Review of Bowery to Bagdad

On of the last of the 41 "Bowery Boys" films in which Leo Gorcey ('Slip' Mahoney) served as the gang leader. He quit the series soon after his diminutive father, Bernard, was killed in an auto accident, in the same year this film was released. In : sweets shop proprietor, where the gang usually each of the "Bowery Boys" films, Bernard had played Louise Dumbrowski proprietor of a sweets shop, where the gang usually hung out between escapades........ Hadn't seen a Bowery Boys" film in years, although, as a boy, I saw quite a few, as well as the former related series: "East Side Gang" and "Dead End Kids", going back to the late '30s. Leo Gorcey and Huntz Hall played the main characters: Slip, and Sach, respectively, and constituted one of the best loved comedy teams of their era.. Among other things, Gorcey was infamous for his invented malapropisms, with a Brooklyn accent. Huntz was a genius with his natural combination of physical and verbal comedy, packaged in a naïve persona, that perfectly complemented Gorcey's tough guy persona.......Veteran comedic retainer Eric Blore, with his distinctive manner of speaking was a great choice for the genie associated with the Aladdin's lamp Sach bought for 25c as a curiosity piece. Sach polished it with a cloth , and Blore popped out. This was Blore's last film appearance, in a career than spanned 25 years in Hollywood. If you've seen some of the Astaire and Roger's films, you probably remember him as a prominent functionary, as in "Top Hat", for instance. Here, he appears and disappears at will, after the lamp is rubbed. He arranges it so that Slip and Sach have to agree on a wish before it is given. This makes things complicated for 2 sets of lamp thieves who spend most of the film trying to steal the lamp and get the 2 together, and agreed to their wish(usually money). One pair wears towels(turbans) on their heads and apparently have come to NYC from Bagdad, looking for the lamp. The other is apparently a group of gangsters, headed by Duke Dalan(Robert Bice), who have a moll(Joan Shawlee , as Cindy Lou) who plays a role in trying to seduce Sach into giving up the lamp. The lamp changes hands a number of times. Near the end, the Genie decides that the 'boys' need to get somewhere far away with their lamp. So, he magically transfers them and himself to Bagdad, in the midst of the Sultan's harem. When the Sultan arrives, he is angry. Thus, the Genie transfers them back to NYC for the finale......Apparently, this is one of the more silly, yet interesting, films of this series. I suspect many adults will find it too anarchic. But, many children will probably relish it's magical mayhem. See it at YouTube.