Here Come the Marines (1952)

Pretty Good

Absolutely the worst movie.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

When Slip is drafted into the Marines, his buddies join him and make our country just a little less safe in this twenty-sixth Bowery Boys film from Monogram. As if the idea of putting the gang in the military wasn't enough (this was at least their third such movie by this point), a murder mystery is added onto things. Because nothing says Bowery Boys like sleuthing I guess. This is a pretty routine entry in the series and not a particularly funny one, either. Leo Gorcey has a few decent malapropisms ("I'm declined to agree with you" and "I'll depreciate your cooperation," for example) and Huntz Hall does his usual shtick. Bernard Gorcey's Louie doesn't get as much to do here but his few scenes are enjoyable. This marks the second and final appearance of Gil Stratton in the series. He maybe said three lines in both movies he was in so no great loss there. The other two members of the group, David Gorcey and Bennie Bartlett, do next to nothing. The series always focused primarily on Slip, Sach, and (later on) Louie but at least former Bowery Boys like Whitey and Gabe were given some stuff to do. I don't even remember the character names of these three. Anyway, this is not one of the better Bowery Boys movies. It's worth a look if you're a fan of the series but most viewers will probably be a little bored.

Sam Katzman never did worry about continuity for his Bowery Boys. Before Here Come The Marines the guys were in the army and navy both. But military service comedies are always good for laughs and the Bowery Boys were naturals for them.As the Marine Corps recruiting slogan goes, the Marines are looking for a few good men. So why would the Marines consider drafting the Bowery Boys? Don't those other armed forces talk to each other?The commandant of the base discovers that Huntz Hall's father was his sergeant in World War I and immediately makes Sach a sergeant. Like that sits well with Leo Gorcey given his natural leadership abilities. I don't think it takes much imagination to see where this is going.Guest performers include Paul Maxey who runs a gambling clip joint where Marines lose their hard earned pay and the beautiful Myrna Dell who is the come-on.No new ground for the series broken here.

Here Come the Marines (1952)** 1/2 (out of 4) Number twenty-six has Slip (Leo Gorcey) drafted into the Marines and soon after Sach (Huntz Hall) and the other three join him. It goes without saying but Sach causes one major problem after another but he accidentally stumbles onto a special chemical, which gets him in good with the Colonel who just happen to serve with his father. As Sach goes higher up the ladder, the boys begin to investigate the murder of a marine and it might lead back to a gambling house. Gorcey still has his name above the title here but as with the previous entries, there's no doubt that this one has him taking a backseat to Hall who ends up playing the lead and doing a very good job with it. Usually I can only take so much of him but he actually gets in a pretty good groove here and manages to make the film his very own. I think Hall does a very good job here and I think this is without question one of his best performances as Sach. The dumbness is all here but I think what really works is him slowing rising up the ladder and getting to boss around Slip and the other guys. Seeing Hall get to play the tough guy was extremely fun and I think it added a touch of freshness to the film. Gorcey is also pretty good in his role but the less of him really didn't turn out to be that much of a negative. Paul Maxey turns in a nice performance in his small role as the ring leader of the gambling house and Myrna Dell gets a few nice laughs as the blonde bimbo. We even get Bernard Gorcey in a couple funny bits. No matter what name they were under, the service type comedies were always rather familiar and this one here certainly doesn't offer anything new but I think there are enough laughs to make it worth viewing for fans of the series. I think the weakest aspects involve the gamblers since this has been seen way too many times before.

***SPOILERS*** The "Bowery Boys" end up enlisting in the US Marine Corpes after their leader Slip is drafted, at age 35,into it since the US military, deadlocked in the Korean War, is hard up for new recruits. In no time at all Slip's nutty, but very lucky, friend Sach makes it big in the Corps by his battalion leader Col.Thomas F. Brown finding out that his pop Horace Debussy Jones Sr.,known as "Hard Head" Jones, was his hard as nails drill sergeant back in WWI; The toughest man in the entire US Marine Corpes.Put in charge of the unit that Slip and his "Bowery Boys", Junior Butch & Chuck, are members off Sach makes life miserable for them in forcing the boys on 20 mile force marches, with full pack, while Sach is marching along with them on his bicycle. It's during one of those force marches that Slip finds a barley alive US Marine, Pvt. Hardy, on the side of the road with a playing card on him.It's later while on a 12 hour leave, given by Sgt. Sach, the boys are enticed by sexy Lulu Mea to go to this illegal gambling house run by her boss Jolly Joe Johnson where, besides being cheated out of his money, Slip notices that the cards uses there are exactly like the card he found on the unconscious and now dead Pvt. Hardy!***SPOILERS*** Not one of the better "Bowery Boys" movies in that the "Boys" never really get to do their thing, slap stick shenanigans, in it. Still it's not all bad in Sach making a complete jerk, which isn't that hard for him, of himself to the point where his friends "The Bowery Boys" would like nothing better then stick a bayonet up his behind and end up using him as Popsicle. In fact the "Boys" in the end get their wish with Slip promoted to be their unit leader due to his dad Sgt. "Fighting Terry" Mahoney being Col. Brown's new replacement Col. James Flavin top kick, Sergeant, in WW I. It's now time for the busted down to private Sach to do the grueling force marching while Slip and the boys get a big laugh out of it.