Master Minds

I usually watch the Dead End kids out of nostalgia. I must have seen many of their films in first run showings as a kid, since I still think "Whitey" whenever I see Billy Benedict in any movie. This movie has to be one of my "guilty pleasures" since it's pretty silly stuff, yet I couldn't help laughing throughout. The plot has Glenn Strange and Huntz Hall exchanging brain contents because of experiments conducted by mad scientist Alan Napier. Hall's voice is used whenever Strange talks, but Strange's movements and mannerisms are his, and they are perfect imitations of Hall's. If you have watched a few of the Bowery Boys series and get to know Hall's antics, you will enjoy this movie. There are other pleasures, the best of which is Leo Gorcey's fracturing of the English language, but the reason to see this movie is Glenn Strange.

Sach goes into a trance and starts predicting the future. Slip uses him as a fortune teller in a carnival sideshow. Mad scientist Dr. Druzik kidnaps Sach for his monstrous experiment, Atlas.

This is The Bowery Boys, Freaky Friday style. The first half is fun but then it goes body swapping. Atlas in Sach body doesn't really work because it's not Sach. The mannerisms are all corrupted. Then they keep switching the minds back and forth. Sach should stay a monster until they switch bodies again. Sach acting like a monster does hold more potential for comedy. Here's how to make it even better. Have both Sach and Slip get kidnapped. Slip is the one getting body swapped and Sach helps him escape. Sach would be walking around with a monster Slip and maybe Sach could befriend the wild beast. That would be the best comedy.

The 16th Bowery Boys entry from Monogram, 1949's "Master Minds" served up some rare mad scientist shenanigans during a lean period for horror films, set in the haunted Forsythe mansion that locals tend to avoid. Huntz Hall's Sach once again finds himself gaining an unexpected ability, not a crooner's voice as in "Blues Busters" but a fortune teller predicting the future after reading about Nostradamus, caused by a candy-induced toothache (betting on horses would come later). Leo Gorcey's Slip trots out sideshow star 'Ali Ben Sachmo, Bowery Prophet' for a typical get rich quick scheme, allowing Alan Napier as Dr. Druzik to utilize this supposed seer as the perfect subject for mind transference with his savage creation Atlas, played to the hilt by Glenn Strange (much neater than a messy brain transplant). Strange absolutely nails his impersonation of Huntz Hall and his effeminate mannerisms, under a hirsute Jack Pierce makeup that harkens back to the glory days of Universal's "House of Dracula," even adding several more cast members as lab assistants, Skelton Knaggs and pretty Jane Adams, no longer burdened by a hump. One would have wished that after several costarring roles opposite good friend Boris Karloff ("Isle of the Dead," "Lured," "The Strange Door") that Alan Napier might have learned something from the master, playing his one and only mad doctor with a permanent smirk, a bemused performance that can only be described as ordinary, similar to John Dehner's later turn in "The Bowery Boys Meet the Monsters" (surely, Bela Lugosi must have been available!). Strange was in the midst of several Abbott and Costello vehicles ("The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap," "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein," "Comin Round the Mountain") but would not play another monster in a Hollywood feature, both Gabriel Dell and Billy Benedict departing the Bowery Boys series within two years.

Master Minds (1949)

*** (out of 4)

The Bowery Boys find out they have a money-maker when Sach (Huntz Hall) eats sugar and gets a toothache, which causes him to be able to predict the future. This starts out find until a mad scientist (Alan Napier) sees him in the paper and decides to kidnap him so that he can put Sach's brain into the body of a monster (Glenn Strange). The sixteenth entry in the series is probably the best one to date thanks in large part to a somewhat clever screenplay and some terrific supporting performances. I don't think there's any doubt that this film was inspired by ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN but that's okay because the jokes here work extremely well. I don't think this film is going to appeal to everyone like A&C MEET FRANKENSTEIN but if you're a fan of the Bowery Boys then this here is a must see. What makes the film work so well is the performance of Strange who easily steals the film. He's done up in some ape man like make-up, which looks incredibly well. I guess this should be expected since Monogram also did a good job in THE APE MAN and RETURN OF THE APE MAN. I really did enjoy the look of the monster but what makes the comedy work so well is the performance by Strange. The entire plot works around this monster having the brain of Sach so it's up to Strange to give us those Hall mannerisms, which he does perfectly. That silly walk, arm swings and the various other bits and pieces are perfectly pulled off by Strange and it's downright hilarious. Seeing the tall Strange bouncing around like Sach and flicking his arm was so perfectly done that at times I had tears running down my face. Hall also turns in a strong performance as he has to play himself again but also gets to play the tough, animal-like character. The scene where Hall is in a trance predicting the future has some terrific jokes and especially the one aimed at the man who will become rich at the age of 21. Leo Gorcey and Gabriel Dell are on hand as well and get a few good moments. Bernard Gorcey also gets some funny moments as Louie. The film runs a brief 64-minutes and there's no doubt that it borrows somewhat heavily from other films but that really doesn't take away from the charm and it especially doesn't kill any of the laughs. Not every joke works but the majority of them do and that's what makes this one of the best of the series. Strange and Hall really should have taken this act into other movies.

You wouldn't know by its title, but this Bowery Boys comedy is of interest to old horror film fans like me, with a "mad doctor" plot and a cast featuring various monster movie personalities. Here we have the dimwitted Sach (Huntz Hall) amazingly endowed with special powers each time he aggravates a nagging toothache by chomping on candy. He gains the uncanny ability to accurately predict future happenings a la Nostradamus, and is quickly exploited as a sideshow attraction by his greedy partner Slip Mahoney (Leo Gorcey). Meanwhile, an eccentric scientist (Alan Napier) decides that Sach's mind is the perfect one to transfer to his growling man/ape Atlas (Glenn Strange), and sets out to kidnap Sach.

The main attraction here is getting to watch the usually limited Glenn Strange (who played Frankenstein's stumbling Monster in some of Universal's classics like the previous year's ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN) do some of his most notable work. Strange is a marvel to behold when he switches minds with the prissy and childlike Sach, impersonating Huntz Hall's effeminate mannerisms and miming to his voice-overs. Among the familiar cast are Jane Adams and Skelton Knaggs (both also appeared with Glenn Strange in Universal's "House Of Dracula"), who play assistants to the doctor. Alan Napier is not quite right for this type of "mad doctor" part ... too bad they couldn't have gotten Bela Lugosi or John Carradine. The funniest part of the movie is an early scene where Sach is on stage predicting unpleasant outcomes for a few frazzled audience members, but the second half could have been tighter. The brain-swapping shenanigans are cute enough, but are all over the place. Still, a standout entry in the '40s Bowery Boys series. **1/2 out of ****