No End

 

WORLD WITHOUT END-1956-4 astronauts on a spaceship probing Mars have trouble getting home. John Borden (Hugh Marlowe) is the kind of leader. There's also Dr. Galbraithe (Nelson Leigh), Ellis (Rod Taylor) and Jaffe (Christopher Dark). They crash land on an unknown planet that has gravity, oxygen and snow. After they encounter two giant spiders, they bed down for the evening and are attacked by disfigured caveman. Of course, they are actually on the future Earth (after an apocalypse). They retreat to a cave and meet the underground survivors of mankind. A bunch of male fuddy duddies and beautiful short-skirted women all led by Timmak (Everett Glass). The men wear bathing caps. The jealous Mories (Booth Colman) plots to destroy the astros when Borden falls in love with Garnet (Nancy Gates), the leader's daughter. Later they build a bazooka and fight the mutants. Borden then has to fight the mutants' one-eyed leader. Borden wins the fight and mutants and humans live together in harmony. 

This science fiction post-apocalyptic adventure is pretty funny with the astronauts conveniently landing on Earth (no spacesuits), travelling in regular hiking clothes with knapsacks and the weapons being guns and an axe. Still the premise is fairly interesting. 

Paul Brineger, Strother Martin, Mickey Thompson and Herb Vigran have uncredited roles. Sam Peckinpah was the dialogue director. Director/writer Edward Bernds was working on the “Bowery Boys” series around this time and later worked a lot with The Three Stooges.

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Crashing Las Vegas

CRASHING LAS VEGAS-1956-Sach (Huntz Hall) gets electrified and can predict numbers on a TV game show. Slip (Leo Gorcey) wins a trip to "Sin City", where he plans to use his buddy's abilities to win enough money to pay their landlady's bills. They bring along the rest of "the gang" which by now is only Chuck (David Conlon/Gorcey) and Myron (Jimmy Murphy replacing Bennie Bartlett). Of course gamblers (led by Don Haggerty) want to know his secret and send a woman (Mary Castle) to find out. It's a typical Bowery Boys mess with Sach acting really dopey despite his new found power. 


CLV was the last of the series to star Leo Gorcey as Slip who quit after this one. His dad Bernard (little Louie Dumbrowsky in most of the run and top scene stealer) died from injuries he received in a car accident. 


The whole movie kind of reminded me of an over long second season episode of THE ABBOTT AND COSTELLO SHOW. 


In fact that show's director, Jean Yarbrough made CLV and screenwriter Jack Townley wrote episodes of the show. Also rather weirdly the TV host at the beginning of CLV is played by Bob Hopkins who played a TV host on an A & C episode. And Frank J. Scannell who played a croupier in an A & C episode plays a croupier here! 


Emil Sitka also shows up!


 I've read Gorcey was "visibly drunk" during the making of this. He does act a little strange and some of his lines seem to be dubbed by someone else!


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Dig That Uranium

DIG THAT URANIUM-1955-This time the Boys buy a deed to a uranium mine from their friend Shifty Robertson (un-billed Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer) and head out to Arizona to dig. Of course the mine is a phony but they get help from an old prospector (Raymond Hatton; Pete the prospector in Corman's THE DAY THE WORLD ENDED the same year) to locate a real strike. A hotel manager (Harry Lauter) wants the mine and his two henchmen (Myron Healy, in his second BB adventure) and Tom Keene (using the name Richard Powers) cause trouble. At one point Sach (Huntz Hall) dreams he and Slip (Leo Gorcey in his penultimate role in the series) are gunslingers. Mary Beth Hughes (I ACCUSE MY PARENTS) is in the usual role of the bad guy's girl sent to entice the secret out of Sach. David Gorcey and Bennie Bartlett also appear. 


It's filled with Abbott & Costello and 3 Stooges like gags (Ellwood Ullman was one of the screenwriters) but fortunately little Louie (Bernard Gorcey) goes with them to provide some laughs. 


Unfortunately, it would be the elder Gorcey's last role. He would die from injuries received in a car accident soon after this was completed. Edward Bernds directed. 


