother and all their troubles start.

Keep 'Em Slugging - August 1943
During school vacation the boys get a real job at a fancy department store but Tommy gets framed for stealing jewelry. The boys all get fired and Tommy gets arrested, so they have to clear his name.

The plots almost always cast the Boys as lower class street urchins in conflict with the criminal element that surrounded them. Occasionally the criminal element was replaced by Nazi or Japanese fifth columnists.

Billy Halop was gone by this time and Leo Gorcey and Bobby Jordan took over as leaders and featured "Kids".

As the series progressed, the comedy duo of Leo Gorcey and Huntz Hall became the focus of the films.

Making steady appearances as East Side Kids were:
Leo Gorcey as Mugs (or Muggs)
Huntz Hall as Glimpy
Bobby Jordan as Danny
David Gorcey as Peewee
Ernie "Sunshine Sammy" Morrison as Scruno
Donald Haines as Skinny
Billy Benedict later took over the role of Skinny (AKA Benny, Pinky)
Bobby Stone with a variety of names
Gabriel Dell appears in many of the films as a non-gang member, usually an adversary or authority figure.

Dave O'Brien (featured in dozens of "B" movies & shorts and star of Reefer Madness) appears in several films.

Other actors cast as East Side Kids include Bennie Bartlett, Harris Berger, Frankie Burke, Hally Chester, Stanley Clements, Johnny Duncan, Dave Durand, Eugen Francis, Buddy Gorman, Mende Koenig and Jimmy Strand

The production values of many of these films are low, even by Monogram standards, although they seemed to get better as the series progressed. A couple of the early films are so bad as to be virtually unwatchable, even by die-hard fans.

Boys Of The City - July 1940
The kids discover a murder in an old house on their way to a mountain camp.
This is the first film in the series with the "Dead End Kids", albeit only Leo Gorcey & Bobby Jordan.
This film is a semi-sequel to "East Side Kids"

That Gang Of Mine - September 1940
Muggs decides to become a jockey despite the ridicule of the other gang members.

Pride Of The Bowery - January 1941
Muggs tries to further his boxing career and the gang end up at a CCC camp when the gang dupes him into believing it’s a free training camp.

Flying Wild - March 1941
The kids stumble across a sabotage ring while working at an airplane factory.

Bowery Blitzkrieg - September 1941
Muggs is threatened by gamblers who want him to throw an important boxing match.

Spooks Run Wild - October 1941
he gang meet a mysterious man played by Bela Lugosi and his dwarf companion in an old haunted mansion.

Mr. Wise Guy - February 1942
The boys are sent to reform school after they are wrongly convicted of stealing a truck.

Let's Get Tough - May 1942
The boys manage to stop a spy ring who are planning to sabotage U.S. war production.

Smart Alecks - August 1942
The gang wants to buy baseball uniforms. Danny gets a reward for capturing a crook and the crook breaks out of jail for revenge.

'Neath Brooklyn Bridge - November 1942
The boys help a girl track down the murderer of her guardian.

Kid Dynamite - February 1943 
Mugg’s is kidnapped by crooks right before his championship fight.

Mr. Muggs Steps Out - October 1943
Mugg's is ordered by the Court to get a job and he is hired to be a chauffeur. During a party a valuable necklace is stolen. Muggs and the gang try to retrieve it.

Ghosts On The Loose - July 1943
Bela Lugosi and Ava Garner star with the Boys in this 'Haunted' house mystery about Nazi spies.

Clancy Street Boys - April 1943
Muggs and the gang try to deceive a rich uncle who has been sending money to his non-existent family for years.

Million Dollar Kid - February 1944
The boys put a millionaire’s son back on the right path after they find out he is mixed up with gangsters.

Follow The Leader - June 1944
Back from the army, Muggs and Glimpy learn that Danny was sent to jail for a robbery he didn't commit. They try to make things right.

Block Busters - July 1944
A French boy proves his worth at the gang's big baseball game.

Bowery Champs - November 1944
Mugg's works at the Evening Express as a copyboy with aspirations of being a top reporter. He gets his chance locking in battle with criminals.

Docks Of New York - February 1945
The boy's stir up excitement when they decide to take over and establish their authority at the docks.

Mr. Muggs Rides Again - July 1945
The boys try to help a jockey who is framed after he refuses to throw a race for a gangster.

Come Out Fighting - September 1945
The boys give boxing lessons to the police commissioner's son and get involved in a gambling ring.
 

