Someone at Monogram must have like Minerva Urecal, casting her in at least 9 of the East Side Kids/Bowery Boys films, going from a picklepuss in one to mother figure in this, and a judge and a Nazi spy in others. She's a scene stealer who could go from being warm hearted to cold blooded, no matter what the situation. In this one she's the struggling horse owner whom the boys rescue by getting along for her so she doesn't have to lose her stable space, and seemingly hard as nails Leo Gorcey refers to her as the gang's adopted mother.
This is one of the first films to focus mainly on Gorcey and Huntz Hall as characters, as they would soon be dominating the Bowery Boys boys series, starting the following year. The other gang members have little to do and are basically there just to take on lines to flesh out the group of friends. Bernard Gorcey pops up briefly, .entioning a word that will have movie fans yelling out a famous line from a popular Mel Brooks movie at the screen.
It's a mixture of delightful comedy at the beginning and touching pathos later on as they discover corruption at the racetrack Involving attempts to sabotage Urecal's horse. Nancy Brinckman plays her niece, unknowingly involved with the bad guys, and John H. Allen plays Scruno, perhaps the same character played by Sammy Morrison in the other films but never confirmed. Pretty predictable but good.
This is one of the first films to focus mainly on Gorcey and Huntz Hall as characters, as they would soon be dominating the Bowery Boys boys series, starting the following year. The other gang members have little to do and are basically there just to take on lines to flesh out the group of friends. Bernard Gorcey pops up briefly, .entioning a word that will have movie fans yelling out a famous line from a popular Mel Brooks movie at the screen.
It's a mixture of delightful comedy at the beginning and touching pathos later on as they discover corruption at the racetrack Involving attempts to sabotage Urecal's horse. Nancy Brinckman plays her niece, unknowingly involved with the bad guys, and John H. Allen plays Scruno, perhaps the same character played by Sammy Morrison in the other films but never confirmed. Pretty predictable but good.