Former cowboy star Keene would have his last screen role in 1959 in a little movie called PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE!


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Spy Chasers

SPY CHASERS-1955-In this dumb Bowery Boys outing we learn that little Louie Dumbrowsy (Bernard Gorcey who once again steals the show) is actually from a (fictitious) European country called Truania. The king (Sig Ruman) entrusts a special coin to Louie, who hides it in a candy bar that Sach (Huntz Hall) promptly gives to a little girl (Linda Bennett who was in THE CREATURE WITH THE ATOM BRAIN the same year). To add to their problems they run afoul of the evil Col. Baxis (Leon Askin) and Lady Zelda (Veola Vonn; also in PARIS PLAYBOYS with the gang) who hypnotize Sach. Slip (Leo Gorcey) is around to set things straight and so are Chuck (David Gorcey) and Butch (Bennie Bartlett).

 It's very weak in the laughs department and even features an unfunny take off on Abbott & Costello's drill routine. 

Lisa Davis is a princess and Mel Welles and Paul Burke have un-billed roles. It was written by Jerome Gottler and Bert Lawrence and directed by Edward Bernds.

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Bowery To Bagdad

BOWERY TO BAGDAD-1955-In this nutty Bowery Boys entry, Sach (Huntz Hall) finds Aladdin's lamp and a genie (Eric Blore) occasionally appears to grant wishes but only to Sach. A gangster (Robert Bice) finds out about the lamp and sends his moll (Joan Shawlee) after it. Sound familiar? Leo Gorcey is of course Slip doing his usual Sach bashing and word twisting. Leo's little old daddy Bernard is once again Louie, owner of the sweet shop which this time the gangster wants to buy. Leo's younger brother (billed under the name David Conlon) is Chuck and Bennie Benedict is Butch. 

Meanwhile two turbaned ancestors of the original owner of the lamp lurk about with knives. As usual the focal point of the humor is on Sach's zaniness (some might called it lunacy) but little Louie always steals some laughs. Other familiar faces in the cast include Jean Willes and Dick Wessell. Edward Bernds co-wrote (with Ellwood Ullman) and directed it. 

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Jungle Gents

JUNGLE GENTS-1954-In this zany Bowery Boys outing Sach (Huntz Hall) discovers he can smell out diamonds so everyone, including little Louie (Bernard Gorcey) packs up and goes to Africa to hunt for some missing diamonds! Slip (Leo Gorcey) narrates most of the story which also involves Sach getting rescued by a jungle woman (Laurette Luez) and Rudolph Anders (who was in W. Lee Wilder's THE SNOW CREATURE the same year) as the bad guy also after the diamonds. Woody Strode plays the native guide who leads their safari! John Harmon and Eric Snowden have small roles and at the end Clint Walker (un-billed here but later the star of TV's CHEYENNE) shows up in a cameo as Tarzan! David Gorcey and Bennie Bartlett make up the rest of the gang. 

While CLIPPED WINGS reminded me of Abbott & Costello JG is more like the 3 Stooges with Edward Bernds once again directing. Emil Sitka shows up in one scene. Luez was later a regular on the TV show THE ADVENTURES OF FU MAN-CHU.

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Loose In London

LOOSE IN LONDON-1953-This time Slip (Leo Gorcey), Sach (Huntz) Hall and the rest of the gang (David Gorcey and Benny Bartlett) go the England when Sach turns out to be one of heirs to an Earl's (Walter Kingford) fortune.


 Of course there are some greedy relatives trying to knock the Earl off. Little Louie (Bernard Gorcey) goes with them as an accidental stowaway. 


This entry into the series was done by the writer/director team of Ellwood Ullman and Edward Bernds, who both worked on many 3 Stooges shorts but this one has more of an Abbott & Costello feel to it. There are some funny scenes and dialogue though including a flashback to when Sach's ancestor was banished to "the colonies". Also with Angela Greene, Norma Varden, Clyde Cook, Bess Flowers and Joan Shawlee.  


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