Customer Reviews

The Bowery Boys - The Real Story Past and Present [VHS]

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

You are being tricked by this new title and packaging. This set really is "The Bowery Boys Revisited". It is a two-VHS tape set that used to sell on one tape. In this new packaging, each tape is approx. 30 minutes long. It is a cheaply made documentary showing mostly old movie posters and brief clips from bad film prints. There are no interviews of any of the original Dead End Kids. This documentary is also outdated. They will not tell you, but I will that all of the original Dead End Kids have passed. Huntz Hall died on January 30, 1999. Bernard Punsly just passed away on January 20, 2004. They neglect to mention the films that some of them continued their career with. Billy Halop being on the CBS tv series "All In The Family" until his passing in 1976 was never mentioned and he appeared on the Andy Griffith Show in the 1960's. Huntz Hall had a tv series too with the Bad News Bears and did some films too that were not mentioned in this documentary. Huntz Hall's last motion picture was a Rated "R" risque-type of movie, Auntie Lee's Meat Pies (1993). His last television appearance was as a priest in the tv series "Night Heat" in episode, "Bless Me Father" in 1988. There are interviews with Eddie LeRoy, Billy Benedict and Julie Gibson. There are all too brief clips of the second Dead End Kids film, "Crime School" (1938). The second clip is a blooper with Billy Halop and Humphrey Bogart. I can not recommend this documentary, because I think a better one much more in-depth could be made. I would like to say that I wish "Crime School" (1938) could be found and restored and that many of the Warner Brothers and Monogram Pictures films with the Dead End Kids/East Side Kids/Bowery Boys could be available on DVD. Those Billy Halop with The Little Tough Guys films seem to be gone too. I hope they haven't fallen victim to the old nitro damage and goop. I know they could do wonders with restoration these days (highly expensive), but not miracles. The films are certainly making a big, popular comeback these days with the help of Video Yesteryear (now gone), Movies Unlimited, Alpha Video with Nina's Discount Oldies, and Amazon.com. I was very disappointed with this documentary.

If you're a fan of the Bowery Boys, you owe it to yourself to see this video.
It contains a lot of behind-the-scenes information on Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan and the rest of the gang.
The Bowery Boys was one of the most popular film series in history, watch this tape to see the story behind their fantastic success.