Huntz Hall Movies
The 14th of 16 children born to a New York air-conditioner repairman and his wife, Henry Richard Hall was nicknamed "Huntz" because of his Teutonic-looking nose. At the ripe old age of one year, Huntz made his stage debut in Thunder on the Left. He went on to attend New York's Professional Children's School, perform in radio programs and at least one experimental TV broadcast, and sing with a youthful quintette; the last activity came to an end when he "ruined" his voice hawking peanuts at Madison Square Garden.In 1935, Hall was cast as slum-kid Dippy in Sidney Kingsley's Dead End, repeating the role in the 1937 screen version. Together with his fellow "Dead End Kids" Leo Gorcey, Gabriel Dell, Billy Halop, Bobby Jordan and Bernard Punsley. Hall was signed by Warner Bros in 1938. In between such Warners' assignments as Angels With Dirty Faces (1938) and They Made Me a Criminal (1939), Hall co-starred with Halop, Dell, Punsley and Leo Gorcey's brother David in Universal's Little Tough Guy, the first of many "Dead End Kid" spin-offs. During his years at Universal, Hall began developing his trademarked goofy comic style, which came to full fruition when he was reunited with Leo Gorcey in Sam Katzman's East Side Kids series at Monogram. Previously, his character name (and character) had changed from film to film: at Monogram, Hall was consistently cast as Gorcey's perennial punching bag Glimpy. Occasionally, he accepted non-"East Side Kids" assignments in the mid-1940s, earning high critical praise for his performance as Carraway in Lewis Milestone's A Walk in the Sun.
In 1946, Hall, Gorcey and producer Jan Grippo created the Bowery Boys series for Monogram. Hall played the increasingly buffoonish Horace Debussy "Sach" Jones in 48 inexpensive but profitable "Bowery Boys" entries, graduating to top billing when Gorcey left the series in 1955. After the final Bowery Boys entry in 1958, he appeared in nightclubs and dinner-theater productions. Thanks to his 10% ownership of the Bowery Boys series and his investments in offshore oil, Hall was wealthy enough to retire in the early 1960s, but he was never able to completely divest himself of the urge to perform. His post-"Sach" appearances include a semi-heavy role in Ivan Tors' Gentle Giant (1977), regular stints in the weekly TV series The Chicago Teddy Bears (1971), The Ghost Busters (1975) and Uncle Croc's Block (1977), his unexpectedly effective portrayal of movie mogul Jesse Lasky in Ken Russell's Valentino (1977), and any number of supporting roles in such R-rated fare as Gas Pump Girls and Auntie Lee's Meat Pies. He also turned director for the made-for-TV feature Lost Island (1979). Hall was appointed by Princess Grace to Monaco's Council on Drug Abuse in the 1970s. Huntz Hall remained active on the nostalgia-convention circuit into the 1990s until his death in early 1999. ~ 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
Harry Brown's honest, unsentimental WW2 novel A Walk in the Sun has been effectively adapted for the screen by Robert Rossen. Dana Andrews stars as Sgt. Tyne, a platoon squad leader in Italy who ends up assuming command of his platoon after a series of deaths. As they prepare to attack an isolated Nazi-held farmhouse, each of the infantymen reveals his true character as he dwells upon his background and contemplates the job at hand. The film's effectiveness lies in the non-cliched characterizations by a carefully chosen all-male cast. Huntz Hall of "East Side Kids" fame is particularly good in a scene wherein he argues over whether the human body or the leaf is the most complicated natural structure. Director Lewis Milestone's use of a ballad to link the action predates High Noon by some seven years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dana Andrews, Richard Conte, (more)
- 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
- 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)
- 1938
- NR
Twenty years after the Armistice, doughboy Stan Laurel continues guarding a trench in France--simply because no one told him the war was over. His rescue coincides with the first wedding anniversary of his old pal Oliver Hardy. Heading to town to pick up a gift for his wife (Minna Gombell), Ollie discovers that Stan has been located and is now residing at the Veteran's Home. The two buddies share a warm reunion, whereupon Ollie invites Stan home to enjoy a "big thick juicy steak" prepared by Mrs. Hardy. As a result of Ollie's hospitality, Stan inadvertently wrecks Ollie's brand new car; the boys spend half the afternoon trudging up and down 13 flights of stairs; Ollie gets into a fight with belligerent Jimmy Finlayson; Mrs. Hardy angrily walks out on her husband; the boys manage to blow up the kitchen while preparing their own meal; and Hardy's beautiful next-door neighbor (Patricia Ellis) ends up minus her dress in Ollie's steamer trunk, with both Mrs. Hardy and the neighbor's husband, big-game hunter Billy Gilbert, converging upon our bethumped heroes. Essentially a remake of the 1929 Laurel and Hardy two-reeler Unnaccustomed as We Are, Block-Heads is a brilliant parade of virtuoso comedy turns. The best bits of business include the mountain of bean cans representing Stan's two decades in the trenches; the "white magic" gags involving Stan's pulling down the shadow of a window shade, producing a glass of water from his pocket and smoking his thumb like a pipe; and an uproarious "black" joke involving Ollie's mistaken belief than Stan has lost a leg in the war. The film sustains its high level of humor for 56 of its 57 minutes, faltering only in its disappointing closing gag (borrowed from the 1928 short We Faw Down). Among the writers of this chucklefest was former silent comedian Harry Langdon. Erroneously announced in 1938 as Laurel and Hardy's final feature, Block-Heads was indeed the last of the team's genuine classics. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, (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)
- 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
- 1945
In this high-spirited musical comedy, J. Newport Bates (Eddie Bracken) is a millionaire who finds women are only interested in him for his money. When he becomes infatuated with Teddy Collins (Veronica Lake), a cigarette girl, he tries to hide his true identity from her, hoping she'll be interested in him for himself rather than his bank account. However, once Teddy figures out who he is, Bates drops her, and he is about to give up on women entirely when he meets Sue Thomas (Marjorie Reynolds), a nice girl who isn't interested in his money (or at least not yet). Musical satirists Spike Jones and his City Slickers also appear, though most prints are missing a bit from one of their musical numbers: a verse from a song that made fun of Eleanor Roosevelt was clipped after the film's initial engagements. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Veronica Lake, Sonny Tufts, (more)
- 1939
Call a Messenger is the second entry in Universal's "Dead End Kids/Little Tough Guys" series. In this one, the Little Tough Guys (Hally Chester, Harris Berger, David Gorcey) cede most of the screen time to Dead Enders Billy Halop (as Jimmy Hogan) and Huntz Hall (as Pig). When he and his pals are caught robbing their local branch of the Postal Union, Jimmy valiantly takes the blame for his friends' action. Given a choice between going to reform school and taking an honest job as a messenger boy, Jimmy opts for the latter-and before long, all of his buddies are wearing messenger uniforms. With the help of his Postal Union confreres, Jimmy manages to thwart the criminal activities of his ex-con brother Ed (Victor Jory) and Ed's gangster partner Chuck Walsh (Larry "Buster" Crabbe). Billy Benedict makes his first appearance as a Dead End Kid/East Side Kid/Bowery Boy in Call a Messenger, while comedy relief is provided by veteran funster El Brendel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy Halop, Huntz Hall, (more)
- 1948
This suspenseful crime drama reenacts the famed 1947 prison break out of the Canon City, Colorado corrections facility and features the actual warden, Roy Best playing himself. The trouble begins when one prisoner manages to fashion a crude pistol. Enlisting the aid of eleven others, they successfully escape and terrorize the town until the warden and his men manage to round up the survivors and bring them back. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ray Bennett, Warden Roy Best, (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)
