Up in Smoke

After gambling away the money "The Bowery Boys" rose to help a polio victim, Huntz Hall (as Horace Debussy "Sach" Jones) contemplates revenge on the unscrupulous bookies. Declaring, "I'd give my right arm, I'd give my life, I'd give my very SOUL!" he summons Byron Foulger (as "The Devil"). Calling the well-horned informant "Mr. Bub" (for Beelzebub), Mr. Hall receives tips on winning horses every day. Things go immediately wrong, and Hall's winning picks put him in danger with bookmakers. Even worse, "Satan" wants Hall to surrender his soul...

After a string of dull entries, the long-running film series picks up a little steam for the "The Bowery Boys" penultimate adventure. Hall doesn't do anything different, but the devilish bits with Mr. Foulger work well. Watch for good routines with fast-talking Earle Hodgins as a car dealer and mouth-popping Fritz Feld as a psychiatrist. There is also a good scene with Stanley Clements (as Stanislaus "Duke" Coveleskie) and Hall punching each other through a door opening. Eddie LeRoy (as Blinky) and David Gorcey (as Chuck) get a few lively lines, too.

***** Up in Smoke (12/22/57) William Beaudine ~ Huntz Hall, Byron Foulger, Stanley Clements, Eddie LeRoy