Bert Lawrence Movies

Bob Hope plays a 19th-century insurance agent whose miserable sales record prompts his boss to send him out West, where he can (supposedly) do little harm. Hope manages to sell a $100,000 life insurance policy--to outlaw Jesse James (Wendell Corey), one of the worst "risks" in history! In his efforts to get the policy back, Hope finds himself being mistaken for Jesse, which is all part of the outlaw's plan to get Hope killed and thereby collect the policy money himself. But with the help of beauteous Rhonda Fleming (the essentially honest beneficiary to Jesse's policy), Hope gains a reputation as a lightning-fast gunslinger. In the inevitable shoot-out with the James gang, Hope is helped out by several famous Westerners, including Gary Cooper, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, James "Maverick" Garner, and even Tonto (Jay Silverheels). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this entry in the long-running "Bowery Boys" series Sach sells his soul to the Devil so he can atone for spending a charity fund at the track. The bargain enables the young man to successfully predict winning horses at the track. Soon Sach finds himself pursued by greedy mobsters who want him to work with them. Sach demurs and then ends up riding a horse in the big race. Despite his efforts to force the steed to slow down and lose, it wins. Fortunately, the horse is disqualified because Sach was an illegal rider. This has the added benefit of proving the Devil wrong and nullifying their contract. To pay for his crimes, Sach must work in a diner. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The Bowery Boys find themselves up to their unwashed necks in international intrigue when they agree to help the exiled king (Sig Ruman) and the lovely princess (Lisa Davis) of the mythical country of Truania. It seems that sweet shop owner Louie (Bernard Gorcey) was born in Truania and is still loyal to its monarchy, thus Bowery boys Slip (Leo Gorcey) and Sach (Huntz Hall) are entrusted with a valuable half-coin that will be conjoined with its other half when it is safe for the king to return to his homeland. The king's "faithful" retinue (Leon Askin and Veola Vonn) turn out to be traitors, hoping to trap the king by doctoring the coin. Plots and counterplots are hatched in and around Louie's sweet shop, but the Bowery Boys vanquish the traitors and save the throne. The best scenes involve Sach, who is periodically put under a hypnotic spell by the wily female traitor. Spy Chasers isn't exactly John Le Carre, but as a Bowery Boys epic it's one the best. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Jalopy represents the first Bowery Boys film to be released by Allied Artists, though in essence it's still a Monogram "B"-picture. It all begins when Sach Jones (Huntz Hall) develops a new fuel formula that will enable a racing car to go around the track in 11 seconds! Sach's pal Slip Mahoney (Leo Gorcey) uses the formula to win several jalopy races, thereby allowing sweet-shop owner Louie (Bernard Gorcey) to pay his debts. Gamblers try to muscle in on the Bowery Boys' winning streak, but to no avail. On the day of the obligatory Big Race, Slip is forced to enter his jalopy without the precious fuel. At the last minute, Sach arrives with a new batch--which only works when the car is shifted in reverse! Heavily reliant upon stock footage from the concurrently produced Allied Artists feature Roar of the Crowd, Jalopy is a typically nonsensical Bowery Boys entry, right down to the surreal climactic gag. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Bowery Boys go to college in Hold That Line. Things haven't changed much since the Marx Bros. went to college in Horse Feathers: academic achievement still takes second place to football. The story shifts into gear when Sach (Huntz Hall) swallows a chemical-lab mixture which turns him into a super-athlete. Sach's pal Slip (Leo Gorcey) parlays this metamorphosis into an unbroken winning streak for the university's gridiron team. Football star Biff Wallace (John Bromfield), who has bet heavily on the opposing team, arranges for Sach to be kidnapped just before the Big Game, but eventually sees the error of his ways and tells Slip where to locate his pal. The climax is right out of Harold Lloyd's The Freshman, but if one must steal, steal from the best. Most of Hold That Line was filmed on location at Los Angeles City College, not far from the Bowery Boys' headquarters at Monogram Studios. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Bowery Boys once more frolic about in an "old dark house" setting in Ghost Chasers. The story finds Slip Mahoney (Leo Gorcey) and his gang endeavoring to expose a phoney seance racket. Slip's pal Sach is aided and abetted in this endeavor by a genuine ghost, a jovial 17th-century wraith named Edgar (Lloyd Corrigan). Naturally, no one but Sach can see or hear Edgar, leading to any number of delightfully comic complications. Director William "One-Take" Beaudine effectively mixes humor with horror, sustaining audience interest for a full seven reels. Ghost Chasers should not be confused with such previous and future Bowery Boys endeavors as Spook Busters and Spook Chasers, though many of the gags and comic setpieces are pretty much the same. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Lucky Losers is an uncharacteristically dramatic entry in Monogram's "Bowery Boys" comedy series. Incredibly enough, Slip Mahoney (Leo Gorcey) and Sach Jones (Huntz Hall) have gotten jobs in the office of Wall Street broker David J. Thurston (Selmer Jackson). Soon afterward, Thurston apparently commits suicide (not because of the boys' ineptitude, as one might suspect). Slip and Sach's TV-reporter pal Gabe Moreno (Gabriel Dell) suspects that Thurston was murdered, prompting the boys to search for clues in the dead man's office. The evidence trail leads to a gambling house, where Slip and Sach secure work as croupiers. Learning that their new boss, Bruce McDermott (Lyle Talbot), was somehow connected to Thurston, the boys report this to Gabe, who makes the information public--and gets beaten up for his troubles. Now it's up to Slip, Sach and the rest of the Bowery Boys to expose the protection racket in which McDermott is involved. There's too much plot and not enough laughs in this "Bowery Boys" entry; Fortunately, Leo Gorcey and Huntz Hall are in top form, making the most of their very few comic opportunities. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

No good deed goes unpunished in the "Bowery Boys" entry Triple Trouble. When Slip (Leo Gorcey), Sach (Huntz Hall) and the rest of the Bowery Boys attempt to stop a robbery, it is they who wind up in prison. Once behind bars, the boys learn of an escape plan, but when they try to relay this information to the warden, they're threatened with solitary confinement. And when Slip and Sach try to sabotage a short-wave radio that is being used by one of the prisoners to orchestrate burglaries on the outside, our two heroes are thrown into solitary. Even poor sweet-shop owner Louie (Bernard Gorcey) is not spared; running into the street and calling for help after being robbed, Louie is told by the beat cop that he risks arrest for disturbing the peace! Amazingly, the Bowery Boys manage to survive all these knocks and bring the film's genuine bad guys to justice. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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

A strong lineup of guest stars enhances the enjoyment of the Columbia B-plus musical Time Out for Rhythm. The somewhat futuristic storyline finds producers Dan Collins (Rudy Vallee), Mike Armstrong (Richard Lane) and Off-Beat Davis (Allen Jenkins) lining up talent for a series of television specials. Trouble brews when Collins selects singers Kitty Brown (Ann Miller) and Joan Merrill (playing herself) to star in his upcoming show, while Armstrong hires Frances Lewis (Rosemary Lane) for the same purpose. The plot is happily forgotten when the specialty acts begin parading before the camera. The highlights include a Busby Berkeley-ish musical production number featuring Glen Gray and His Casa Loma Orchestra, and the Three Stooges' classic "Maharaja" routine ("Ma Ha? Ah Ha!") ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide