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IT IS PERHAPS one of the greatest of contradictions in Film History that a very serious and socially conscious a Stage Play and resulting adaptation to the movie version of DEAD END should have sired, not a greater understanding of juvenile delinquency, but rather years and tears of comedy. It doesn't matter what the name of the group (although the earlier movies were a little more serious than farcical), there was always a great resemblance to the rest of the other series films.

SO IT WAS that The Dead End Kids begot The Little Tough Guys, the East Side Kids Followed and the terminus of the family tree was the now grown-up, not kids or teens, but young men known as the Bowery Boys. These have proved to be particularly durable and popular over the years. There were four Bowery Boys movies released during this Baby Boomer's childhood in the 1950's and we saw many of them at either the Ogden or the Hi-Way theatres here o Chicago's Southside ("the Baddest Part of town")

IN THE EARLY 1960's, the series came to television and we recall their being shown every Wednesday afternoon over ABC Channel 7, WBKB (now WLS).

AS FOR THIS entry that we are reviewing today, BOWERY BUCKAROOS, we do remember it well from TV and have always considered it to be one of the best of the series; as ell as a favourite. There are several reasons for such honors.

FIRST OF ALL, it is generally a rule of thumb that earlier entries in a series, be that TV or "B" movies, are usually the better and more meticulously crafted and more expensive looking installments. This assertion is certainly evident in this 1947 production. There are larger casts., more and varied sets & locations.

FURTHERMORE, WHEN ONE views an earlier edition of the series, you have more of the original "Kids" from DEAD END in the cast. BOWERY BUCKAROOS has the talents of both Bobby Jordan and Gabriel Dell in addition to the two featured players, Leo Gorcey (Slip) and Huntz Hall (Sach). David Gorcey and Billy Benedict round out the cast.

IN ADDITION TO the above mentioned reasons, this movie adds the elements of a dream sequence as well as a lively spoof of the Western "Cowboy" picture. Although we really enjoyed most of the entries into this now venerable series and they did run the table in subjects to spoof (Jungle pictures, War pictures, Detective & Cops, Boxing & Wrestling, etc.), they never did it so well and enjoyably.

IT WOULD BE a grave injustice to close out our dissertation without mentioning the movie's one very unique bit of musical contribution to the Bowery Boys series. No Schultz, we're not talking about any of the incidental music (probably stock),nor the series latter day appropriation of "Hail, Hail The Gang's All Here" as its theme.

INSTEAD WE WANTED to draw one's attention to the opening solo performance of "Louie the Lout" as performed by the Sweet Shop proprietor. Louie Dombrowski It's both entertaining and functional; as it adds to the story, provides us with some exposition and brings one to the threshold of being ready to be entertained. That's precisely why we watch a Bowery Boys movie to begin with.

AND FOR THOSE not already aware, Bernard Gorcey (Louie), veteran actor of the legitimate theater, was the real life father of real life brothers, Leo & David Gorcey; being Slip and Chuck respectively.

The eighth Bowery Boys film from Monogram has Louie the Sweet Shop owner wanted for murder from his days living out west. Louie explains to the Bowery Boys how he was framed, which leads Slip and the others to decide to head out west to clear Louie's name. There's cowboys and Indians and a treasure map in this one, as well as a twist ending that will either make you laugh or have you throwing something at the screen.

Fun work from Bernard Gorcey as Louie in the beginning of the movie, including singing an adorable song called "Louie the Lout." The guest stars include Iron Eyes Cody, Russell Simpson, Minerva Urecal, and Julie Gibson. The Boys themselves (Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan, Gabriel Dell, William Benedict, David Gorcey) are all good. This is the last Bowery Boys film for Bobby Jordan, who had been with the team since their Dead End beginnings. He grew tired of being a background player while Leo Gorcey and Huntz Hall got the lion's share of the funny material (and profits). After this he did mostly TV work for the rest of his career before dying of cirrhosis at the age of 42. A sad end for an underrated talent. Ironically, it was Jordan introducing the boys to Jan Grippo that got the Bowery Boys series started. Grippo would act as producer on the first 23 Bowery Boys films. Anyway, as Slip Mahoney would say, "trivial trigonometries aside" this is a fun entry in the series with the Boys doing their shtick in a different setting than New York.

