Hold That Hypnotist

It's not surprising that the Bridey Murphy phenomenon would turn up on the silver screen, even if it's only a low-budget Bowery Boys production. In 1956, a Pueblo, CO housewife claimed to have been "regressed" under hypnosis to a previous life as an Irish farm girl, complete with Irish brogue, etc. For some reason, it caught on and became a brief national fad with all kinds of similar claims being made.

Here, Sach gets regressed to a former life as a 17th century English fop, where he encounters pirate Blackbeard and his treasure. Back in modern time, the boys go after the treasure, ahead of the bad guys, they hope, while busty blonde Jane Nigh provides brassy eye candy.

Aside from the predictable hi-jinks, Hall (Sach) gets to show off some real acting skills, getting to play more than just his usual buffoonish character. Rather poignant to think how many of those skills went unused once he settled into playing Sach. (An interview with him would be interesting.) Clements does okay as Gorcey's replacement, but Gorcey really makes a better tough-talking Moe (The Three Stooges) to Sach's ever-befuddled Curley. All in all— the 60-minutes provides something of a departure for both the plot and and actor Hall, but with no more chuckles than usual.

Hold That Hypnotist (1957)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Sach (Huntz Hall) and Duke (Stanley Clements) try to protect Ms. Kelly from a crooked hypnotist so they set out to prove that he's a fake. When the hypnotist puts Sach under it turns out that the nutty fool at one time knew Blackbeard the Pirate and also knows where a hidden treasure is. The forty-fourth film in the Bowery Boys series is the third without Gorcey and I must admit that compared to the previous two horrid entries this one here comes off as a mini-masterpiece. A new writer and director were introduced to the series and they clearly made a much better movie than we've seen in quite a few films and this goes back to when Leo was with the series. I was a little skeptical when the movie first started because we got all sorts of silly slapstick that really didn't prove any major laughs but once the story is set in place I thought the pacing was very good and things really started to pick up. I think this film works for a number of reasons but one is that the screenplay doesn't get burdened down in familiar plots. Yes, it turns out that the hypnotist is a crook who tries to steal the treasure from the boys but thankfully this doesn't take over the entire plot. Instead of the plot being centered around this, the bad guy aspect doesn't turn up until the final ten-minutes and by doing this the screenplay can center on the boys and I think it does a very good job at keeping everything moving. There's a very funny sequence when Sach first goes under and then another one later when the boys are flirting with the doctor's sexy blonde. There's a flashback sequence where we see Sach's previous life with Blackbeard and while I didn't understand the "game" they were playing, the entire thing was funny and rather clever. Another plus this time out is that Hall and Clements have got a nice chemistry flow, which is yet something else that was missing in the previous two movies. I thought the two worked well off one another and they also mixed well with the other cast members. At just 61-minutes the movie really doesn't contain any dry moments and in the end it turned out to be one of the most entertaining entries in the series.

Leo gorcey had already left the bowery boys series after his dad passed away. But this one still has huntz hall, and leo's brother david. Without leo, the last couple chapters just didn't have the zing and wordplay gags that the earlier ones had. Here, sach discovers his landlord is getting hypnotized, and believes everything the hypnotist says. The usual misunderstandings and goof ups. Sach gets hypnotized, and stumbles into a plot to find a buried treasure. You'll recognize dick elliott, the desk clerk; he was also the mayor on andy griffith! That's probably the most notable thing in this one. No big deal. It's okay. It kind of just ambles along. The series was getting pretty tired by this time. Directed by austen jewell. A sixty one minute shortie.

Although the Bowery Boys just doesn't gel in many ways without Leo Gorcey still it's nice to see Huntz Hall alone in the spotlight in these last remaining Bowery Boy films that Allied Artists did. In this one Sach is hypnotized by faker hypnotist Robert Foulk and he regresses back in his mind to when he was His Majesty's tax collector and none other than Blackbeard the Pirate gives Hall a treasure map in lieu of hard cash for his back taxes. Al Capone could certainly sympathize.

It wasn't Foulk though it was a pair of earrings that Foulk's gal pal come on Jane Nigh was wearing. The bit with the earrings was later used in the Road To Hong Kong to put Bob Hope under. So for Duke, Sach, and the rest it means get the earrings to get the treasure.

One thing this does prove is that Horace DeBussy Jones is the same in any incarnation.

The Bowery Boys help their sick landlady Mrs. Kelly. It turns out that she paid hypnotist Dr. Simon Noble to 'regress' her. The boys say that he's a fake, but Mrs. Kelly refuses to believe them. They set out to disprove him. Noble challenges Duke to get hypnotized and Sach is right behind him. Sach regresses to 1682 when he's a tax collector who meets up with Blackbeard.

Slip is gone and Duke takes his place. Duke is simply no Slip. On top of that, I don't care about the regression section. It's not that funny and it's all in Sach's mind. Even the investigation detracts from the comedy. Duke is simply too serious and the humor gets drown out.