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Post by rascaLee on Jan 17, 2011 17:34:07 GMT -5
How many Rascals also were in the Dead End Kids/East Side Kids/Bowery Boys?
The most prominent one was Ernie Morrison, who was a lead character, "Scruno", in the East Side Kids.
Jackie Cooper starred in "Newsboys Home", a Little Tough Guys (Dead End Kids' spin off) film.
Donald Haines appeared in various East Side Kids films.
Sidney Kibrick appeared in the very first Dead End Kids movie, "Dead End".
Johnny Downs appeared in the serial "Adventures of the Flying Cadets" with East Side Kids Bobby Jordan and Billy Benedict.
Then there's Alfalfa. He appeared with East Side Kid Stanley Clements in "Going My Way", then did an East Side Kids rip-off "The Gas House Kids" featuring original Dead End Kid Billy Halop in the first movie, and Tommy Bond in the other two, and finally, appeared in the Bowery Boys film "Dig That Uranium".
Any others?
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Post by mtw12055 on Jan 17, 2011 20:36:08 GMT -5
I'm a huge fan of the Dead End Kids/Little Tough Guys/East Side Kids/Bowery Boys.
Off the top of my head:
David Durand had bit parts in a few Dead End Kids movies. He was also in the first East Side Kids flick, but his scenes were cut. He was part of the ESK in "Kid Dynamite", and replaced Bobby Jordan (who had been drafted) in the role of 'Danny' for three films in that same series.
If the New York street set in any of the earlier East Side Kids films looks familiar, it ought to; this set was actually the Hal Roach backlot.
A handful of actors who worked with Our Gang also worked with these other groups.
Billy Gilbert co-starred with the East Side Kids in "Mr. Wise Guy".
'Snub' Pollard had a bit part in "Kid Dynamite".
Frankie Darro (whom Farina worked with in at least one film) shows up in a handful of earlier Bowery Boys films, and at least one from the "Dead End Kids and the Little Tough Guys" series.
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Post by mtw12055 on Jan 17, 2011 20:44:29 GMT -5
I thought I'd talk a little bit about Scruno. Ernie Morrison debuted as 'Scruno' in the second East Side Kids films "Boys of the City". Unfortunately, the script for this film has several racial puns that makes watching Scruno in this particular film somewhat embarrasing. This, of course, was not Ernie Morrison's fault.
According to Morrison, after getting the first draft for "Boys of the City", he wasn't too happy. Morrison reported to Monogram head Sam Katzman and told him, "Now look, I grew up in New York, so I know what a black guy hanging out with a bunch of white kids down on the East Side is gonna act". Katzman happiliy agreed to allow Morrison to develop the 'Scruno' character on his own. As a result, in all of the films Morrison did after "Boys of the City", the character of 'Scruno' clearly has more dignity.
Morrison's last offical ESK film was "Ghosts on the Loose". Afterwards, he briefly joined the Step Brothers act, and was then drafted for WWII service. Interstingly enough, Scruno shows up in "Follow the Leader", and ESK film made after Morrison left the series. Deductive reasoning makes me pretty sure that his scenes were actually unused footage from a previous ESK film, "Smart Alecks".
He was later asked to join The Bowery Boys series, but declined. Later in an interview, Morrison stated his reasonings for declining as simply being he "didn't like the set-up". Though I don't blame Morrison for saying that, I'm sure he would have brought plenty of added comedy to the BB series.
