Crashing Las Vegas

Leo Gorcey's final Bowery Boys movie (the forty-first in the series!) is a middling affair with a sad story behind it. Between the last film and this one, Leo's father Bernard Gorcey had been killed in a car accident. Bernard, of course, played the lovable Louie the Sweet Shop owner in the series and often stole the scenery from his younger co-stars. But business is business and "the show must go on," so the next Bowery Boys movie went into production. Unfortunately, poor Leo was still reeling from his father's death and perhaps should have been allowed more time to grieve. Throughout the picture, Leo seems 'off.' This is reportedly due to his drinking. He does look rough and seems tipsy, often grinning and shouting his lines for no apparent reason.

Behind-the-scenes drama aside, the picture has a tired plot about Sach gaining mental powers which Slip and the boys use to get money for their previously unseen landlady Mrs. Kelly. She was meant to replace Louie but she isn't funny and brings nothing to the films like Louie did. There's little reason to see this unless you're a fan who wants to see all the Bowery Boys movies. There are some laughs here and there but they are few and far between. Mary Castle provides a bit of welcome eye candy. Louie is missed and the movie suffers from his absence. Things would get a lot worse with Leo gone, though. He was one of the original Dead End Kids and really the glue that held the different groups of "kids" together (no offense to Huntz Hall). Starting with the next picture, Hall would become the star and Stanley Clements would join the gang. The series would limp along for another two years but would never recover from the loss of Leo Gorcey's Slip Mahoney.

The boys have collected money for their beloved landlady Mrs. Kelly's down payment. Sach is working in the kitchen when he gets an electrical shock. Suddenly, he can predict all the numbers. The boys have tickets to television contest "To Live like a King". Slip wins a trip to Vegas. He has an idea for him and the boys. As Sach goes on a winning streak, he gains some unsavory attention.

The story is a bit convoluted, more than usual. They could have done so much more with a Vegas premise. I'm not looking for the real thing, but that would have been amazing. Sach has always been an idiot, but his idiocy here is not fun. It is much more annoying than anything else. One would also think that the casino wouldn't allow Sach to keep winning. It's a whole different side of the story that is ignored. This one is a little frustrating.

In a plot rehash, an electrical jolt gives Huntz Hall (as Horace Debussy "Sach" Jones) psychic powers, so luckless Leo Gorcey (as Terrence Aloysius "Slip" Mahoney) decides to take his pal and fellow "Bowery Boys" David "Condon" Gorcey (as Chuck) and Jimmy Murphy (as Myron) to Las Vegas. This film featured the last appearance of Mr. (Leo) Gorcey, who had been with the troupe since "Dead End" (1937). Gorcey had already become somewhat secondary to Mr. Hall, who would become the series' credited "star" with the next film ("Fighting Trouble").

Sadly, the noticeably absent "Sweet Shop" owner Bernard Gorcey (who played "Louie" in the series) had just passed away, following a car accident; he was the father of "Bowery Boys" Leo and David Gorcey. In this film, Bowery leader Leo Gorcey is clearly drowning his sorrows, and appears unwell much of the time. In an unrelated milestone, "Crashing Las Vegas" featured the first appearance of a new "Bowery Boy", with Jimmy Murphy's "Myron" replacing Benny Bartlett's departed "Butch". Even without the off-screen drama, this is a less than mediocre series entry.

** Crashing Las Vegas (4/22/56) Jean Yarbrough ~ Huntz Hall, Leo Gorcey, Jimmy Murphy

I felt Gorcey s performance was very hard to watch. Usually his wise cracking and boisterous remarks are more playful and amusing whereas in this film "Crashing Las Vegas" Gorcey delivered his lines with anger and hostility. Even his facial expressions seemed to be lacking in emotion. They were a bit "over the top". This film was made after the death of Gorceys father, Bernard (Sweet Louie Dumbrowsky) and marked his last film of the franchise. It was a disappointing performance in my opinion. I felt he could have delivered a better quality of demonstrating his craft, despite the unfortunate circumstances that were surrounding his personal life. Danielle V.

Coming WAAAY at the end of the Bowery Boys films, this was old territory for Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall and the gang. Not that anyone knows what "the bowery" is anymore. In this one, Miss Kelly is getting tossed out of her home for not being able to keep up with the rent. The boys win a trip for a week in Las Vegas, and the adventure begins. When they are loud and rowdy in the casino, Slip and Sach attract the attention of some rough characters. this chapter has the usual intentional, goofy word play, but also a whole lot of lowbrow, slapstick humor. A 25 year old bombshell (Mary Castle) distracts Sach. It's all pretty straight-forward. not bad. Directed by Jean Yarbrough; had directed a bunch of the Bowery Boy films. PS. Bowery comes from the dutch word for Farm, as there were many farms there at one time. later, a pretty rough area, also known as skid row. then the edge of Greenwich Village. this one only has about 260 votes so far, so must not be shown on Turner Classics very often.