SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Jonah Abbott There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

classicsoncall Learning that this was the first film in the Bowery Boys series explains a lot. I was mystified for example when Bernard Gorcey appeared on screen as a customer instead of the proprietor of Louie's Sweet Shop. As bookie Jack Kane, he was obviously not as likable as the character he portrayed in later pictures in the series. At the same time, Leo Gorcey's 'Slip' Mahoney also seemed like an unsavory character who couldn't hold a job because of his volatile temper and quick fisted nature. Perhaps the biggest surprise was seeing Huntz Hall as the mature member of the group, to the point of giving Slip some advice on how to hold a job and not be a disappointment to his sister Mary (Pamela Blake), who was more like a mother to him than a sister. Oh well, things would change.Otherwise, the picture does have that Bowery Boys flavor with it's cool New York City street scenes and situations calling for Slip and Sach (Hall) to get out of one scrape after another. As a fan of former pro wrestler Mike Mazurki, I never realized just how big he was until I saw him manhandle Slip from pillar to post the way he did here. I don't know if it was for real or a camera trick, but he lifted Slip and Sach off the floor with one hand in separate scenes; I don't believe I'd like to get in the guy's way for any reason.The one constant that I enjoyed in the film was Slip's malapropisms just about every time he opened his mouth. Seeing him in a tux on the way to the High Hat Club was a trip in itself, about the best he ever looked outside of a military uniform which he wore as an East Side Kid in 1942's "Let's Get Tough" or later on in 1951's "Bowery Batallion".The other cool element in the picture for me was Earle Hodgins as a snake oil salesman, a role he played with some frequency in old time Westerns of the Thirties and Forties. That he showed up in a Bowery Boys flick seemed only natural, leading me to consider that had he been born a little bit later, he might have been right at home as part of the gang.

mark.waltz The first of the long-running "Bowery Boys" series is also probably the weakest in plot, basically the same characters of "The East Side Kids" series with new names and locations. The newly monikered Slip (Leo Gorcey) obviously doesn't want to work, going from flower delivery boy to ink remover pitchman to construction site digger (a job that only lasts two minutes) and finally to process server. He joins pal Sach (Huntz Hall) in that profession, serving everybody from a chorus girl (trying to avoid him while performing) to the gigantic Mike Mazurki. Of course, there's a criminal element here, involved with Slip's sister (Pamela Blake), which provides the only attempt at a linear plot.The slightly more than an hour film is mostly enjoyable because of Slip's "slip of the tongue" malapropisms which are sometimes hysterical, sometimes stupid and sometimes non-sensical. The film provides mostly "moments" rather than the great atmosphere of the aging youth of the lower east side that would prevail for another 11 years in 40 plus movies. While most of the gang appears to be mid-late 20's, "Whitey" Billy Benedict for some reason looks much older. Bernard Gorcey, who always popped up in the oddest places when the series began to travel, doesn't appear as Louie here, looking very different as a bookie. Ironically, Louie's ice cream shop is one of the major settings, but his character is not even mentioned.

wes-connors As this was the first entry in "The Bowery Boys" film series, it seems a good time for a Bowery kid round-up. After "Dead End" (1937) hit big, the original gang of six screen scene stealers - Billy Halop, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan, Leo Gorcey, Gabriel Dell, and Bernard Punsly - became "The Dead End Kids" aka "The Little Tough Guys". The alternating name was dictated by interpersonal studio and actor conflicts, with the main group evolving into "The East Side Kids". This group regularly featured half the original team - Mr. Jordan, Mr. Gorcey, and Mr. Hall (along with others). The original leader, Mr. Halop quit after leading the "Little Tough Guy" group; later, he would be employed to start "The Gas House Kids" (which included Bowery regular Benny "Bennie" Bartlett). Mr. Dell would continue to make his irregular appearances, and Mr. Punsly retired altogether.Presently, popular "East Side Kid" leader Gorcey and manager Jan Grippo gained the upper "East Side" hand, and took control of the series. Continuing as "The Bowery Boys" are Gorcey (as Terrence "Slip" Mahoney), Hall (as "Sach"), Jordan (as "Bobby"), and William "Billy" Benedict (as "Whitey"). Brother David Gorcey took the week off, but father Bernard Gorcey appears in "Louie's Sweet Shop" (though not yet as its proprietor). Filling in for the former is William Frambes (as Homer), in a one-shot appearance as a Bowery Boy; previously, Mr. Frambes was as a member of rival group "The Cherry Street Boys" (with Billy Benedict) in the East Side Kids' "Clancy Street Boys" (1943). "Live Wires" is fairly typical plot-wise. Gorcey unwittingly gets a job as a snake-oil salesman, with the gang assisting; inevitably, the get-rich-quick scheme leads to gangsters.**** Live Wires (1/12/46) Phil Karlson ~ Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Mike Mazurki, Bobby Jordan

JoeKarlosi This is the very first of the true "Bowery Boys" pictures (not confusing them with earlier films where they were billed as "The Dead End Kids" and "The East Side Kids"). From here on into the late 1950s, Leo Gorcey (as Terrence Aloysius "Slip" Mahoney) and Huntz Hall (as Horace Debussy "Sach" Jones) would gradually become more of a comical duo and take center stage over the rest of their gang members.For me, LIVE WIRES is a promising start to this revamped series. Leo Gorcey plays his usual short-fused self who can't seem to hold down a job because he keeps resorting to punching people in the nose. A highlight of the film comes when he tries to sell a fake liquid stain removing product on the streets of the city. His faithful sister keeps after him, and eventually he and his buddy Sach land jobs as men who repossess unpaid-for merchandise (such as automobiles). The slapstick ensues as Slip and Sach get stuck having to confront a large-sized but simple-minded gangster (played by Mike Mazurki), who beats up on them. For fans of Huntz Hall, he is rather underused in this debut entry and it's mostly Leo Gorcey's show, but Leo acquits himself very well. Things would change as the films went on with Sach becoming on equal footing with Slip. What's odd here too is that the gang hangs out at "Louie's Ice Cream Parlor" in this movie, but the actor who would go on to play Louie himself (Bernard Gorcey, Leo's father) is cast in another part. **1/2 out of ****