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Post by rascaLee on Jan 18, 2011 11:31:40 GMT -5
He was later asked to join The Bowery Boys series, but declined. Later in an interview, Morrison stated his reasonings for declining as simply being he "didn't like the set-up". Though I don't blame Morrison for saying that, I'm sure he would have brought plenty of added comedy to the BB series. Yeah, it was quite obvious the Bowery Boys, unlike the previous versions which were ensemble comedy, was going to have the spotlight on the team of Gorcey & Hall, with the other Bowery Boys reduced to standing in the background and giving reaction expressions. This was really sad for Bobby Jordan, one of the orginal Dead End Kids, and who was the co-leader of the East Side Kids with Leo Gorcey's "Muggs" (and the sole leader of the final Dead End Kids and Little Tough Guys movie). In the Bowery Boys, he just stands in the background and reacts to Gorcey & Hall. After only 8 or 9 films, he quit. The poor guy was also the youngest Dead End Kid to die, at 42. |
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Post by mtw12055 on Jan 18, 2011 16:21:13 GMT -5
He was later asked to join The Bowery Boys series, but declined. Later in an interview, Morrison stated his reasonings for declining as simply being he "didn't like the set-up". Though I don't blame Morrison for saying that, I'm sure he would have brought plenty of added comedy to the BB series. Yeah, it was quite obvious the Bowery Boys, unlike the previous versions which were ensemble comedy, was going to have the spotlight on the team of Gorcey & Hall, with the other Bowery Boys reduced to standing in the background and giving reaction expressions. This was really sad for Bobby Jordan, one of the orginal Dead End Kids, and who was the co-leader of the East Side Kids with Leo Gorcey's "Muggs" (and the sole leader of the final Dead End Kids and Little Tough Guys movie). In the Bowery Boys, he just stands in the background and reacts to Gorcey & Hall. After only 8 or 9 films, he quit. The poor guy was also the youngest Dead End Kid to die, at 42. To the best of my knowledge, the only two Bowery Boys who were really fed up with the conditions of those films were Bobby Jordan and Gabriel Dell. Like you said, Jordan was reduced to background status (though he does get a few moments to shine in the BB films, particuarly an hilarious gangster impersonation in "Bowery Bombshell"), and grew tired of the series; his last film was the 8th one, "Bowery Buckaroos". Gabriel Dell rarely played a member of the Gang in these films, but rather played the Gang's mature firend Gabe Moreno. He was essentially the straight man, and his role in each film depended on the plot. As comedy began to favor drama, Gabe's parts became less crucial. He left about mid-way through the series, but he later mentioned that he would have left earlier, but had no other place to go. Dell is usually considered the best actor of the group, and went on to have a successful career on television and broadway. Leo Gorcey's younger brother David was "Chuck" in the Bowery Boys series. He often times had literally nothing to do in the BB films. However, David apparently didn't mind this. Leo and David's father Bernard played "Louie" in the series. In my opinion, Bernard was an extremely underrated comic. William Bendict ("Whitey") was also a great comic addition to the group, as was Eddie LeRoy ("Blinky"), though the latter didn't show up until the end of the series. All three had plenty of great comedy moments in the series that are sometimes overlooked, even by the biggest fans. |
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Post by rascaLee on Jan 18, 2011 18:42:51 GMT -5
If you saw this past Saturday's movie on TCM, "Jail Busters", it looked like David Gorcey got promoted to Gabe Dell's part: a mature friend who has a steady job (reporter). Funny, but I think David had more lines of dialogue in "Jail Busters" (even though he was only on screen for the first 15 minutes) than all his other East Side Kids/Bowery Boys movies combined. But he did have some good lines in "Little Tough Guy". I remember laughing at his mocking of High Pockets, "Oh I'm so bored with my life".
By the way, for anyone else reading this, this Saturday (Jan. 22, 2011) at 10:30 AM, TCM will air "Dig That Uranium", the Bowery Boys movie with Alfalfa. This is also Bernard Gorcey's final film, as he was killed in a car crash just after filming was completed.
Actually, "Little Tough Guy" was was my favorite Huntz Hall performance, also. I like him better when he plays tough, ar at least isn't so over the top. The two main reasons The Bowery Boys are my least favorite of the Dead End Kids/Little Tough Guys/East Side Kids/Bowery Boys films are 1) its not a "gang" series like the others were both because the guys are older and it's more about the Gorcey-Hall team, and 2) Once Bobby Jordan left, Huntz Hall became too goofy. I didn't find him as funny, but rather irritating. I know he idolized Shemp Howard, but Huntz wasn't like Shemp or Curly, where the more outlandish they got, the funnier they were. Huntz just got more irritating. I prefer his earlier performances where he was more toned down. That's when I thought he was funnier. At least that's how I see it. I'm sure others may like him better when he's over the top goofy.
One of my favorite Huntz Hall scenes, and this features Ernie Morrison, is from, I think "Kid Dynamite", where Glimpy sits down at Scruno's father's shoe shine chair, as Muggs is talking to someone, and then Glimpy says to Scruno "Hey boy give me a shine" (and you know this had to be ad libbed because Ernie at first didn't hear him, and he had to repeat it), and Scruno (again, looks like an ad lib to me) replies "Give you a shine? I'll polish you off but good if you don't get out of that chair."
It's a shame Gabe Dell didn't get better roles in the East Side Kids and Bowery Boys films. I though he was the funniest of the bunch in the Universal Dead End Kids/Little Tough Guys movies. I remember one line of his that cracked me up. I think it was from "Give Us Wings" with Shemp Howard. The Dead End Kids are in court, and the judge makes a comment about Pig's (Huntz Hall) face, and String (Gabe Dell) says, "Look at your face. Looks like it was slapped together when the quitting whistle blew."
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Post by mtw12055 on Jan 18, 2011 20:08:37 GMT -5
One interesting thing that I've noticed about David Gorcey is that usually whenever he's given something plot specific to do in these films, it actually gives him less footage. This is often times because his character will wind up in a hospital bed. In addtion to "Jail Busters", this also happened in "In Fast Company" and the East Side Kids film "Flying Wild".