One of the earlier chapters of the bower boy adventures. All three gorceys in this one.. leo, david, and dad. This time, the boys decide to take a trip out west, to find louie's lost gold. Suddenly, we're back in time, in the old west, trying to clear louie's name, from some misunderstanding. All the ingredients of a regular western... a marshall, a hanging, a secret map, pretty girls singing in the saloon. It's all pretty good. Fast moving script, at only 66 minutes. They even got iron eyes and chief yowlachie! It's all done tongue in cheek, with a sense of humor. Especially that ending. Directed by the usual director, bill beaudine. Co-stars julie gibson, minerva urecal.

And darn proud of it! BOWERY BUCKAROOS actually gave Leo Gorcey's real-life dad, Bernard (as Louie), a sizeable role, which he always wanted in the first place. Here sweetshop owner Louie stands accused of murdering an old mining partner, forcing the Bowery Boys to head west to right a terrible wrong! How Louie wound up in the west is shear poetic license, as he was supposedly a born and bread citizen of the Bowery! Go Figure! Behind the scenes, according to Gorcey, his dad was forever threatening to quit the series because his role was not big enough, and keep in mind that his son was EXECUTIVE PRODUCER! There's also the rather interesting footnote, according to one of the supporting players, that Gorcey would snag funny lines from other actors! Apparently, he got a dressing down for what he did. Did it stop him? Not quite. According to director Edward Bernds, who directed several of the Bowery Boys films in the 1950s, Gorcey took the lead and, with the lead, most of the laughs, of course splitting the winnings with co-star Huntz Hall. He later concluded that Gorcey, in his own way, was quite clever and kept the series running strong on one-liners and comedy. Lots of cowboys and Indians in this one, courtesy of Monogram Pictures, which aside from the Bowery Boys, made a fortune off its western production unit. Special guest stars include veterans Iron Eyes Cody, Chief Yowlachie (as Chief High-Octane!), western heavies Black Jack O'Shea and Bud Osbourne. Nice supporting role by series regular Minerva Urecal as Kate Barlow, a sort of "mature" Miss Kitty from GUNSMOKE! This, unfortunately, was Bobby Jordan's final appearance in the series, after seven years, beginning with the East Side kids in 1940. Jordan's roles grew increasingly smaller, as he was just about hanging around, so he decided to strike out on his own. Some biographers claim it was a mistake as his roles in other films were also minor, and he may have been typecast as being one of the Bowery Boys in the first place. Gabe Dell, likewise, went solo a few years later, however, he made it a point to re-direction his career, attending acting classes and made a successful return to Broadway and then back to Hollywood. Best of the best. You ain't seen nothin' yet UNTIL you see and "hear" Louie sing "Louie the Lout!" You're darn tootin'! One of about eight Bowery Boys series entries in Warner Brothers dvd box sets, which have noticeably gone down in price over the years as they can be quite expensive.

This Mongram release has the Bowery Boys going out west to Hangman Hollow to clear Louie of an old murder charge. It seems that in his younger days Louie had found a gold mine while prospecting, but was accused of shooting his partner in the back. And, Louie had the map to find the mine tattooed on his back, or, as Slip says, "tabooed" on his back. The gang springs in to action, arriving out west decked out ten gallon hats and six guns.

Sach and Slip once again dominate most of the movie with their slapstick monkey shines. Gabriel Dell is on hand as a card sharp who Slip sends undercover as gunfighter/gambler The Klondike Kid.

Guest stars include Minerva Urecal, Russell Simpson, Chief Yowlachie, and Iron Eyes Cody.

The funniest scenes occur when the Boys head out west with their beat up jalopy tricked out like a covered wagon being pulled by a longhorn steer. And Slip's parlay with the first Indians they meet is a real hoot.

Bowery Buckaroos is a typical entry the series while it was being put out by Monogram Studios.