Jinx Money

In one of the earlier "Bowery Boys adventure" films, Leo Gorcey (Slip!) and Huntz Hall ( Sach!) lead the gang on some caper. Here, they find a bundle of money that was lost by the dead guy, and now they are on the run from the people that want that money back. and the guys that want the money are not nice guys! the usual combination of word-play, mixed in with cat and mouse chasing around the mulberry bush. it's another chapter of the guys trying to get rich quick, but they must learn their lesson the hard way. Directed by WIlliam Beaudine, as usual. Had directed so many of the bowery boys films. Once again, Leo worked his brother David and his father Bernard into the films. also keep an eye out for sheldon leonard, who was such a force as actor, director, and producer in old hollywood.... he's Lippy Harris. and keep an eye out for Donald MacBride.. he kept saying "Jumping Butterballs!" in Room Service, with the Marx Brothers! in this one, he's the silly police captain who keeps bellowing, instead of getting out and solving the crime. meh..... its so so. they milked this bit for YEARS...

Augie Pollack wins $50k in a backroom poker game. He puts the money in a bundle of newspaper comics and gets murdered. Slip and Sach find the money bundle. They try to deposit it in the bank, but makes a spectacle of themselves. Gangster Jake 'Cold Deck' Shapiro robs them and promptly gets poisoned by a mystery umbrella man. Police Capt. James Q. Broaderik investigates and suggests turning the jinx money over to the cops.

I like the premise especially for the boys. I would like the story to be less messy or be more messy and add a lot more screwball slapstick. It's their tenth film. It's relatively middle of the road for a Bowery Boys movie.

With a cast of among others John Eldredge, Sheldon Leonard, and Ben Welden all of whom have played various criminal types this Bowery Boys flick has almost the look of an A picture. Then when we get to Louie's Sweet Shop and Leo Gorcey's mangling of the English language we know where we are.

These three and others were involved in a high stakes poker game where the winning pot was $50,000.00. The winner is found stabbed to death, but the money is found by none other than Horace DeBussy Jones. Sach of course being the simple trusting soul that he is shares it with the gang and of course Gorcey takes charge.

Right after that the various participants in that poker game keep turning up dead and there's always a couple of Bowery Boys in the vicinity. Between Gorcey's diction and grammar and Huntz Hall's saying he's seeing a mysterious man with an umbrella at the scene of each incident, slow burning Chief Inspector Donald MacBride is about to lose his police pension.

Actually Sach is quite observant and does one very smart thing that leads to the apprehension of the killer.

Fans of these eternal youths should enjoy this one.

The tenth Bowery Boys film has Slip and Sach finding $50,000 that belonged to a murdered poker player. When word gets out the boys have the dough, unsavory characters come calling looking to get their hands on it. The second Bowery Boys picture with Bennie Bartlett, but his first as a member of the gang. He joins regulars Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, William Benedict, David Gorcey, and Gabriel Dell, all of whom are solid here. Bernard Gorcey returns as lovable Louie after being missed in the last movie. He's always fun. The supporting cast is peppered with memorable actors like Sheldon Leonard, Donald MacBride, John Eldredge, Lucien Littlefield, and Ben Welden. Betty Caldwell is the obligatory pretty lady. It's a fast-paced entry, light on plot but heavy on fun. Slip's malapropisms and jokes about Sach's intelligence are enjoyable as ever, with the other boys getting a few good jokes in here and there. Fans will like it a lot but, as with the other Bowery Boys movies, it won't be everybody's cup of tea.

The Bowery Boys movies are a hit or miss affair. "Jinx Money" falls on the miss side of the ledger. It's a pretty laughless affair. I'm not even sure there were any jokes in it. The Boys are in okay form. Their supporting cast is unusually strong. Sheldon Leonard and Donald MacBride add a lot of class to a pretty weak production. There is also a weird Sach dream sequence that is not funny at all. It comes out of left field. It should have stayed there. The only thing that "Jinx Money" has going for it is its very friendly running time (68 minutes). Other than that, "Jinx Money" brings nothing to the table.