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Post by rascaLee on Jan 22, 2011 11:52:37 GMT -5
I just watched "Dig That Uranium" on TCM. As soon as Satch said "Hey Look who I found", and Alfalfa was with him, I thought "looks like he got cast in the Gabe Dell role".
It's too bad Alfalfa didn't do more films with the Bowey Boys after that. It was 1955, and The Little Rascals were at a new high of popularity from the films airing on TV. Leo Gorcey and Bennie Bartlett would be gone from the Bowery Boys, and Stanley Clements would return. If they added Alfalfa to the group, not only would it be kind of like a reunion of the "Going My Way" kids, but it may have sparked new interest and popularity into the waning Bowery Boys franchise.
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Post by mtw12055 on Jan 22, 2011 12:27:03 GMT -5
I just watched "Dig That Uranium" on TCM. As soon as Satch said "Hey Look who I found", and Alfalfa was with him, I thought "looks like he got cast in the Gabe Dell role". It's too bad Alfalfa didn't do more films with the Bowey Boys after that. It was 1955, and The Little Rascals were at a new high of popularity from the films airing on TV. Leo Gorcey and Bennie Bartlett would be gone from the Bowery Boys, and Stanley Clements would return. If they added Alfalfa to the group, not only would it be kind of like a reunion of the "Going My Way" kids, but it may have sparked new interest and popularity into the waning Bowery Boys franchise. I never really thought about Alfalfa joining the Bowery Boys, but it certainly would have been interesting. I could possibly see him playing the part of "Blinky" if he had joined the series. Still, I thought Eddie LeRoy was great in the role when he joined a few films after "Dig that Uranium!". LeRoy was a great addition to the group becasue not only was his character likeable and memorable, but he always looked like he was enjoying himself in the films. But, like I said, I can still see Alfalfa playing this role. He seemed pretty comfortable with Gorcey and Hall ad-libbing. The first time I saw "Dig that Uranium!" a few years ago was really when I began to realize how great of a character actor Alfalfa was. It's too bad that he left us before Hollywood could have given him larger roles. |
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Post by rascaLee on Feb 1, 2011 15:45:30 GMT -5
I hope TCM airs the remaining Stanley Clements Bowery Boys movies -- I noticed the Bowery Boys are not schedualed for the next few weeks (although "Dead End" and "Going My Way" are both listed to air in Feb.)
In Leo Gorcey's final BB movie, "Crashing Las Vegas", I wonder if they filmed it in continuity, because he didn't seem drunk at the beginning of the movie, but as it went on, you could tell he was getting more and more buzzed. Too bad they didn't bring Alfalfa back as "Shifty" instead of using Jimmy Murphy as "Myron".
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Post by mtw12055 on Feb 1, 2011 17:13:14 GMT -5
I hope TCM airs the remaining Stanley Clements Bowery Boys movies -- I noticed the Bowery Boys are not schedualed for the next few weeks (although "Dead End" and "Going My Way" are both listed to air in Feb.) In Leo Gorcey's final BB movie, "Crashing Las Vegas", I wonder if they filmed it in continuity, because he didn't seem drunk at the beginning of the movie, but as it went on, you could tell he was getting more and more buzzed. Too bad they didn't bring Alfalfa back as "Shifty" instead of using Jimmy Murphy as "Myron". Actually, I thought Jimmy did a fine job. Though Alfalfa would have been great, too. TCM won't be airing any BBs films in February due to it being their annual Academy Award Month. The Boys will be back in March (beginning on the 5th), and all seven Stanley Clements movies will indeed be aired. I'm hoping "Hold that Hypnotist" is a good copy because the one I currently have is unwatchable. Airing some of these films will actually be a first for TCM, as back in 1999 (the last time they aired any BBs films), all 41 Leo Gorcey films were shown, but only three Clements films ("Fighting Trouble", "Hot Shots", and "In the Money") were shown. I'm glad TCM will be showing the films with Clements, and I never really thought that they were as bad as some fans have stated. I actually consider some of the Clements films to be among my favorites. Sure, he's no Leo Gorcey, but he settled into his role eventually. I also never really thought of the Little Tough Guys or very early East Side Kids films were so bad. Sure, a handful of them have their share of flaws, but none of them are truly awful (though I could have done without the annoying racial jokes towards Scruno in "Boys of the City"). P.S. "They Made Me a Criminal" (with the Dead End Kids) airs on TCM on March 4th. |
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Post by rascaLee on Mar 5, 2011 12:00:27 GMT -5
I just finished watching the first Bowery Boys movie with Stanley Clements as the new leader, "Fighting Trouble". Clements did a good job, but frankly, I thought he was better in "Going My Way" and his East Side Kids films. But this was his first movie back, so I'm sure he gets better as the series goes on. But out of curiosity, I wonder if the producers ever tried to contact either Billy Halop or Bobby Jordan for the role before they offered it to Clements?
