Hold That Hypnotist

Motherly landlady Queenie Smith (as Kate Kelly) has been reading about reincarnation. Curious about her own past lives, Ms. Kelly makes an appointment with regression hypnotist Robert Foulk (as Simon Noble). Concerned boarding house residents "The Bowery Boys" Huntz Hall (as Horace Debussy "Sach" Jones), Stanley Clements (as Stanislaus "Duke" Coveleskie), David "Condon" Gorcey (as Chuck), and Jimmy Murphy (as Myron) decide to investigate the hypnotist. To prove Mr. Foulk is a fake, Mr. Clements becomes a failed hypnotist's subject. As you might imagine, Mr. Hall seems to fall under the dubious doctor's spell while staring at an earring worn by bosomy accomplice Jane Nigh (as Cleo Daniels)...

In a short 1682 flashback to colonial America, cowardly tax collector Hall (as Algy Winkle) must obtain revenue from Blackbeard the pirate. After this scene, the story runs out of steam. While obviously recycling and regurgitating older situations, "Hold that Hypnotist" manages to be no worse than recent entries in "The Bowery Boys" series. For those keeping track, this was the last appearance for Smith, who was brought in as a replacement for Bernard Gorcey's "Louie" character. Apparently, filmmakers felt the "boarding house" springboard for stories wasn't as good as "Louie's Sweet Shop" had been. A new "diner" base was attempted in the next film, but the movie franchise was clearly struggling with fresh ideas.

*** Hold That Hypnotist (2/24/57) Austen Jewell ~ Huntz Hall, Stanley Clements, Jane Nigh, Queenie Smith

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.

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.

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.

Even without Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall is pretty darn funny in this episode, which also boasts some fancy sets and wardrobe. The wardrobe folks went over the top here. Allied Artists obviously put a little more money into this original story, a take-off on the Bridey Murphy craze of the 50s.

Note, a woman named Virginia Tighe, under hypnosis by Dr. Morey Bernstein, claimed she lived a previous life as an Irish girl called Bridey Murphy, recalling actual historical events, which eventually brought authenticity to the bizarre story.

In this case (purely fictional!), the guys' landlady, Mrs. Kelly, claims she MAY have been Cleopatra, thanks to a hypnotist called Dr. Noble, played by Robert Foulk, a natural in this type of role. Sach and Duke believe the doc is a crook -- until Sach is hypnotized! It turns out he lived in the 17th century, working as a tax collector called Algy Winkle(?), who won a treasure map from Blackbeard the pirate.

Couple of insane thoughts here... Crooked Noble naturally wants to find the whereabouts of the map, HOWEVER, if he really had the capability of putting Sach under and revealing a past life, he would have become rich and famous anyway. In fact, everyone would be rich!

Well written fluff by Lou Morheim and Max Gerath, who went onto some notable movie and tv productions. They used the pen name Dan Pepper here. Guess Lou didn't want it known he wrote for the Bowery Boys. This was the directorial debut of Austen Jewell (who had a cool name), long time assistant director for the series. Austen claims Huntz Hall went to bat for him and got him the job, and was a super guy to work with, along with Stanley Clements. He later became production manager for classic movies like, TERMS OF ENDEARMENT. Super trivia question for movie buffs.

Fun support from pretty and perky character actress Jane Nigh (as Cleo) and big guy Mel Welles (a staple in Roger Corman's films), cast as the one and only Blackbeard. This would be Queenie Smith's last appearance as Mrs. Kelly, a well known acting teacher in Hollywood for many years. Dick Elliott has a small role, who would replace Queenie as Mike Clancy, the owner of the sweetshop (formerly Louie's).

Followed by SPOOK CHASERS. Remastered by Warner Brothers on dvd, generally with 6 to 8 films per box set. Thanks to TCM for faithfully running the entire series.