Huntz Hall told a super story about his old pal Leo Gorcey, along with Gabe Dell, to Mike Douglas on his tv show back in the 70s. You can find this on YOUTUBE. He said both on and off the screen Leo was the boss of the gang, at least the one with all the chutztpah! He drove Jack Warner and the rest at Warner Brothers nuts, but he also had the talent, especially for snappy one liners. The story goes that one night Gorcey, he and Gabe happened upon a lot of cars that were used in the movies. Leo picked the biggest sedan, they all hopped in and went for a drive around Burbank! Huntz Hall asked him how long he was driving, to which Leo replied "This is the first time I ever drove a car!" This kind of sums up this movie, which was the last the gang made for Warners, before the East Side kids and the famous Bowery Boys. Gorcey plays Slip (the same character name he had in the Bowery Boys) who is a problem teenager! There's some very dramatic moments at play here which leads to Slip re-evaluating his past (redemption) and going to military school, hence the title ON DRESS PARADE. True, it's an old storyline, long used by the Dead End Kids, but its fun to watch Gorcey (who knew his stuff on camera) get in and out of another mess and admit he needed an attitude adjustment. Great support from all the familiars, including Billy Halop, Bobby Jordan, Gabe Dell and Huntz Hall, who isn't as goofy as he was in the Bowery Boys, but he has his moments. Interestingly, this was written by veteran Tom Reed, whose career spanned back to the silent era, beginning with the original PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (starring Long Chaney). He also was a contributing writer to the iconic BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935), before working at Warner Brothers. The gang's all here, but Leo is da man! Remastered on dvd WB box sets. Warners later acquired all the Bowery Boys movies and also remastered them into super box sets.
Review of On Dress Parade
