Learning that this was the first film in the Bowery Boys series explains a lot. I was mystified for example when Bernard Gorcey appeared on screen as a customer instead of the proprietor of Louie's Sweet Shop. As bookie Jack Kane, he was obviously not as likable as the character he portrayed in later pictures in the series. At the same time, Leo Gorcey's 'Slip' Mahoney also seemed like an unsavory character who couldn't hold a job because of his volatile temper and quick fisted nature. Perhaps the biggest surprise was seeing Huntz Hall as the mature member of the group, to the point of giving Slip some advice on how to hold a job and not be a disappointment to his sister Mary (Pamela Blake), who was more like a mother to him than a sister. Oh well, things would change.
Otherwise, the picture does have that Bowery Boys flavor with it's cool New York City street scenes and situations calling for Slip and Sach (Hall) to get out of one scrape after another. As a fan of former pro wrestler Mike Mazurki, I never realized just how big he was until I saw him manhandle Slip from pillar to post the way he did here. I don't know if it was for real or a camera trick, but he lifted Slip and Sach off the floor with one hand in separate scenes; I don't believe I'd like to get in the guy's way for any reason.
The one constant that I enjoyed in the film was Slip's malapropisms just about every time he opened his mouth. Seeing him in a tux on the way to the High Hat Club was a trip in itself, about the best he ever looked outside of a military uniform which he wore as an East Side Kid in 1942's "Let's Get Tough" or later on in 1951's "Bowery Batallion".
The other cool element in the picture for me was Earle Hodgins as a snake oil salesman, a role he played with some frequency in old time Westerns of the Thirties and Forties. That he showed up in a Bowery Boys flick seemed only natural, leading me to consider that had he been born a little bit later, he might have been right at home as part of the gang.
Otherwise, the picture does have that Bowery Boys flavor with it's cool New York City street scenes and situations calling for Slip and Sach (Hall) to get out of one scrape after another. As a fan of former pro wrestler Mike Mazurki, I never realized just how big he was until I saw him manhandle Slip from pillar to post the way he did here. I don't know if it was for real or a camera trick, but he lifted Slip and Sach off the floor with one hand in separate scenes; I don't believe I'd like to get in the guy's way for any reason.
The one constant that I enjoyed in the film was Slip's malapropisms just about every time he opened his mouth. Seeing him in a tux on the way to the High Hat Club was a trip in itself, about the best he ever looked outside of a military uniform which he wore as an East Side Kid in 1942's "Let's Get Tough" or later on in 1951's "Bowery Batallion".
The other cool element in the picture for me was Earle Hodgins as a snake oil salesman, a role he played with some frequency in old time Westerns of the Thirties and Forties. That he showed up in a Bowery Boys flick seemed only natural, leading me to consider that had he been born a little bit later, he might have been right at home as part of the gang.