Blonde Dynamite (1950)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
The boys are able to talk Louie (Bernard Gorcey) into taking a much needed vacation to Coney Island. Once gone Slip (Leo Gorcey) turns his ice cream parlor into an escort service and soon he gets himself mixed up with a couple gangsters wanting to use the place to tunnel underground to the bank next door. Number seventeen in the long-running series is another winner even though it doesn't contain nearly enough laughs to be called a good movie. The story is actually a pretty good one and the cast are certainly up for anything this time around. I thought the film benefited from once again giving Gabe (Gabriel Dell) a different role and him being mixed up with the icy blonde and the gangsters was a nice switch to get the story rolling instead of having the boys bringing the trouble on. I think the screenplay would have benefited had it spent some more time with Louis. The opening sequence with his breakdown was pretty funny as was the scene where he's leaving with his wife. This is the first time we've seen him wife and hopefully the last time. Bernard Gorcey is certainly very good in his few minutes on screen with son Leo and Huntz Hall delivering they usual fine performances. This entry seemed to be going for more Three Stooges-like humor as Slip is starting to enjoy slapping Sach around each time he can. Dell is in fine form as well as Adele Jergens as the backstabbing blonde and Harry Lewis gets a nice bit as a bad guy. The film doesn't have nearly enough laughs to make it a total success but fans of the series will find enough here to make it worth watching.
** 1/2 (out of 4)
The boys are able to talk Louie (Bernard Gorcey) into taking a much needed vacation to Coney Island. Once gone Slip (Leo Gorcey) turns his ice cream parlor into an escort service and soon he gets himself mixed up with a couple gangsters wanting to use the place to tunnel underground to the bank next door. Number seventeen in the long-running series is another winner even though it doesn't contain nearly enough laughs to be called a good movie. The story is actually a pretty good one and the cast are certainly up for anything this time around. I thought the film benefited from once again giving Gabe (Gabriel Dell) a different role and him being mixed up with the icy blonde and the gangsters was a nice switch to get the story rolling instead of having the boys bringing the trouble on. I think the screenplay would have benefited had it spent some more time with Louis. The opening sequence with his breakdown was pretty funny as was the scene where he's leaving with his wife. This is the first time we've seen him wife and hopefully the last time. Bernard Gorcey is certainly very good in his few minutes on screen with son Leo and Huntz Hall delivering they usual fine performances. This entry seemed to be going for more Three Stooges-like humor as Slip is starting to enjoy slapping Sach around each time he can. Dell is in fine form as well as Adele Jergens as the backstabbing blonde and Harry Lewis gets a nice bit as a bad guy. The film doesn't have nearly enough laughs to make it a total success but fans of the series will find enough here to make it worth watching.