BLUES BUSTERS

US, 1950, 67 minutes, Black and white.
Leo Gorcey , Huntz Hall, Adele Jergens, Craig Stevens, Bernard Gorcey.
Directed by William Beaudine.

Along with the many very small-budget second features in the 1940s and 1950s featuring Leo Gorcey and Huntz Hall, this is just a footnote in film history.

Gorcey and others appeared in the 1937 film, Dead End, with a group of young actors called the end And Kids which led to The Bowery Boys. They had a number of incarnations in short films including the East End Kids. Eventually, with Leo Gorcey as star and producer, they made a number of filler films, very American in their style.

In this one, Huntz Hall portrays his usual character who has a tonsillitis operation and finds that he can sing like Bing Crosby, becoming very popular in nightclubs. He is supported by Slip (Gorcey) and the bar proprietor, Louie (Bernard Gorcey). He is loyal but rather dimwitted and allows himself to be led astray by Adele Jergens, signing his autograph all over hotel room and then, unwittingly, signing away his contract to a rival club owner, played by Craig Stevens in an early role. Most of the action concerns Hall’s comedy, the exasperation of Louie and his group, the dreadful lack of talent with Slip and his attempt to sing, with their dancer setting up the rival for a jealous outburst and the retrieval of the contract.

A historical movie footnote.