Leo Gorcey Movies
The shortest and most pugnacious of the original Dead End Kids, American actor Leo Gorcey was the son of character player Bernard Gorcey. The elder Gorcey encouraged Leo to audition as one of the tough street gang in the 1935 stage production of Sidney Kingsley's Dead End, which Leo did reluctantly; he was content with his apprentice job at his uncle's plumbing shop. When he temporarily lost that position, Leo was cast in a bit role in Dead End, eventually working his way up to the important part of Spit, the gang stool pigeon. Producer Samuel Goldwyn decided to make Dead End into a movie in 1937, further deciding to hire Leo and his fellow "kids" Billy Halop, Huntz Hall, Gabriel Dell, Bernard Punsley and Bobby Jordan for the movie version. The six streetwise hooligans scored an immediate hit with the public, paving the way for several films starring or featuring "The Dead End Kids", the best of which was Angels With Dirty Faces (1938).In 1939, the kids splintered off into subgroups, some of them heading for Universal Studios as the "Little Tough Guys". The following year, Leo Gorcey was signed by bargain-basement Monogram Pictures for a new series of "B" pictures produced by Sam Katzman--"The East Side Kids". Gorcey assumed the leading role of Muggs McGuiness, and by the time the series had run its course after 22 pictures in 1945, he'd been joined by his old Dead End buddies Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan and Gabe Dell. Determined to get a bigger piece of the financial pie and to have more say over production, Gorcey and Hall teamed with their agent Jan Grippo to reorganize the East Side Kids as the less scruffy but no less trouble-prone "Bowery Boys". In 1946, the first Bowery Boy picture, Live Wires, was released, launching a lucrative series of low-budget features that lasted for 48 installments. The Bowery Boys personnel fluctuated in size and prominence over the next twelve years, but Leo Gorcey as malaprop-spouting, two-fisted Slip Mahoney and Huntz Hall as lame-brained Sach Jones were clearly the stars. Gorcey stayed with the series until the 1955 death of his father Bernard, who'd been cast in the supporting role of gullible sweet-shop proprietor Louie Dumbrowski in most of the films. Too grief stricken to continue, Leo bowed out of the series with Crashing Las Vegas (1956), leaving Huntz Hall to co-star in the remaining six "Bowery Boys" films with Stanley Clements. Working in films only fitfully over the next 14 years, Leo was content with managing his land holdings. By the time of his death in 1969, Leo Gorcey was financially secure thanks to TV residual payments from his 42 "Bowery Boys" features. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The East Side Kids, featuring Leo Gorcey, Gabriel Dell and Huntz Hall, star in this spirited blend of action and comedy. The kids come to the rescue of a hysterical young girl who is discovered in the apartment with a murdered man. Convinced she's not the killer, the guys hide her as they comb the neighborhood for the real murderer. However, one of the kids made the mistake of picking up the baseball bat that appears to be the murder weapon, and now the fingerprints could point the police investigation at them. 'Neath The Brooklyn Bridge also features Dave O'Brien (best known for his eccentric performance in Reefer Madness) and Noah Beery Jr.. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1948
Angels Alley was the ninth entry in Monogram's Bowery Boys series. This time around, Slip Mahoney (Leo Gorcey) welcomes his cousin Jimmy (Frankie Darro) into his home. Fresh out of jail, Jimmy takes a job with a ring of car thieves. Slip covers for Jimmy to the extent of confessing to a crime that his cousin has committed. A contrite Jimmy decides to turn the tables on the thieves, and with the help of Slip's buddies Sach (Huntz Hall), Whitey (Billy Benedict) and the rest (sweet shop owner Louie [Bernard Gorcey] isn't around for this trip), the crooks are rounded up by the cops. Any attempts by the makers of Angels Alley to pass off their film as a serious crime melodrama are dissipated when, at the end of the picture, Huntz Hall whines to Leo Gorcey "This is the last time I make a movie with you!" ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leo Gorcey, Billy Benedict, (more)
