The Bowery (1933)

"In the Gay Nineties New York had grown up into bustles and balloon Sleeves ... but The Bowery had grown younger, louder and more rowdy until it was known as the 'Livest Mile on the face of... See full summary »

Director:

Raoul Walsh

Writers:

Michael L. Simmons (based on the novel by), Bessie Roth Solomon (based on the novel by),

Stars:

Wallace Beery, George Raft, Jackie Cooper

Cast

Cast overview:
Wallace Beery	...	Chuck Connors
George Raft	...	Steve Brodie
Jackie Cooper	...	Swipes McGurk
Fay Wray	...	Lucy Calhoun
Pert Kelton	...	Trixie Odbray
Herman Bing	...	Max Herman
Oscar Apfel	...	Ivan Rummel
Ferdinand Munier	...	Honest Mike
George Walsh	...	John L. Sullivan
Lillian Harmer	...	Carrie A. Nation

Storyline

"In the Gay Nineties New York had grown up into bustles and balloon Sleeves ... but The Bowery had grown younger, louder and more rowdy until it was known as the 'Livest Mile on the face of the globe' ... the cradle of men who were later to be famous." The scene opens in a saloon named "Nigger Joe's" ...

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Plot Keywords:

saloon | neighborhood | bookmaker | fall from grace | knockout | 

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Taglines:

"CHUCK" CONNORS MONARCH OF ALL HE SURVEYED AND COULD LICK!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 October 1933 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bowery

Box Office

Budget:

$421,496 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

20th Century Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min 87 min (re-release)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

George Raft and Wallace Beery were at odds during filming. According to Raft, before the fistfight scene, Beery asked Raft to let him throw the first punch and then proceeded to sucker-punch Raft, knocking him out for several minutes. "When I came to I got up and called him everything I could think of," Raft said. They then fought for real, and the crew had to break it up.

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Goofs

The name of George Raft's character, "Steve Brodie," is misspelled "Brody" in the opening credits.

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Quotes

Steve Brodie: Don't ever say I never give ya nothin'.

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Connections

Edited into Brooklyn Bridge (1981)

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Soundtracks

"Dear Little Boy of Mine"
(uncredited)
Music by Ernest Ball
Played when Connors checks on Swipes and picks up the kittens
Played as Swipes' theme

User Reviews

Boisterous fun in old New York.

A favourite of mine,this movie tells of two feuding New York "characters", Steve Brodie(Raft) and "Chuck" Connors(Beery),who both strive to be the "Main Guy" in the Bowery in the late Nineteenth Century.

Brodie(1863-1901) and Connors(1852-1913),were real people,though this is a heavily fictionalized account of their antics(based on a play).Brodie's legendary(did he do it?- it's still a cause of argument!),jump from the Brooklyn bridge(1886),for which he became famous,is shown here as happening around the same time as the Spanish-American war(1898).Director Walsh clearly had a great affection for the period,so beautifully recreated here,and it includes a wild rumbustious ragtime number from saloon singer Trixie Odbray(a young Pert Kelton).Raft is at his slickest as Brodie,and Beery shows again what a clever actor he was,as tough, big hearted, and at times quite touching Connors.Pretty Fay Wray is the love interest both the boys are pursuing.

Full of life and energy,"The Bowery" moves at a fast pace(unlike many early "talkies").It is not an easy movie to find,but is well worth looking out for.