After years of chatter, The Bowery Boys are finally coming out on DVD> This troop of urban characters started their cinematic career in 1937’s Dead End. Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall and pals worked as The Dead End Kids, The Little Tough Guys, The East Side Boys until they became The Bowery Boys while making nearly 50 films at Monogram. The film ran about an hour long so they had a demand at movie theaters needing a shorter feature for their double bill. Gorcey finally quit playing a Bowery Boy when he hit 40. Warner Archive is releasing 12 of their Monogram films on The Bowery Boys: Volume One. The Made to Order collection will start shipping on Nov. 20. Here’s the press release:
From Dead Ends to the East Side and finally landing in Louie’s Sweet Shop in the heart of the Bowery (3rd and Canal, natch!), there was no stopping these Boys! When understudy Leo Gorcey joined the ensemble of teen thespians on stage for the Broadway hit Dead End, Hollywood soon followed with William Wyler taking the troupe in toto for 1937’s film version. Personifying the grit and heart of the kid gangs sprouting up in city slums, these little wise guys quickly stole the nation’s heart. Ably anchored by the central pair of Huntz Hall and Leo Gorcey, the kids moved from “preachment” and crime pictures to straight up comedy as The Bowery Boys – and the rest is history as the boys capered through scores of pictures for over two decades!
Four Disc Collection includes:
LIVE WIRES (1946)
IN FAST COMPANY (1946)
BOWERY BOMBSHELL (1946)
NEWS HOUNDS (1947)
FIGHTING FOOLS (1949)
HOLD THAT BABY! (1949)
MASTER MINDS (1949)
BLONDE DYNAMITE (1950)
LUCKY LOSERS (1950)
BLUES BUSTERS (1950)
CRAZY OVER HORSES (1951)
NO HOLDS BARRED (1952)
