3/10
Fighting to Stay Awake
5 March 2011
With leader Leo Gorcey retiring from the Bowery series due to personal problems (see "Crashing Las Vegas"), "Fighting Trouble" introduces streetwise Stanley Clements (as Stanislaus "Duke" Covelske) to lead the group. A good fit, but not all the film series needed, Mr. Clements was a member of previous group "The East Side Kids" (as Stash) for a few films during 1942-43. Breaking from the juvenile gang roles, Clements won critical acclaim for his performance in "Salty O'Rourke" (1945), but found his career stalled thereafter...

With no story explanation, Clements would lead "The Bowery Boys" to their final comic escapades. Long-running sidekick Huntz Hall (as Horace Debussy "Sach" Jones) now held star-billing. In this wearisome outing, ever-present David "Condon" Gorcey (as Chuck) and one-shot Danny Welton (as Danny) round out the quartet. To help the latter, Clements and Mr. Hall arm themselves with binoculars and a camera. Eventually, everyone becomes involved with gangsters. A heart attack made this regular Tim Ryan's last Bowery adventure.

*** Fighting Trouble (9/16/56) George Blair ~ Huntz Hall, Stanley Clements, Tim Ryan, David Gorcey
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