In the Money

Huntz hall and david gorcey are in the very last chapter of the bowery boys. Sadly, as dad gorcey had died a couple years before in a freak car accident, leo gorcey (usually played slip) was not part of this, and had left the franchise a couple years back. In this one, sach ends up sailing on a cruise ship, as a courier to smuggle in some diamonds for the bad guys. Co-stars the delicious pat donahue, who was pretty new to hollywood. The storyline is the best part of this, but without slip, most of the jokes just fall flat. I can see why it was the last bowery boys film they ever made. Directed by bill beaudine, who had directed tons of the bowery boys films. Keep an eye out for mike the shop keeper... he was the mayor in andy griffith. It's just barely okay. A real shortie...at just 61 minutes.

Lunching on the sandwich he delivered to a travel agency, messenger Huntz Hall (as Horace Debussy "Sach" Jones) impressed some crooks with is dimwittedness. They hire Mr. Hall as bodyguard for a poodle named "Gloria" and book them passage to London, England. Hall hoped "Gloria" was blonde Patricia Donahue (as Babs), but she's no dog. Hall doesn't know it, but Ms. Donahue is part of a smuggling scheme. "Gloria" has been shaved and strapped with fake fur containing stolen diamonds. In order to protect Hall from danger, fellow "Bowery Boys" Stanley Clements (as Stanislaus "Duke" Coveleskie), David Gorcey (as Chuck) and Eddie LeRoy (as Blinky) decide to stowaway on the ship.

"In the Money" was, thankfully, the last film in "The Bowery Boys" series. These films ran from 1946-1958, with highlights including "Bowery Buckaroos" (1947) and "Hold That Baby!" (1949). There were some good films released during the 1950s, but the decline was most noticeable in "Jungle Gents" (1954) and "Crashing Las Vegas" (1956). "The Bowery Boys" was a legally necessary spin-off from "The East Side Kids" (1940-1945), which is nicely represented by "Bowery Blitzkrieg" (1941). Before that, they were most well known as "The Dead End Kids", which boasted many spin-offs and sequels. Comparing "Dead End" (1937) to "In the Money" shows just how exhausted the ideas had become.

**** In the Money (2/16/58) William Beaudine ~ Huntz Hall, Stanley Clements, Patricia Donahue, David Gorcey

In the Money (1958)

** (out of 4)

This film marked the forty-eighth and final film in the Bowery Boys series and the quality of the movie was a tad higher than it had any right to be. In the film Sach (Huntz Hall) is paid big cash to take a poodle on a ship and over to England. Something seems fishy so Duke (Stanley Clements) and the gang go on board with him and soon realize that the idiot is being used by some crooked diamond smugglers. It's rather amazing that any series could last for forty-eight movies so on one hand you really do have to tip your hat but then again it's not like they had enough decent stories to carry so many films. With that said, this final entry is not unlike most others as we have the dimwitted Sach getting involved with crooks and we know that in the end he'll find his way out and everyone will live happily ever after. In terms of laughs this film doesn't offer too many but what keeps it from being boring is the fact that the cast are in high gear and really deliver nice performances. I do wonder what was going on with Hall who knew this was going to be the final film in the series. He had pretty much been playing this character from the mid 30s on so perhaps his emotions just got the best of him and he decided to go all out. To be fair, there were only a few films where he was lacking in terms of energy. I thought he managed to do a fine job with the part here, although he did seem to tone down some of the characters dumber characteristics. Thankfully the performance is full of energy and this here really helps keep the film moving because there aren't many laughs in its 61-minute running time. Clements and the boys don't get much to do, although their bit pretending to be English stowaways was pretty good. Once again Bill Elliott appears briefly as the shop owner, although he's not given much to do either. For the most part the story itself is pretty far-fetched and lame but this could be said about countless films in the series. Needless to say, if you're not a fan of the movies then you're probably going to be hitting the stop button early on but fans should be mildly entertained and it's somewhat refreshing when you watch these in order that you've finally arrived at the end. There's no question that the series was on its final legs but at the same time it's rather hard saying goodbye to the boys.

The Bowery Boys limp across the finish line with "In the Money", their final movie. It's a completely laughless affair. The jokes are cornier than usual. Huntz Hall is not as annoying as he often can be but that doesn't mean he's funny in this movie. Hall cannot carry a Bowery Boys movie on his own. He needs the company of Leo Gorcey and Bernard Gorcey. On his own, Hall is in trouble. The production quality of "In the Money" is also lacking. It has the look of a low budget movie of its era. The supporting cast is functional but there aren't any standouts. Patricia Donahue is the best of the bunch, especially the brief moment when she gets wet. "In the Money" is one of the Bowery Boys weakest efforts.

Sach is delivering lunch to a travel agency. Instead, he gets a job to travel to London. He is to be the bodyguard to Gloria, a dog. In reality, the people hiring him are diamond smugglers using the dog as a mule.

This is the last of the Bowery Boys. So long. Farewell. It's Sach and a few others. The others aren't as funny. Sometimes, they do the jokes wrong. The obvious screwball comedy move is the dog getting away from Sach. He could spend the whole movie chasing after the dog. It would allow for more physical comedy. I can see why the series ended. Sach is the only good one left. This feels tired.