Childhood chums Rocky Sullivan (James Cagney) and Jerry Connelly (Pat O'Brien) grow up on opposite sides of the fence: Rocky matures into a prominent gangster, while Jerry becomes a priest, tending to the needs of his old tenement neighborhood. Rocky becomes a hero to a gang of teenaged boys (played by Dead End Kids Billy Halop, Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Gabriel Dell, Bobby Jordan and Bernard Punsley). Father Jerry despairs at this, asking Rocky to lay off so he can keep the kids on the straight and narrow. Then Rocky's crooked business associates George Bancroft and Humphrey Bogart attempt to end Father Jerry's radio campaign against the rackets by killing the priest. Rocky (whose cynical outlook on life has been softened by his romance with true-blue Anne Sheridan) shoots them down and takes it on the lam. Arrested and convicted of murder, Rocky sits smugly on death row, fully intending to go to the chair with a smile on his face. A few moments before the execution, Father Jerry pleads with Rocky to "turn yellow" so that the tenement kids will despise his memory. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, (more)
- 1949
The 15th film in the Bowery Boys series, Angels in Disguise combines lowbrow humor with "film noir" melodramatics. Bowery boys Slip (Leo Gorcey) and Sach (Huntz Hall) are copy boys for a crusading newspaper, whose publisher (Ray Walker) is trying to crush the notorious "Loop Gang". When the boys' policeman pal Gabe (Gabriel Dell) is wounded in a shoot-out with the Loop mob, Slip and Sach take it upon themselves to expose the gang. All the Bowery boys (including sweet-shop proprietor Louie) disguise themselves as gangsters and infiltrate the Loop Gang, which is run by a young, erudite intellectual (Mickey Ryan). The scheme to destroy the Loop mob from the inside is flummoxed by the crusading newspaper's cartoonist, actually a member of the crooked gang who has been sending out coded tips in his comic strip. The Loop Gang gives the Bowery Boys a real "going over", but the cops arrive in time to round up the crooks. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1941
Widowed mother Charlotte Lord (Katherine Alexander) would like to marry wealthy Guy Barton (Sidney Blackmer), but Bartons' avaricious ex-wife Sybil (Binnie Barnes) insists upon contesting their recent Mexican divorce. Charlotte's daughters Jane (Jane Frazee), Leni (Leni Lynn), and Marilyn (Marilyn Hare) conspire to put Sybil out of the way by pairing her off with Steve Nelson (Edward Norris), gilding the lily by convincing Nelson to pose as Argentine cattle baron Don Pablo Viscente (Gilbert Roland). The ruse almost works, but then the real Don Pablo shows up. Undaunted, the Lord girls concoct a variety of additional schemes to smooth the path of romance for their mother and the eligible Mr. Barton. And on and on it goes, slapstick set pieces alternating with musical numbers for the remainder of the film's 72 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Binnie Barnes, Gilbert Roland, (more)
- 1944
A lesser East Side Kids effort, Block Busters looks more like an elongated 2-reel comedy than a 6-reel feature. This time, Muggs (Leo Gorcey), Glimpy (Huntz Hall) and the rest of the Kids set about to "Americanize" affable young French refugee Jean Rogers (Frederick Pressel). But after a disastrous baseball game, Jean is chased out of the neighborhood and told not to return. Eventually, the Kids patch things up with Jean and play a championship game on behalf of their sick friend Tobby (Bill Chaney). Featured in the cast are Leo Gorcey's then-wive Kay Marvis, his father Bernard Gorcey (in a dry run for his Bowery Boys character Louie Dumbrowski), and, sadly, former comedy great Harry Langdon, wasted in a minor role as an undertaker. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, (more)
- 1950
Blonde Dynamite was the 17th of Monogram/Allied Artists' 48 Bowery Boys entries. This time, the boys have transformed Louie's Sweet Shop into an escort bureau. Louie (Bernard Gorcey) has little to say on the matter, since he's on vacation and knows nothing about this new business enterprise. The boys' steadiest customers are a group of gorgeous ladies who are in the employ of a bank-robbery gang. The girls keep Slip (Leo Gorcey), Sach (Huntz Hall) and the others busy while their confederates dig a tunnel between the sweet shop and a neighboring bank. Gabe Marino (Gabe Dell), a bank employee, manages to alert the police, but it's lame-brained Sach who turns out (inadvertently, of course) to be the hero of the hour. One of the gun molls in Blonde Dynamite is Beverlee Crane, who in the 1930s was teamed with her twin sister Bettie Mae to deliver the "talking credits" for Hal Roach's Laurel & Hardy, Our Gang and Charley Chase comedies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, (more)
