The Bowery Boys Meet the Monsters

The Bowery Boys Meet the Monsters
Directed byEdward Bernds
Written byEdward Bernds
Elwood Ullman
Produced byBen Schwalb
StarringLeo Gorcey
Huntz Hall
David Gorcey
Bernard Gorcey
CinematographyHarry Neumann
Edited byWilliam Austin
Music byMarlin Skiles
Production
company
Distributed byAllied Artists Pictures
Release date
  • June 6, 1954 (1954-06-06) (U.S.)
Running time
65 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Bowery Boys Meet the Monsters is a 1954 American comedy horror film directed by Edward Bernds and starring The Bowery Boys.[1] The film was released on June 6, 1954 by Allied Artists and is the thirty-fourth film in the series.

In the film, the Bowery Boys want to ask permission to use a vacant lot as a place for kids to play baseball. They visit the family who owns the lot, but discover that it is a dysfunctional family. It consists of a mad scientist, a self-described vampire, an enthusiast of robotics, and the owner of a carnivorous plant. Two of them wish to use the boys for brain transplantation experiments, one wants to feed them to the plant, and one wants to feed on their blood.

Plot

The front window of Louie's Sweet Shop is a frequent victim of the local neighborhood kids' baseball games. The Bowery Boys think that a nearby vacant lot would be perfect for the kids to play ball, and keep out of trouble. Slip and Sach travel during a heavy rainstorm to visit the owners of the lot at their home on Long Island. As it turn out, the owners, all members of the same family, are completely insane.

Dereck, a mad scientist, wants a brain for his gorilla. His brother Anton wants a brain for his robot, Gorog. Their sister Amelia needs fresh meat to give to her man-eating tree, while their niece Francine is convinced that she is a vampire. Feeling that Slip and Sach are perfect for their personal needs, the family asks the duo to spend the night. The boys soon catch on to the family's schemes, causing a frantic chase through the house. Louie, Butch, and Chuck visit the home to search for Slip and Sach, and it is not long before they too get caught up in all the madness.

Cast

The Bowery Boys

Other cast

Production

The film used footage from the Three Stooges film Dopey Dicks.[2]

Reception

Variety said the film "goes overboard on the malaproprisins which generally give zest to series" but claimed the "production is on the weak side, not up to the usual standard, with appeal even for followers of the series apt to be limited... film is badly in need of editing to eliminate duplication of action."[3]

Edward Bernds claimed the film was "the best money-maker of all of them. Something about the juxtaposition of the Bowery Boys and a bunch of monsters appealed to audiences. Actually, every Bowery Boys pictures made money; ev-en if it was a bad one, it didn’t lose. Some made more money than others mainly on the basis of the title . . . that was Ben’s theory. The Bowery Boys Meet The Monsters stood out above the others in terms of profit."[2]

Home media

Warner Archives released the film on made-to-order DVD in the United States as part of "The Bowery Boys, Volume Two" on April 9, 2013.

References

  1. ^ Hayes, David (1984). The Films of the Bowery Boys. Secaucus, NJ: The Citadel Press. ISBN 978-0806509310.
  2. ^ a b Okuda, Ted (January–February 1986). "Edward Bernds on The Bowery Boys". Filmfax. Vol. 1, no. 1. p. 48.
  3. ^ "The Bowery Boys Meet the Monsters". Variety. July 7, 1954. p. 6.
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