One of the milder Kids cut-ups from that generally hilarious series. There're still chuckles aplenty from the trademark fractured grammar to the slappy roughhousing. As usual, Gorcey and Hall shine in their comical roles, though Hall trades more slams with Herbie (Stone) than with Gorcey-- Stone acting and looking like goofus Curley from The Three Stooges. My favorite part is with the brassy, blonde Iris Adrian as cheap floozie Mazie. She's a perfect female counterpart to the crack-up boys. I wish they had more scenes together, the comedic potential is certainly there.
Still, there's more serious plotting to the story than the usual comedic throw-aways. Unfortunately, however, the serious side doesn't always blend well with the usual nonsense humor. Still, the non-comedic side is understandable since 1943 was war time, so things had to serious up a bit. Note the close relationship between the wealthy, non-comical Cortland family and the comical poor-boy East-siders. That's likely a touch of needed class solidarity during those trying times when such was needed. At the same time, I expect that also accounts for the Kids becoming self-proclaimed 'do-gooders', a departure from their usual 'just a bunch of tough guys' behavior. That too's understandable given the overall need for not only class solidarity but national solidarity, as well. However, these serious sides don't always complement the kind of throw-away humor that elevated the series to sheer escapist entertainment.
Despite this sober side, fans can't help but be amused by the priceless lunacy of stars Hall and Gorcey-- always a sure bet. So, catch it up anyway.
(In passing-- I couldn't help noticing a surprising resemblance between actor Durand (Dave), a striped sweater gang member, and a young Marlon Brando. See what you think.)