- 1950
Blues Busters is a first-rate entry in the otherwise hit-and-miss "Bowery Boys" series. After having his tonsils removed, Sach (Huntz Hall) finds himself blessed with a beautiful singing voice. He becomes a popular crooner, inspiring Slip (Leo Gorcey) to convert Louie's sweet shop into a swanky nightclub (in the Bowery?) Rival club owner Craig Stevens tricks Sach into signing with him, which causes a rift in the lifelong friendship between Sach and Slip. But Sach returns to his old friends in the end--just in time for his mellifluous singing voice to disappear, replaced by his old familiar nasal bray. In addition to the surprising presence of the classy Craig Stevens (eight years removed from Peter Gunn), Blues Busters boasts fine supporting performances from a brace of favorite B-picture babes, Phyllis Coates and Adele Jergens. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, (more)
- 1942
This happy musical chronicles the exploits of a suicidal composer who is desolate after someone swiped his newest musical comedy. He is saved by three young people who join up with the writer's daughter and put on the production. With the help of a pugnacious cab driver, they manage to draw their audience from the composer's rival. Featured in the show is the extravaganza number "Ballad for Americans", which was directed by Busby Berkely. Other songs include "I Hate the Conga", "Alone", "You Are My Lucky Star", and "I Love Ya". ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Virginia Weidler, Ray McDonald, (more)
- 1951
Mistakenly believing that America has gone to war, the Bowery Boys (Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Billy Benedict, et al.) join the army. Our heroes get off to a bad start when they crash a party at the Officer's Club, a breach of protocol that earns them the undying enmity of Sergeant Frisbie (the ever-flustered Donald MacBride). Meanwhile, sweet-shop owner Louie Dumbrowski (Bernard Gorcey), feeling lonely without the boys around to cheat him out of sodas and candy, heads down to the recruiting office to enlist. Because of his stellar World War I record, Louie is promoted to the boys' commanding officer, a job he takes quite seriously. A gang of sinister spies kidnaps Louie in the hope of extracting vital top secrets, but the boys come to the rescue. Even non-Bowery Boys fans will find this an enjoyable diversion; the film was one of the best of the series' several "service" comedies (Let's Go Navy, Here Come the Marines, Clipped Wings, etc.). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, (more)
Former Dead End Kid Huntz Hall made his first appearance with the East Side Kids in 1941's Bowery Blitzkrieg. The plotline concentrates on Danny Breslin (Bobby Jordan), a good kid in danger of going bad thanks to the influence of two-bit crook Monk Martin (Bobby Stone). When Danny is disqualified from the upcoming Golden Gloves boxing championship, his pal Mugs (Leo Gorcey) takes his place. Thanks to the chicanery of Monk and his gambling cronies, the public becomes convinced that Mugs intends to throw the fight. Nothing could be further from the truth, but for a while it looks as though both Mugs and Danny will be kayoed permanently by the villains. As "Limpy", Huntz Hall doesn't have much to do except act as Mugs' dimwitted stooge; Hall's unique comic gifts wouldn't fully blossom until the next East Side Kids entry, Spooks Run Wild. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leo Gorcey, Bobby Jordan, (more)
- 1946
Although Bowery Bombshell was the third entry in Monogram's "Bowery Boys" series, it was released second in several regions. The trouble begins when Sach (Huntz Hall) is photographed leaving a bank at the same time as a group of bank robbers. The police think that Sach was involved with the crooks, forcing him to stay under wraps while his pal Slip (Leo Gorcey) and the rest of the Bowery Boys try to track down the genuine thieves. Posing as out-of-town gangsters, Slip and his pals win the confidence of slick gang boss Ace Deuce (Sheldon Leonard), but their subterfuge is destined to fail, and fail spectacularly. The story goes off on a new tangent towards the end when Ace's hulking henchman Moose McCall (Wee Willie Davis) accidentally swallows an experimental explosive, thereby turning himself into a human bomb. A moderately funny entry in the series, Bowery Bombshell might have been better with less plot and more logic. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vince Barnett, Billy Benedict, (more)
