Bowery to Bagdad (1954)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Good ol' Sach (Huntz Hall) finds a weird looking lamp and when he rubs it a genii (Eric Blore) pops out. Sure enough he soon has mobsters after him trying to get their hands on the genii but Slip (Leo Gorcey) has plans on making them rich. BOWERY TO BAGDAD is pretty much what you'd expect from a Bowery Boys film as it contains a minor amount of laughs but what really keeps the film moving is its fast pacing from director Bernds. The film itself really isn't all that original as we get the tired formula of the boys discovering something that's going to make them rich and of course bad guys find out and come after them. It's amazing how many times this storyline has been transformed in the series but with this being number thirty-six I guess you have to expect some things repeating themselves. The story itself really isn't all that funny but we do get a few good moments including poor Sach using his wish to order up some milkshakes. Another funny gag finds a hat pulled down over his nose to where he can't see and he ends up walking out on a high ledge of a building. Both Hall and Gorcey are fine in their roles with both going well over the top in terms of energy. Bernard Gorcey doesn't get too many good scenes but the one where he gets drunk with the genii was pretty good. This turned out to be the final role for Blore and he too is pretty good as the genii. The lack of laughs don't hurt the film too much because the director keeps all the action happening quite fast and things move along very quickly. The 64-minutes goes by without any slow spots so that's always good in a "B" film like this.
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Good ol' Sach (Huntz Hall) finds a weird looking lamp and when he rubs it a genii (Eric Blore) pops out. Sure enough he soon has mobsters after him trying to get their hands on the genii but Slip (Leo Gorcey) has plans on making them rich. BOWERY TO BAGDAD is pretty much what you'd expect from a Bowery Boys film as it contains a minor amount of laughs but what really keeps the film moving is its fast pacing from director Bernds. The film itself really isn't all that original as we get the tired formula of the boys discovering something that's going to make them rich and of course bad guys find out and come after them. It's amazing how many times this storyline has been transformed in the series but with this being number thirty-six I guess you have to expect some things repeating themselves. The story itself really isn't all that funny but we do get a few good moments including poor Sach using his wish to order up some milkshakes. Another funny gag finds a hat pulled down over his nose to where he can't see and he ends up walking out on a high ledge of a building. Both Hall and Gorcey are fine in their roles with both going well over the top in terms of energy. Bernard Gorcey doesn't get too many good scenes but the one where he gets drunk with the genii was pretty good. This turned out to be the final role for Blore and he too is pretty good as the genii. The lack of laughs don't hurt the film too much because the director keeps all the action happening quite fast and things move along very quickly. The 64-minutes goes by without any slow spots so that's always good in a "B" film like this.