Clipped Wings

By the early 50's, The Bowery Boys post-WWII formula had become a well-oiled machine. The "Boys" consisted of stars Leo Gorcey and Huntz Hall, along with group members David Gorcey (here billed as "Condon") and Bennie Bartlett for reaction shots. And of course Leo's father Bernard Gorcey, as Louie, owner of Louie's Sweet Shop, where the gang hangs out. Comedy pros such as Elwood Ullman and Edward Bernds were working their magic with the series, and Monogram/Allied Artists usually surrounded the boys with talented casts of lesser-known players (such as Renie Riano, hilarious as the hatchet-faced WAC leader who orders Huntz Hall around) and old favorites (such as Lyle Talbot, and unbilled, Tris Coffin and Arthur "Canadian Mounties VS Atomic Invaders" Space). Basically, by this time in the series, the Boys were put into a certain situation or locale or profession, and they were let loose. Here they are in the air force (by accident, of course), with Huntz Hall mistakenly assigned to the female WAC unit, and they help a friend in the air force catch some spies (by accident, of course!). If you like Gorcey's constant malapropisms, Hall's rubber-faced, Shemp Howard-style maniacal antics, and the wonderful physical comedy of both, you will enjoy this film. I enjoyed these as a child, and now my children are enjoying them just as much. Gorcey and Hall left a wonderful body of work, and they were still on a roll in 1953 when this was released. They did three or four films a year and were favorites among exhibitors as they brought in regular crowds who couldn't wait for the next entry. Classic slapstick never ages, and this film should bring a smile to any slapstick lover's face --whether you are seven or seventy.

Sach is pretending to be a flyboy. Neighborhood friend Dave Moreno is a real flyboy. Only he's stealing rocket secrets and gets caught. Slip and Sach are sure that he's innocent. They go to the base to support him, but they mistakenly end up in the recruitment office. They stupidly sign up for the Air Force. Sach has the same name as a female recruit and gets wrongly sent to the WACs.

This one has Sach with a bunch of beautiful babes. Let the comedic chaos begin. It's all low hanging fruits and they are too happy to pick them. WAC is the Army. WAF for the Air Force was formed in 1948. I want more with the babes and less of the espionage. They could have given more lines to the girls. There are planes and the guys get to fly one. I guess that's funny.

The Bowery Boys movies are a hit or miss kind of thing. A lot of them aren't really that good but the movies are usually pretty short so they're always worth a try. I've seen quite a few Bowery Boys movies now and I've learned that my enjoyment level lands on how annoying Sach is. I didn't watch these movies when I was a kid. A lot of my friends did and they always talked about how funny Sach was. Watching Sach now, he's usually just stupid. His antics are more annoying than anything else. The movies where Sach is funny are much better than the ones where's he's annoying. Sach is pretty funny in "Clipped Wings". That helped make it one of the better Bowery Boys movies.

The usual hi-jinks ensue when "Bowery Boys" leader Leo Gorcey (as "Slip" Mahoney) and hapless sidekick Huntz Hall (as "Sach" Jones) accidentally join the Air Force, in an effort to help a friend. The rehashed plot includes spies and such. Still, it's more fun than "Flying Wild" (1941). Regular viewers will pick up on the fact that "The Bowery Boys" lieutenant friend Todd Karns (as David "Dave" Moreno) is a stand-in for former series regular Gabriel Dell, who had appeared with the Bowery groups from 1937-1950. Mr. Dell's Gabriel "Gabe" Moreno character is closely related to the one played by Mr. Karns. Telling Mr. Hall, "You may not be an idiot, but you'll do until a real one comes along," Renie Riano plays an amusing female sergeant.

**** Clipped Wings (8/14/53) Edward Bernds ~ Huntz Hall, Leo Gorcey, Todd Karns, Renie Riano

Clipped Wings (1953)

** (out of 4)

After an Air Force buddy is arrested for selling secrets to spies, Slip (Loe Gorcey) and Sach (Huntz Hall) go to visit him but accidentally get enlisted. Soon they're wrecking havoc while trying to track down the truth behind their friend's arrest. This might have been the thirty-first entry in the series but it was only the second to feature Bernds as director and co-writer. Those familiar with the Three Stooges are going to see many familiar things here including more physical violence and of course we have Hall doing various impersonations of items you'd previously seen from Curly. I don't think this entry is nearly as good as LOOSE IN London but at least it still remains somewhat fresh and different from many of the previous films. The biggest problem is that there just aren't enough jokes that actually work. At just 65-minutes the movie has a very good pace and it actually goes by pretty quickly but we needed many more jokes. One of the best moments in the film happens when Sach accidentally gets put into a female bunker and we get countless jokes of him being the stub of the bunch. Another good moment happens later when Slip breaks in to try and get Sach out of the room but ends up causing a panic and hearing a few of the women's comments on him was quite funny. Once again both Gorcey and Hall seem to be game for everything going on as both seem more energized and each certainly helps keep this thing moving. Bernard Gorcey is back as Louie but has very little to do. Lyle Talbot appears quickly in a couple scenes but doesn't have any dialogue. Cult favorite June Vincent plays the bad girl. The ending of the film is going to remind many people of a few Abbott and Costello films and especially KEEP 'EM FLYING. While CLIPPED WINGS isn't one of the better entries in the series it at least remains someone fresh and I'm sure fans of the series will want to check it out.