- 1953
To clear their pal Lt. Dave Moreno (Todd Karns) of a treason charge, "Bowery Boys" Slip Mahoney (Leo Gorcey) and Sach Jones (Huntz Hall) join the air force. Thanks to a bureaucratic foul-up, Sach is assigned to the womens' barracks. Once the comic value of this situation is milked dry, the boys set to help Dave, not knowing that his arrest is merely a subterfuge to flush out the real traitors. Slip and Sach wind up in a runaway airplane, which fortutiously lands just outside the spies' headquarters. Director Edward Bernds and cowriter Elwood Ullman, both veterans of the Three Stooges 2-reelers, treat Slip and Sach as out-and-out buffoons in Clipped Wings, which doesn't lend much credibility to the story but does provide plenty of laughs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1951
The Bowery Boys tackle a phony seance racket in Ghost Chasers. The cliched proceedings and bromidic comedy routines are enlivened by the novelty of a genuine ghost: a jovial spirit named Edgar (Lloyd Corrigan), who narrates the film. Only the dopey Sach (Huntz Hall) can see or hear Edgar, which gives Sach a leg-up as he and the other Boys investigate the crooks' operation. When Slip (Leo Gorcey) and the others are trapped by the villains in a room slowly filling with water, Edgar uses his magic chalk to rescue them. No more expensive or elaborate than any other Bowery Boys epic, Ghost Catchers nonetheless has a goofy charm that raises it above the norm. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1947
Bowery Buckaroos would have the viewer believe that pint-sized sweetshop proprietor Louie Dumbrowski (Bernard Gorcey), perennial patsy for the Bowery Boys, is actually notorious western desperado Louie the Lout. When sheriff Luke Barlow (Russell Simpson) rides into the Bowery to arrest Louie for murder, the Boys-Slip (Leo Gorcey), Sach (Huntz Hall), Whitey (Billy Benedict), Gabe (Gabriel Dell) and the rest-head to Hangman's Hollow to prove Louie's innocence. They also intend to "prosecute for gold" on behalf of Catherine Briggs (Julie Gibson), the daughter of Louie's murdered partner, using a map painted on Sach's back to guide them to a lost gold mine. While posing as rough, tough westerners, the Boys discover that saloon owner Blackjack (Jack Norman) was responsible for the death of Catherine's dad. Forcing a confession out of Blackjack, the boys save Louie's hide and collect their share of the gold-but their good fortune is, as always, very short-lived. A mild but enjoyable western spoof, Bowery Buckaroos is kept afloat throughout by a breezy sense of the ridiculous: At one point, Indian actor Iron Eyes Cody surveys the situation and mutters "Something not kosher here!" ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, (more)
- 1944
By the time Bowery Champs came out, the East Side Kids had become so domesticated that they actually had jobs. Muggs (Leo Gorcey), for example, works as a newspaper copy boy, and even aspires to be a crime reporter. He gets his chance when a wealthy man is murdered and the regular reporter isn't around to cover the case. Working on their own, Muggs and Glimpy (Huntz Hall) follow the trail of evidence to the victim's ex-wife Gypsy Carmen (Evelyn Brent). Hoping to get an exclusive story, the boys hide Gypsy at their clubhouse and continue their investigation. The whole thing ends up in an outsized nightclub brawl, pitting the East Siders against the actual murderer's minions. One of the most likeable entries in the "East Side Kids" series, Bowery Champs is highlighted by a running gag involving former gang member Bobby Jordan (playing himself), who spends the entire film looking for the rest of the guys. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, (more)
- 1955
It's the Bowery Boys again, in their 35th feature film. Sach (Huntz Hall) buys a battered oil lamp, which turns out to have belonged to Aladdin some 2000 years earlier. Out pops a genial genie (Eric Blore), who grants every wish of Sach and his pal Slip (Leo Gorcey). Gangsters steal the lamp, but discover that the genie won't grant any wishes unless Slip and Sach tell him to, so the baddies snatch Our Heroes as well. The boys escape by insisting that the genie take them home. He does--to his home, ancient Baghdad. Slip and Sach barely escape the scimitar of the angry Caliph; they return to the Bowery minus the genie but with their heads intact. In typical Bowery Boys fare, this entry is pepped up by the appearance of veteran comic actor Eric Blore in his final screen appearance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In their second Monogram caper, Knuckles (Dave O'Brien) and the East Side Kids (Bobby Jordan, Leo Gorcey, Sunshine Sammy Morrison, et al.) are on their way to camp in the Adirondacks when they offer a lift to Judge Parker (Forrest Taylor) and his ward Louise (Inna Gest), who are having car trouble. Much to the boys' derision, the judge is the very same who wrongly convicted Knuckles in the previous film. And if that isn't enough, the learned jurist's secluded mansion proves to be in the haunted house category complete with sliding panels, hidden passageways, and a deranged housekeeper (Minerva Urecal). When the judge is found murdered and his ward missing, henchmen Giles (Denny Moore) and Simp (Vince Barnett) naturally accuse Knuckles, who has a motive but no alibi. In their bumbling search for the judge's missing ward, the boys stumble across a prowling detective (Alden Chase), however, and the real culprit is soon unmasked to be none other than -- well, suffice it to say, the killer is the least likely candidate, the East Side Kids, Louise, and Knuckles not included. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bobby Jordan, Leo Gorcey, (more)
- 1943
Even non-fans of the East Side Kids will get a goodly share of laughs out of the 1943 series entry Clancy Street Boys. The story commences when Muggs McGinnis (Leo Gorcey) learns that his wealthy Uncle Pete (Noah Beery Sr.) is coming to town for a visit. The problem: Muggs' mom (Martha Wentworth) has claimed that she has seven children so that big-hearted Pete will continue sending much-needed money to her fatherless family. To avoid disillusioning Pete, Muggs' pals are enlisted to pose as his siblings, with Glimpy (Huntz Hall) posing as sister Annabelle (it is explained that Scruno, the black member of Muggs' gang, was "adopted"). Uncle Pete and his pretty daughter Judy (Amelita Ward) are taken in by the ruse until local crook George Mooney (Rick Vallin) spills the beans. But all is forgiven when Muggs, Glimpy and company rescue Pete from kidnappers. Best bit: About to go into a huddle, the East Side Kids turn "en masse" towards the camera, politely tip their hats and say "Excuse us!" ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, (more)
- 1953
When the Bowery Boys go to visit a friend on an Air Force base, they are pulled into an investigation to discover why their friend is being accused of treason. Accidentally enlisting in the service, they continue their investigation and eventually stumble on a Nazi plot. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, (more)
- 1945
One of the more remarkable aspects of this "East Side Kids" comedy is that, for the first time, one of the "Kids" is a girl, played by June Carlson. Otherwise, it's standard stuff, with the Kids forming a shaky friendship with police commissioner James Mitchell (Addison Mitchell). Muggs (Leo Gorcey), the Kids' leader, invites Mitchell's wimpy son Gilbert (Johnny Duncan) to join the gang as part of a plan to "toughen up" the boy. Unfortunately, Gilbert gets his new pals in trouble when he links up with gambler Silk Henley (George Meeker). Arrested during a confrontation with Silk, Muggs is disqualified from fighting in an upcoming boxing tournament. The chastened Gilbert takes Muggs' place in the ring, proving that he's a "right guy." Come Out Fighting was the final entry in Monogram's "East Side Kids" series; the following year, Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall and the rest would re-emerge as "The Bowery Boys." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, (more)
- 1956
In this entry in the Bowery Boys series, one of the members suddenly finds that he can predict winning numbers after he suffers an electrical shock. He and the boys take this special talent and use it on a TV game show. They win a trip to Las Vegas. Unfortunately, his winning streak attracts the interest of local gangsters who trick the clairvoyant lad into believing he killed a man. They use this to blackmail him into forking over his winnings. The gang comes to his aid. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