Leo Gorcey began to drink heavily after the death of his father, Bernard Gorcey, in late 1955. In fact, he appears to be intoxicated in his final film, Crashing Las Vegas. The producers of the series replaced Gorcey with former East Side Kid Stanley Clements for the last seven films. The chemistry that worked so well between Gorcey and Hall never materialized with Clements and this, along with the fact that the "Boys" were now well into their 30's and the lack of demand for programmer type films such as these due to TV, proved to be the death knell of the series.

Making steady appearances in this series were:
Leo Gorcey as Terrence Aloyius "Slip" Mahoney
Huntz Hall as Horace Debussy "Sach" Jones
Bobby Jordan as Bobby (last film: Bowery Buckaroos - 1947)
Billy Benedict as Whitey
David Gorcey as Chuck
Bennie Bartlett as Butch
Bernard Gorcey as Louie Dumbrowski, proprietor of Louie's Sweet Shop in most of the films.
Gabriel Dell appeared in a variety of roles, once again usually as an authority figure peripherally connected with the gang.
Stanley Clements appeared as Stanislaus "Duke" Coveleske in the last seven pictures.

The production values of these films are far higher than any of the Little Tough Guys and East Side Kids. Most fans agree that the Bowery Boys series is the best of these three.
I feel that Live Wires (which features gigantic tough guy, Mike Mazurki), Mr. Hex and Blues Busters are among the best in this series.

The Bowery Boys Are On DVD! Bowery Boys Set #1 - Bowery Boys Set #2 - Bowery Boys Set #3

In Fast Company - June 1946 65 minutes
The Red Circle Cab Company is wrecking other cabs, so Slip and the gang take matters into their own hands.

Bowery Bombshell - July 20 1946 65 minutes
While Sach is having his picture taken near a bank, a robbery is committed and Sach becomes the prime suspect .

Spook Busters - Aug. 1946 68 minutes
The boys went to school to learn exterminating and have opened shop. Gabrielle Dell is back and plays a mature friend of the boys. Their first assignment is to exterminate ghosts in a spooky mansion.

Mr. Hex - November 1946 63 minutes
Sach takes on superhuman strength when put into a trance by a magician

Hard Boiled Mahoney - April 1947 63 minutes
Slip and Sach go to a detective's office to collect salary earned there by Sach. A woman mistakes them for sleuths and hires them to find a missing woman

News Hounds - Aug. 1947 68 minutes
Slip and Sach work for the Daily Chronicle. They try to find evidence about underworld fixing of sports events.

Bowery Buckaroos - November 1947 66 minutes
Sach can't understand why Louie gets nervous when a western sheriff comes looking for Louie The Lout. Louie then tells the boys he is Louie The Lout, who 20 years earlier had left the west to escape a murder charge. The boys set out to clear Louie.

Angels' Alley - March 1948 67 minutes
Slip hopes his cousin ex-convict Jimmy will be a good addition to the family but trouble ensues.

Jinx Money - June 1948 68 minutes
A gambler wins $50,000 and turns up dead. Slip and Sach find the money in the gutter and all types of trouble begins.

Smugglers' Cove - October 1948 66 minutes
While Slip and Sach are working as janitors, Slip accepts a telegram informing him that Terrance Mahoney Esquire has inherited an old estate. Confusing himself for that person, Slip takes the boys to the Long Island mansion where a smuggling ring is in operation.

Trouble Makers - December 1948 69 minutes
While looking through a telescope, the boys witness a murder. Gabe plays a Police Officer.

Fighting Fools - April 1949 69 minutes
Slip convinces Louie to loan him the sweetshop loft to train a fighter whose younger brother was killed in a fixed fight.

Hold That Baby! - June 1949 64 minutes
The boys are operators of a laundromat and find a baby in the linen.

Angels In Disguise - September 1949 63 minutes
The boys aid the Police to capture the gangster that shot their friend Gabe the cop.

Master Minds - November 1949 64 minutes
Sach's toothache gives him psychic abilities.

Blonde Dynamite - February 1950 66 minutes
The boys turn Louie's sweetshop into an escort service.

Lucky Losers - May 14 1950 69 minutes
Slip and Sach work in a Wall Street brokerage firm when their boss allegedly commits suicide. The boys tangle with gamblers and gangsters.

Triple Trouble - Aug. 1950 66 minutes
While coming home from a masquerade party at midnight, the boys try to stop a warehouse robbery and are themselves accused by the police of robbing it.

Blues Busters - October 1950 67 minutes
Sach's tonsillectomy leaves him with a good singing voice ("The Bowery Thrush") and Louie's Sweetshop is converted into the Bowery Palace Nightclub.

