Dig That Uranium

In a noticeably well-performed (and uncredited) opening, former "Our Gang" member Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer (as Shifty Robertson) arrives at Bernard Gorcey (as Louie Dumbrowsky)'s ice cream parlor and sweet shop, after being "found" by Huntz Hall (as Horace Debussy "Sach" Jones). Promising they will be millionaires, Mr. Switzer sells Leo Gorcey (as Terrence Aloysius "Slip" Mahoney) and "The Bowery Boys" his uranium mine. The deed is placed in the senior Gorcey's name (as he put up the $500). Of course, the trio, plus secondary "Bowery Boys" David "Condon" Gorcey (as Chuck) and Benny "Bennie" Bartlett (as Butch), don't know they've been flimflammed - but, the land proves to be more valuable than originally thought…

This was the last appearance of Bernard Gorcey (father of Leo and David); sadly, he died following a car accident, just before the release of "Dig That Uranium". The elder Gorcey performs well herein, and had become the most valuable supporting player in "The Bowery Boys" series. Leader of the pack Leo Gorcey would only last only one more film, which was thought to be due to his father's death; however, it appears he might be having problems, even now (before "Crashing Las Vegas").

Carl Switzer (a murder victim in 1959) performs his opening so well, it's a shame he wasn't asked to work more often. Earlier, Switzer worked with present "Bowery Boy" Bartlett and former "Dead End Kid" Billy Halop in the "East Side Kids" imitation "Gas House Kids" gang. Raymond Hatton (as Hank 'Mac' McKenzie) and the rest of the cast provide more reasons to watch an otherwise mediocre movie.

***** Dig That Uranium (12/25/55) Edward Bernds ~ Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bernard Gorcey, Raymond Hatton

Now granted that the IQ level of The Bowery Boys isn't stratospheric despite Leo Gorcey's sophisticated linguistics, but even Slip and Satch should know better than to buy a mine from somebody known as Shifty.

What could they expect from Carl Switzer as this Shifty character. Yet the boys pack up and go to the desert, financed of course by the ever hapless Louie Dumbrowsky with Geiger counter in hand looking for uranium.

Of course they run into the usual crooks led by Harry Lauter with henchmen Myron Healey and Tom Keene who are almost as bad as the boys are. They convince themselves that the Bowery Boys have a uranium strike and the guys have to go through the usual routines to win the battle, but lose the war because you know they inevitably go back to The Bowery and we see them hanging around Louie's Sweet Shop.

Which is what makes Dig That Uranium so poignant because this was Bernard Gorcey's farewell film, he was killed in automobile accident right after the film was made. But Bernard had one of his finest hours in The Bowery Boys series in a poker game with the villain where sitting in the middle of the bad guys he gets dealt a winning end when they start passing cards back and forth under the table not knowing he's a middle man.

Mary Beth Hughes is the femme fatale as she usually is and gets a chance to vamp Huntz Hall. Her most memorable leading man since Henry Fonda in The Oxbow Incident, I'm sure. Raymond Hatton is also in the film playing his usual desert rat prospector who aids the Boys in teaching them the ways of the frontier.

A really nice film for Bernard Gorcey to have as a swansong.

Released during the Christmas holidays, and what a gift. 10 Stars.

Thanks much to Leo Gorcey and Huntz Hall for making all us kids laugh out loud for years. This is one of the final episodes with the entire cast, and perhaps, the most outrageous. Excellent direction by Edward Bernds, and with some very good on location work. Bernds used the famous Iverson Ranch in the San Fernando Valley, the setting for hundreds of B westerns Monogram Pictures cranked out in its heyday.

Some clever casting here, featuring Cal "Alfalfa" Switzer as Shifty Robertson, who sells Slip the "rights" to a uranium mine in the town of Panther Pass, Nevada? You know where this is going, and it takes off as the guys pile into the jalopy and drive across country(?) to the old west?

Writers Elwood Ullman and Bert Lawrence put together some real goofy dialogue. The poker game scene, thanks to Bernds, was lifted from the THREE STOOGES. The crooks, lead by Harry Lauter (as Haskell), challenge the guys to a crooked game of cards, exchanging cards under the table, which gets all messed up by Louie. They also meet an old prospector played by veteran actor Raymond Hatton -- and his "talking" mule Josephine. Hatton was perfect for this semi-western, lending some words of encouragement to one and all.

Best bit is a dream sequence; Slip and Sach don fancy western gear and march into town as the defiant Lone Arrangers. The shooting scene is darn funny, and you can tell Leo Gorcey is having a blast here. Both he and Huntz Hall look pretty sharp as cowboys. The grande finale is an insane car chase -- around rocks and brush -- with the jalopy going nuts in high gear. Just terrific.

The supporting cast is worth mentioning, lead by lovely Mary Beth Hughes (as Jeanette), kind of a poor man's MIss Kitty from GUNSMOKE. Mary would later appear on Red Skelton's tv show. Francis McDonald plays the indian chief. He entered films in 1913 and appeared in hundreds of silent and sound westerns. After this film, he had a notable role playing a slave in the TEN COMMANDMENTS.

Sadly, Bernard Gorcey died shortly after the film was completed in an auto accident in Hollywood. Leo Gorcey, hit hard by the loss, would star in one more film before retiring from the series. Also the final appearance of Bennie Bartlett (as Butch), and Edward Bernds as director. Assistant director Austen Jewell commented in later years that Leo's father was a terrific comedian and had quite an influence on the set. As for Bennie, he added, you needed more than two people to form a gang, and the gang was shrinking. He left the series because he eventually became a background character, going on to work in tv for a few years.

Watch this for the memories. Released on dvd by Warner Brothers, Volume 3. 2013. 6 to 8 episodes per box, which are now collectors items. Thanks to TCM for running all the episodes, especially on Saturday mornings. We love it.

I neglected The Bowery Boys for many years. Shame on me. Their movies were funny. Even though "Dig That Uranium" is one of their later ones, it's still pretty good. It has quite a few laughs. Its very short running time (61 mins) is a big plus. "Dig That Uranium" was a nice way to kill some time on a Saturday morning. Honorable mention: the poker scene.

The fortieth (!) entry in the Bowery Boys series has the gang heading out west to strike it rich with a uranium mine. Um...yeah. Had to be there, I guess. It's a silly premise but at least it's something a little different for the aging series that had relied on repeating plots for awhile. Leo has quite a few funny malapropisms and Huntz mugs for the camera the whole time. Most of the comedy, hit and miss, comes from these two (which is par for the course for the series). Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer plays Swifty, the Boys' old friend who sells them on the uranium idea to get the story started. This would be the last appearance in the series for two longtime cast members. Wallpaper Bennie Bartlett would leave and be replaced by Jimmy Murphy. Benard Gorcey, who played the lovable Louie and was the father of Leo and David Gorcey, would die in a car accident after this film. His death would lead to Leo leaving after the next entry and ultimately would lead to the end of the series as the 'magic' was gone without Leo and his father. Anyway, this is an enjoyable entry despite the sad trivia behind it. The cast all put in a good effort and the uranium plot is interesting enough.