Fighting Fools

"May the best gladiator submerge victorious!"

A solid Bowery Boys entry, directed by Reginald LeBorg. The gang try to stop a crooked fight-fixing racket with the aid of a boxer whose brother met with tragedy in the ring. Many of these comedies utilized drama to help them along, especially back when the boys were called The Eastside Kids. This one's an interesting blend of comedy and drama with some funny dialogue and some unconventionally serious acting (for this period) from Huntz Hall and Leo Gorcey.

Recommended for BB newbies.

*** out of ****

The Bowery Boys are scam vendors at a boxing match. Local boxer Jimmy Higgins gets killed in a rigged fight. The Boys care for Jimmy's mother. Jimmy's older brother Johnny returns vowing to take down the corrupted boxing game with help from the Boys.

The use of an outside character does diffuse some of the comedy and tension. Otherwise, this is a perfectly fine Bowery Boys film. The hot dog gag is fun but the movie doesn't have as many gags later on. I don't know if any of the Boys could be a fighter but that has the potential for great gags. I'm just recalling the many great comedians doing comedic boxing. That's what's missing from this one.

"The Bowery Boys" are hanging around the ring again, with chief Leo Gorcey (as Slip Mahoney) passing out boxing programs. Hot dog vendor Huntz Hall (as Sach), ice cream dispenser William "Billy" Benedict (as Whitey), ice cold drink holder David Gorcey (as Chuck), and popcorn salesman Benny "Bennie" Bartlett (as Butch) are also on hand. The plot involves Gorcey and the gang helping semi-regular Frankie Darro (as Johnny Higgins) crawl out of the gutter and back into the boxing ring, after his star brother suffers a terminal knockout.

With its recycling plot and characters, "Fighting Fools" is comfortable if not special. Mr. Darro does nicely with an uncommon (by this time) amount of story focus and screen time. Director Reginald Le Borg did very well with his short stint guiding the Bowery series; his just released "Trouble Makers" was good, and the forthcoming "Hold That Baby!" would be even better.

***** Fighting Fools (3/17/49) Reginald Le Borg ~ Frankie Darro, Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Teddy Infuhr

Frankie Darro, a child actor who reached screen prominence a few years before the Dead End Kids playing their kind of roles, joins with the Bowery Boys in this more serious entry in the Bowery Boys series.

The guys go into the fight managing business, especially after the middle brother of three Higgins brothers gets killed in the ring. Eldest brother Darro who was a former top ranked contender decides to make a comeback in the ring with Leo Gorcey as his manager.

The champion is managed by a crook played by Lyle Talbot who is not too squeamish about what tactics he uses to win a bout. But he can't seem to hire good help which is why the Bowery Boys outwit him in the end.

Huntz Hall gets a chance to shine in this one. The gullible and guileless Satch actually gets a chance to outwit two of Talbot's henchmen. Now can you imagine Satch outwitting anybody? What does that say about the help Talbot was hiring? You have to see the film to find out how Satch does it.

This is definitely one of the best Bowery Boys films, fans of the eternal slum kids should love it.

The difference between the BOWERY BOYS films of the 1940s, as compared to the 1950s episodes, was a heavy dose of drama, siimilar to the former EAST SIDE KIDS movies.

Here, FIGHTING FOOLS relies on a more structured plot in which a boxer is killed in the ring. The gang has to figure out whodunit, add more drama and even a side story concerning alcoholism. Frankie Darro is featured here, and in a dramatic role, going after the killers of his brother and at the same time attempting to expose corruption in the boxing arena. Also Huntz Hall has some dramatic scenes, far from his usual goofy escapades. Make no mistake, though, Leo Gorcey delivers his usual line of classic malaprops to tie this together.

Veteran B director Reginald Le Borg was called in as Monogram Pictures was trying out different directors, though William Beaudine managed the bulk of the episodes quite well, cranking out one after another, on time, watching expenses -- especially -- letting Gorcey and Hall work their ad-lib magic. A solid series entry, one of the first to be put on dvd via Warner Brothers box set. Released 2012. Check out the super color covers of each set,