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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.

Thirteenth movie in Monogram's Bowery Boys series is another one with boxing as part of the plot. The last one was Mr. Hex, which saw Sach hypnotized into becoming a great prizefighter. This time none of the Boys enter the ring, but rather they help out a friend whose brother was killed in the boxing ring in a fight rigged up by racketeers. The friend is played by Frankie Darro, who returns for the second Bowery Boys movie in a row (playing a different character). The Boys help Darro train to fight and get vengeance for his brother. The regular cast is enjoyable in this entry that's a little heavier than the typical film in this series. Gabriel Dell plays a reporter in one of his more likable Bowery Boys appearances. Lyle Talbot is the gangster villain and he's solid as usual. Bernard Gorcey is fun as Louie ("Long live Louie's Sweet Shop!"). But this one really belongs to Frankie Darro, who turns in one of his better performances since his 1930s classics like "Wild Boys of the Road" and "The Mayor of Hell." The dramatics here work well but I will admit to being disappointed that there wasn't more comedy. I watch the Bowery Boys for laughs, after all. Also, the boxing backdrop is pretty played out even by 1949 standards. Still, I can't imagine many fans of the series hating 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

I have watched a few Bowry Boys films here or there, but I am hardly someone you would call a fan. For every decent one of their films I've seen, I've probably seen two others that were rather poor. But I do have to give them credit where credit's due, as "Fighting Fools" is actually pretty good. Sure, it has a bunch of boxing clichés but the overall effort is very watchable.

Slip and the gang are horrified when one of their friends is beaten to death in a boxing match. They promise to try to help the guy's mother and little brother and so they stage a boxing match, on the level, to raise money for them. At the same time, Slip announces that the dead guy's brother, Johnny (Frankie Darro), will come out of retirement and he'll eventually be battling for the title. Considering he never asked Johnny, this IS a rather bold announcement. Eventually, however, he convinces Johnny and Johnny's mother and Slip and the gang manage the fighter. However, a evil jerk and his 'associates' are determined to control the fight industry and are not above cheating to hang on to the ill-gotten title.

Slip and the gang are exactly what you'd expect in the film...though (fortunately) a bit restrained. The acting aside from them is good and the story, while familiar, is well handled. Entertaining and a nice time-passer.

Fighting Fools (1949)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Decent entry in the Bowery Boys series has former boxer Johnny Higgins (Frankie Darro) trying to make a comeback after his kid brother was killed in the ring. Along with the help of Slip (Leo Gorcey) and Sach (Huntz Hall), Higgins tries to shine the spotlight on a criminal (Lyle Talbot) who is fixing matches. The thirteenth film in the series isn't a great one but it's mildly entertaining and features some nice drama and a couple good laughs. Once again I think the film benefits greatly from director Le Borg as he makes for a lot better pacing and gives the film an overall better look. This is still a low-budget movie but Le Borg at least makes it seem like they spent more money on it. The film has a good pace from start to finish and the director also manages to make for some good dramatics. This includes the early boxing scene where the kid guys and Slip must deliver the news to his mother. Even better is the final fight, which contains a lot of great drama as we get a side plot with the boxer's other brother being held captive by the gangsters. Gorcey is his typical self here as he shouts out one mangled word after another. Hall doesn't come off quite as good here as some of his humor happens at times where laughs weren't needed. Gabriel Dell pretty much gets overlooked this time out as he stays in the background as a sports writer. Former child star Darro delivers a fine performance as he's quite believable as the boxer trying to make a comeback. His early scenes as a drunk didn't work too well but I think enjoyed watching him here and thought he added a great deal of entertainment. Talbot can play a bad guy like no other and even though the performance isn't Oscar worthy he's at least fun to watch. The biggest problem is that the laughs really aren't that good here. Sure, we get a few funny moments but not enough to carry the film. Another problem is that we've seen the corrupt boxing stuff countless times before and nothing new is added here. With that said, this is a decent entry for fans of the series.