Bowery Battalion - January 1951 69 minutes
The Boys are privates in the Army who are assigned to guard Louie, who is being used to bait spies. Louie is kidnapped under their noses, but the boys get on his trail and round up the spies.

Ghost Chasers - April 1951 69 minutes
Slip becomes interested in communication with spirits when a spiritualist moves into his neighborhood and fleeces old woman of their money. Slip and the boys go out to expose this fake

Let's Go Navy! - July 1951 68 minutes
$1600 raised in the Bowery for charity and entrusted to the boys is stolen by two men in sailor suits. To vindicate themselves, the boys join the Navy to find the crooks.

Crazy Over Horses - November 1951 65 minutes
Louie is mad when the boys bring him a horse as repayment of a debt owed by sTABLE owner Flynn. But Slip thinks the horse, 'My Girl', is a thoroughbred. The former owners of the horse, a bunch of gangsters want the horse back!

Hold That Line - March 1952 - 64 minutes
The boys are sent to Ivy University by two trustees to see what effect the boys will have on the student body. Sach develops a vitamin mixture that turns him into a star athlete

Here Comes The Marines - June 1952 66 minutes
Slip is drafted into the Marines and the other boys get their notices soon after. On his first day Sach impersonates a cook and almost kills a Colonel. The boys get involved without a deadly gang of gamblers who are preying on other Marines.

Feudin' Fools - September 1952 63 minutes
Sach inherits a farm in Hogliver Hollow, Kentucky. On their first day in the country the boys learn that the 'Jones' family is mortal enemies with their neighbor 'The Smiths'. Bank robbers end up at the Jones Ranch and the fun begins.

No Holds Barred - November 1952 65 minutes
Sach's cranium hardens bizarrely so that it can withstand any pain. Slip enters him into wrestling matches but the power begins to move to other parts of his body like his elbow, finger etc.

Jalopy - February 1953 62 minutes
Slip enters the boys jalopy in an auto race hoping to pay off Louies bills but comes in last. Sach develops a super fuel and the competition will do everything to get the formula

Loose In London - May 1953 62 minutes
Lawyers determine that Sach is a relative of a rich dying British Earl. The boys head to jolly old London and end up rescuing the Earl from the other relatives who want him dead.

Clipped Wings - Aug. 1953 65 minutes
Slip and Sach go to the Air Force headquarters to visit their pal Dave Moreno who is being held for treason. The boys end up in the Air Force and help uncover spies.

Private Eyes - December 1953 64 minutes
After being punched in the nose by 10 year old Herbie, Sach develops mind reading capabilities. The boys open up a detective agency and their first case involves a beautiful blonde and of course, gangsters.

Paris Playboys - March 1954 65 minutes
French Professors mistake Sach for a missing world renowned French scientist who is developing a secret fuel formula, Professor Le Beau. The boys agree to allow Sach to impersonate Le Beau. They head to Paris to assist the Professors in locating the missing Professor only once again to get involved with spies who want the secret formula.

The Bowery Boys Meet The Monsters - June 1954 65 minutes
Slip and Sach think the empty lot owned by the Graves family would be ideal for the neighborhood kids to play baseball. They head to the spooky mansion to talk to the Graves only to get involved with mad scientists, monsters, robots, vampires and man eating trees.

Jungle Gents - September 1954 64 minutes
Sach has the ability to smell diamonds because of his sinus medicine. The boys go to Africa to locate diamonds and get mixed up with criminals and cannibals. Sach falls in love with 'Jane' only to eventually meet 'Tarzan'.

Bowery To Bagdad - January 1955 64 minutes
The story of Aladdin's lamp begins in the Middle Ages where the lamp is stolen. Hundreds of years later it ends up in the Bowery and in the hands of the boys.

High Society - April 1955 61 minutes
While Slip and Sach are working in an auto garage, Sach is told that he is the heir to the fortune of the late Terwillinger Debussey Jones. Sach is invited to the mansion for a weekend of paper signing only to learn that the real heir is a 10 year old boy, Terwillinger III. The boys help the righful young heir fight against his scheming cousins for control of his fortune.

Spy Chasers - July 1955 61 minutes
Slip, Sach and the boys come to the aid of Princess Ann of Truania and her Father, the exiled King. The King ask ex-Truanina Louie to hide a secret half-coin until the time is right for the return of the exiled King. Slip and Sach distrust the Kings right hand man, Colonel Baxis, who is plotting against the King.

Jail Busters - September 1955 61 minutes
After newspaper employee Chuck suffers a beating while undercover in prison, the boys decide to enter prison to find the culprits.

Dig That Uranium - January 1956 62 minutes
The boys discover that the Uranium mine that they talked Louie into buying isn't filled with riches but instead find themselves fighting with outlaws.

Crashing Las Vegas - April 1956 62 minutes
Sach is able to predict numbers after receiving an electric shock. The boys head to Las Vegas after he wins a hotel stay on a game show. Gangsters blackmail Sach to give them all his winnings. This is the last film with Leo Gorcey.

Fighting Trouble - September 1956 61 minutes
The first film with Duke (Stanley Clements). Sach and Duke attempt to photograph notorious gangster Frankie Arbo for the New York Morning Blade and they succeed. But Sach exposes the negative. They continue to try and get the picture by infiltrating the gangsters gang.

Hot Shots - December 1956 61 minutes
Sach and Duke acquaint themselves with television executives after an 8 year old Joey Monroe, the TV star steals the boys car. Sach and Duke are hired to baby sit the star and find out that the stars Uncle is stealing money.

Hold That Hypnotist - February 1957 61 minutes
The boys want to expose hypnotist Dr. Noble as a quack. He has already taken Mrs. Kelly’s money. Sach is hypnotized and learns in his past life that he hid a treasure.

Spook Chasers - June 1957 62 minutes
The boys go with cafe owner Mike Clancey to a mountain house that he bought to help him rest his nerves. Sach discovers a fortune hidden away. Gangsters want their money back.

Looking For Danger - October 1957 62 minutes
Duke tells an officer of the War Department how he lost a pot during World War II. Disguised as Nazi officers, the boys battle the Nazis.

Up In Smoke - December 1957 - 61 minutes
Sach sells his soul to the Devil in exchange for horseracing tips. The gangsters want the tips.

In The Money - February 1958 - 61 minutes
Sach is hired to cross the Atlantic as the escort of a pedigree poodle. Unbeknownst to the boys, the poodle is carrying a fortune in gems and is pursued by Scotland yard and gangsters.
 

Trivia

Surprisingly, it's David Gorcey, not his brother Leo, who comes in second in series' appearances.

Bernard Punsley went on to become a doctor after leaving the series.

Louie's Sweet Shop was located at 3rd Street & Bowery.

Billy Halop had a recuring role as Bert Munson the cab driver on the TV series All In The Family. He also had bit parts in many other series throughout the 50's, 60's and 70's, including a few bits on Perry Mason.

William 'Billy' Benedict also appeared in several episodes of All In The Family as the Bunker's neighbor Jimmy McNabb

Huntz Hall made numerous TV appearances from the 1960s through the 1990s.

Gabe Dell also made many TV appearances from the 1950s through the 1980s.

Huntz Hall appears on the cover of the Sgt. Pepper album by the Beatles. Leo Gorcey was to appear but he demanded $500 and consequently was dropped.

Sunshine Sammy Morrison was one of the original "Our Gang" child actors.

East Side Kid Hally Chester went on to become a movie producer.

Bela Lugosi, his career already on the skids, appeared in two East Side Kids features, Spooks Run Wild and Ghosts On The Loose.

3 Stooges fans should be on the lookout for Shemp Howard in three of the Little Tough Guys films, Give Us Wings, Hit The Road and Keep 'Em Slugging.

All together, there were 85 films and 3 serials. 7 were Dead End Kids, 12 Little Tough Guys (including the 3 serials), 21 East Side Kids and 48 Bowery Boys. It would take about five days of continuous viewing to see every film and serial!

1941 saw the most films released: seven. Three were Little Tough Guys and four were East Side Kids. 1942 and 1943 came in second with six. 1939, 1940 and 1946 each had five.

Counting the 3 serials, there were 9 films made in the 30's, 47 made in the 40's, 32 in the 50's.

Auteur film producer/director/actor, Ray Dennis Steckler, filmed a parody of the Boys, The Lemon Grove Kids.

Four different studios produced films in the series: United Artists, Warner Brothers, Universal and Monogram (AKA Allied Artists).
 

Bowery Boys Set #2
Spook Busters, Hard Boiled Mahoney, Bowery Buckaroos, Smuggler's Cove. Ghost Chasers, Let's Go Navy!, Hold That Line, Loose In London, Clipped Wings, Private Eyes, The Bowery Boys Meet The Monsters, High Society

Bowery Boys Set #3
Angel's Alley, Jinx Money, Angels In Disguise, Feudin' Fools, Jalopy, Paris Playboys, Dig That Uranium, Crashing Las Vegas, Hot Shots, Spook Chasers, Looking For Danger, Up In Smoke