Well I consider myself as big a Bowery Boys fan as the next guy, but this is a pretty brainless episode. Not that all their other adventures were high spots in the realm of dramatic cinema, but at least they had a bit of continuity. I'll get to that in a minute.
For starters though, I couldn't get over that opening scene. The story begins with Sach (Huntz Hall) reading 'Famous Predictions of Nostradamus'! Holy cow - Nostradamus! This was over sixty years ago, and some of Nostradamus' predictions didn't even happen yet - like the assassination of John F. Kennedy! I've studied Nostradamus off and on for a number of years now, and he would never have predicted the Bowery Boys - I'd bet on it.
Of course, Nostradamus is only the prop that's used to introduce Sach to a new found power he possesses, but only while experiencing the pain of a toothache. Going into a trance, Sach has the uncanny ability to predict the future. It doesn't take long for Slip (Leo Gorcey) and Gabe (Gabriel Dell) to swing into action to capitalize on the gimmick. Instantly, Sach becomes Ali Ben Sachmo, The Bowery Prophet. Had this story gone in a different direction, Huntz Hall might have been paired with Louis Armstrong as the bi-racial Sachmo Brothers. Yeah, I'm stretching here, but when I get these ideas I have to commit them to writing.
What makes the story fun is the goofy personality transfer that Sach undergoes when he's kidnapped by a mad scientist (Alan Napier) for the purpose of turning his brutish half-ape discovery into a genius. If you like these era pictures, you've probably seen Glenn Strange in any number of genres, though Westerns were his specialty. But he did take a turn as Frankenstein a few times in his career (1944's "House of Frankenstein", 1945's "House of Dracula", 1948's "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein"). He also has a role as a brutish lab assistant in the 1944 flick "The Monster Maker". The great thing about Strange here is his uncanny ability to channel Huntz Hall with all of Sach's mannerisms and the dubbed voice that just cracks you up when you see it.
But here's the thing, relative to my earlier comment. The personality of Sach is evident in both Sach himself and the Atlas character at the same time, and more than once! Huh? How does that work? I don't want to seem too picky here, but I think the story could have done a better job of keeping those personalities separate while the gang was trying to sort things out. Maybe that's why Slip opined with "This is a very interesting piece of bric and brats"!
Before concluding, I have to pose a couple of questions, because I can't figure them out for myself. For starters, why does Constable Hoskins wear a badge on his pajamas? And secondly - is Louie Dumbrowski (Bernard Gorcey) shrinking with each successive Bowery Boys flick he appears in?
For starters though, I couldn't get over that opening scene. The story begins with Sach (Huntz Hall) reading 'Famous Predictions of Nostradamus'! Holy cow - Nostradamus! This was over sixty years ago, and some of Nostradamus' predictions didn't even happen yet - like the assassination of John F. Kennedy! I've studied Nostradamus off and on for a number of years now, and he would never have predicted the Bowery Boys - I'd bet on it.
Of course, Nostradamus is only the prop that's used to introduce Sach to a new found power he possesses, but only while experiencing the pain of a toothache. Going into a trance, Sach has the uncanny ability to predict the future. It doesn't take long for Slip (Leo Gorcey) and Gabe (Gabriel Dell) to swing into action to capitalize on the gimmick. Instantly, Sach becomes Ali Ben Sachmo, The Bowery Prophet. Had this story gone in a different direction, Huntz Hall might have been paired with Louis Armstrong as the bi-racial Sachmo Brothers. Yeah, I'm stretching here, but when I get these ideas I have to commit them to writing.
What makes the story fun is the goofy personality transfer that Sach undergoes when he's kidnapped by a mad scientist (Alan Napier) for the purpose of turning his brutish half-ape discovery into a genius. If you like these era pictures, you've probably seen Glenn Strange in any number of genres, though Westerns were his specialty. But he did take a turn as Frankenstein a few times in his career (1944's "House of Frankenstein", 1945's "House of Dracula", 1948's "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein"). He also has a role as a brutish lab assistant in the 1944 flick "The Monster Maker". The great thing about Strange here is his uncanny ability to channel Huntz Hall with all of Sach's mannerisms and the dubbed voice that just cracks you up when you see it.
But here's the thing, relative to my earlier comment. The personality of Sach is evident in both Sach himself and the Atlas character at the same time, and more than once! Huh? How does that work? I don't want to seem too picky here, but I think the story could have done a better job of keeping those personalities separate while the gang was trying to sort things out. Maybe that's why Slip opined with "This is a very interesting piece of bric and brats"!
Before concluding, I have to pose a couple of questions, because I can't figure them out for myself. For starters, why does Constable Hoskins wear a badge on his pajamas? And secondly - is Louie Dumbrowski (Bernard Gorcey) shrinking with each successive Bowery Boys flick he appears in?