Another thing I noticed was the musical score was significantly different than the previous films. This one had more of a jazz sound. I wonder if this was a one-time only thing, or if the remaining films will have that too.
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Post by mtw12055 on Mar 5, 2011 12:11:02 GMT -5
I just finished watching the first Bowery Boys movie with Stanley Clements as the new leader, "Fighting Trouble". Clements did a good job, but frankly, I thought he was better in "Going My Way" and his East Side Kids films. But this was his first movie back, so I'm sure he gets better as the series goes on. But out of curiosity, I wonder if the producers ever tried to contact either Billy Halop or Bobby Jordan for the role before they offered it to Clements? Another thing I noticed was the musical score was significantly different than the previous films. This one had more of a jazz sound. I wonder if this was a one-time only thing, or if the remaining films will have that too. I also just got through watching this film, and just did a review of the film over on thebowery (The Bowery Boys' yahoo group). Like you said, the music for this film does have a different feel to it (as does the editing), but this is the only film to have those changes. The other Clements films have Marlin Skiles (who worked on the Gorcey films) returning to do the music, and give the films more of a feel of a typical BB entry. "Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here" also returns as the Boys' theme song for the films after this one. The Clements films seemed to get better as time went on ("Hold That Hypnotist", "Spook Chasers", "Looking for Danger", and "In the Money" are all very enjoyable films). In fact, I actually enjoy the Clements films just as much as the Gorcey films. "Fighting Trouble" was an okay entry, but it's obvious everybody's adjusting to the sudden change. Clements and Hall are still working on their chemistry, Clements and the writers are trying to adjust to the "Duke" character, and not make him too much like "Slip" (though in some of the later films, the writers made the mistake of giving "Duke" some of Gorcey's classic malaprops). By the time the Boys got to "Hold that Hypnotist", everybody seemed pretty comfortable. The rest of the cast were pretty good. David Gorcey/David Condon still seems pretty comfortable, and Danny Welton (in his only Bowery Boys film) was okay. Jimmy Murphy would return as "Myron" beginning with the next entry. And David Condon would soon revert to being David Gorcey. Queenie Smith is pretty enjoyable as "Miss Kelly", the Boys' new "Louie". In short, the Clements films got better as time went on, and are by no means inferior to the Gorcey films. As for Jordan and Halop, I doubt that Halop would have wanted to come back, as he was trying to make a name for himself without the use of the series that more or less made him a star. He was basically trying to grow as an actor. He sort of wound up in the same boat as Carl Switzer, being trapped by the role that made him famous. It's only ironic that one of Halops first films after his WWII service was an East Side Kids' rip-off film. Halop would eventually have decent success in the 70's on "All in the Family". Halop's drinking problem (though I'm not sure when that began) may have also prevented him from working. Jordan might have considered returning, but he too had a slight drinking problem. I can see Gabriel Dell also possibly taking the role as the series' leader. And here's a link to the BB yahoo group if anybody wants to join: movies.groups.yahoo.com/group/thebowery/P.S. TCM's website also has shortened versions of the theatrical trailers for the Clements films (and most of the Gorcey films) if you want a preview of the upcoming films. |
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Post by rascaLee on Mar 6, 2011 19:16:11 GMT -5
I'll be watching to see how thier chemestry gels as the series goes on.
As I said before, it's too bad they didn't keep Alfalfa around. He would have been good in the Danny Welton role.
This was 1956. I think Billy Halop at that time was guest starring on TV shows like "Highway Patrol" and "Racket Squad". I remember seeing his "Racket Squad" episode several years ago, and I think he already looked prematurely middle aged, and probably wouldn't fit in the Bowery Boys very well.
Gabe Dell wouldn't have been available because he was part of the rep company on Steve Allen's TV shows along with Don Knotts, Tom Poston, and Pat Harrington. Ironically, after Dell left the Bowery Boys, he and Huntz Hall formed a comedy team and went on the road doing the nightclub circuit when Huntz wasn't filming.
Bobby Jordan may have been the best fit, but as you said, his drinking problem may have been out of control by the mid 1950s (he died in 1965).
Thanks for that group link.
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Post by mtw12055 on Mar 6, 2011 20:11:50 GMT -5
Ironically, after Dell left the Bowery Boys, he and Huntz Hall formed a comedy team and went on the road doing the nightclub circuit when Huntz wasn't filming. The nightclub act "Hall and Dell" consisted of the duo performing classic vaudeville routines, with Huntz as the comic and Gabe as the straight man. Sadly, the act was cut short (I'm not even sure if it lasted a year) because the two were putting so much time in the nightclub act, that both of their wives got suspicious. Ultimately, both wives wound up filing for divorce. |
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