Clipped Wings

A fast, loose, sloppy and uninspired story incorporating slapstick for its own sake that does not hold together well. Its depiction of man-hungry women sorely dates the story most of all. Sach (a.k.a. Horace Debussy Jones) joins the Air Force, which misassigns him to a women's barrack, where attractive females are so unbelievably starved for men that they accept his presence eagerly and hungrily, hanging onto his every word despite his physical weakness and quite less than handsome looks. The misassignment is due to his being mistaken for another "H. Jones," a WAC rookie who never shows up in the story.

Now seventy years after its original release, this seems a missed opportunity to introduce a strong female character, a woman who wants equal treatment and the chance to prove herself equal to it (believing she's been barracked among men as a deterrent rather than by mistake and keeps her sex on the down-low), and who might later figure in helping Horace in some way. That would be interesting. That would be screwball comedy. That would be modern. As is, though, it's a character whose physical presence never shows up to straighten things out, which adds to other story details that make the day-to-day functions of the U. S. Air Force -- known for recruiting among the highest IQs -- appear stupid and desperate for an overhaul.

Clipped Wings (1953)

** (out of 4)

After an Air Force buddy is arrested for selling secrets to spies, Slip (Loe Gorcey) and Sach (Huntz Hall) go to visit him but accidentally get enlisted. Soon they're wrecking havoc while trying to track down the truth behind their friend's arrest. This might have been the thirty-first entry in the series but it was only the second to feature Bernds as director and co-writer. Those familiar with the Three Stooges are going to see many familiar things here including more physical violence and of course we have Hall doing various impersonations of items you'd previously seen from Curly. I don't think this entry is nearly as good as LOOSE IN London but at least it still remains somewhat fresh and different from many of the previous films. The biggest problem is that there just aren't enough jokes that actually work. At just 65-minutes the movie has a very good pace and it actually goes by pretty quickly but we needed many more jokes. One of the best moments in the film happens when Sach accidentally gets put into a female bunker and we get countless jokes of him being the stub of the bunch. Another good moment happens later when Slip breaks in to try and get Sach out of the room but ends up causing a panic and hearing a few of the women's comments on him was quite funny. Once again both Gorcey and Hall seem to be game for everything going on as both seem more energized and each certainly helps keep this thing moving. Bernard Gorcey is back as Louie but has very little to do. Lyle Talbot appears quickly in a couple scenes but doesn't have any dialogue. Cult favorite June Vincent plays the bad girl. The ending of the film is going to remind many people of a few Abbott and Costello films and especially KEEP 'EM FLYING. While CLIPPED WINGS isn't one of the better entries in the series it at least remains someone fresh and I'm sure fans of the series will want to check it out.

The Bowery Boys movies are a hit or miss kind of thing. A lot of them aren't really that good but the movies are usually pretty short so they're always worth a try. I've seen quite a few Bowery Boys movies now and I've learned that my enjoyment level lands on how annoying Sach is. I didn't watch these movies when I was a kid. A lot of my friends did and they always talked about how funny Sach was. Watching Sach now, he's usually just stupid. His antics are more annoying than anything else. The movies where Sach is funny are much better than the ones where's he's annoying. Sach is pretty funny in "Clipped Wings". That helped make it one of the better Bowery Boys movies.

"A Writ of Habeus Corpuscle".

Edward Bernds, who worked on some of the Three Stooges shorts, had a hand in writing this one and directing so it's more slick than some others in the series. This is only one of a few Bowery Boys entries in which Bernds took part, and those films are usually all the better for it.

The Boys were pure slapstick comedians by this time, but provide only occasional chuckles as Slip and Sach unwittingly enlist in the Air Force while trying to help out a pilot friend in trouble.

So-So Bowery Boys.

The usual hi-jinks ensue when "Bowery Boys" leader Leo Gorcey (as "Slip" Mahoney) and hapless sidekick Huntz Hall (as "Sach" Jones) accidentally join the Air Force, in an effort to help a friend. The rehashed plot includes spies and such. Still, it's more fun than "Flying Wild" (1941). Regular viewers will pick up on the fact that "The Bowery Boys" lieutenant friend Todd Karns (as David "Dave" Moreno) is a stand-in for former series regular Gabriel Dell, who had appeared with the Bowery groups from 1937-1950. Mr. Dell's Gabriel "Gabe" Moreno character is closely related to the one played by Mr. Karns. Telling Mr. Hall, "You may not be an idiot, but you'll do until a real one comes along," Renie Riano plays an amusing female sergeant.

**** Clipped Wings (8/14/53) Edward Bernds ~ Huntz Hall, Leo Gorcey, Todd Karns, Renie Riano