''Bowery Champs'' is a 1944 American film directed by

William Beaudine William Washington Beaudine (January 15, 1892 – March 18, 1970) was an American film actor and director. He was one of Hollywood's most prolific directors, turning out films in remarkable numbers and in a wide variety of genres. Life and car ...

and starring the East Side Kids.

Plot

After she files for divorce from nightclub owner Tom Wilson, former Broadway star Gypsy Carmen demands that he return the securities that she owned before their marriage. When Wilson claims that the securities are missing, Gypsy pulls a gun from her purse and aims it at him. At that moment, a gun is fired through the window of his house. Tom falls dead and Gypsy flees in panic. At the time of the murder, Jim Lindsey, the star reporter of the American Express paper, is busily bidding on oriental rugs at an auction and consequently misses the story. Deciding to cover the murder for the absent Jim, Muggs McGinnis, who is working as a copy boy on the paper, asks Glimpy to drive him to the Wilson house in the paper's delivery car. At the house, Muggs and Glimpy sneak through an open window and listen as the police interrogate Wilson's mistress, Diane Gibson, an entertainer at the nightclub, and Ken Duncan, Wilson's manager. Duncan recalls that Gypsy threatened Wilson's life, and the police lieutenant states that a .38 caliber bullet was used to kill Wilson. The houseboy then reveals that right after the murder, he saw a woman wearing a "fuzzy coat and funny hat" hail a yellow cab with a dented fender. After purchasing his rug, Jim hears about the murder and hurries to the Wilson house to investigate. Meanwhile, Muggs, Glimpy and the other East Side Kids go to the taxi stand and learn from the driver hat he delivered a woman wearing a fuzzy coat to the Stephens apartment building, where Gypsy lives. As Muggs and the boys drive to the apartment building, the police arrive at the taxi stand, question the driver and dispatch a car to arrest Gypsy. When Muggs and the boys question Gypsy, she protests her innocence. Noticing the police car pull up to the curb, Muggs instructs Skinny to don Gypsy's hat and coat and speed away in the newspaper's car. After the police follow Skinny, Muggs tells Gypsy to disguise herself as a boy and escorts her to the safety of the boys' clubhouse. Skinny drives to the Wilson house, watches as Diane leaves and follows her. At the clubhouse, Gypsy shows her gun to Muggs, who recognizes it as a .32 caliber, and Muggs pronounces that it is not the murder weapon. Jim, meanwhile, searches for clues at the Wilson house and finds a button in the hallway. Surmising that it belongs to the murderer, Jim takes the button to show his publisher, Lester Cartwright. As Jim exhibits his clue, the police arrive to question Cartwright about the strange woman driving the Express's car. Upon seeing the button, the police take Cartwright in for questioning, and Cartwright, furious, fires Jim. Skinny, meanwhile, has followed Diane to the Pussy Cat Café, where she turns Gypsy's stolen securities over to Duncan. Skinny then telephones his sister and instructs her to find Muggs and send him to the café. Muggs has returned to the newspaper office and, learning of Jim's predicament, accompanies him to the clubhouse to interview Gypsy. When Skinny's sister, Jane finds them outside the clubhouse and relates Skinny's message to Muggs, Muggs tells Jim to deliver Gypsy to police headquarters while he meets Skinny. Gypsy has left the clubhouse, however, and when Jim finds the room deserted, he dispatches the police to the café. Skinny is eavesdropping outside the door to Duncan's office when one of Duncan's henchmen finds him and imprisons him in a room. After Diane leaves the office to perform her act, Gypsy enters, pulls out her gun and demands that Duncan return the securities. Just then, Diane re-enters the room and begins to wrestle with Gypsy. As Skinny struggles with his captor in the next room, Muggs and the boys arrive and join the fray. Soon after, the police come to arrest Diane and Duncan, and Jim breaks the story about the capture of Wilson's murderers.

Cast

The East Side Kids

Leo Gorcey Leo Bernard Gorcey (June 3, 1917– June 2, 1969) was an American stage and film actor, famous for portraying the leader of a group of hooligans known variously as the Dead End Kids, the East Side Kids and, as adults, The Bowery Boys. Gorcey was ...

as Ethelbert 'Muggs' McGinnis *

Huntz Hall Henry Richard "Huntz" Hall (August 15, 1920 – January 30, 1999) was an American radio, stage, and movie performer who appeared in the popular " Dead End Kids" movies, including ''Angels with Dirty Faces'' (1938), and in the later " Bowery ...

as Glimpy McClusky *

Billy Benedict William Benedict (April 16, 1917 – November 25, 1999), was an American actor, perhaps best known for playing "Whitey" in Monogram Pictures' The Bowery Boys series. Early years Benedict was born in Haskell, Oklahoma, After his father's dea ...

as Skinny *

Bobby Jordan Robert G. Jordan (April 1, 1923 – September 10, 1965) was an American actor, most notable for being a member of the Dead End Kids, the East Side Kids, and The Bowery Boys. Early life and career Jordan was born in Harrison, New York, ...

as Bobby Jordan *

Jimmy Strand The East Side Kids were characters in a series of 22 films released by Monogram Pictures from 1940 through 1945. Many of them were originally part of The Dead End Kids and The Little Tough Guys, and several of them later became members of The B ...

as Danny *

Buddy Gorman Charles J. "Buddy" Gorman''Hollywood's Made-To-Order-Punks: The Complete Film History of the Dead End Kids, Little Tough Guys, East Side Kids, and Bowery Boys,'' Richard Roat, BearManor Media, 2010. (September 2, 1921 – April 1, 2010) was an A ...

as Shorty

Additional Cast

Gabriel Dell Gabriel Dell (born Gabriel Marcel Dell Vecchio; October 8, 1919 – July 3, 1988) was an American actor and one of the members of what came to be known as the Dead End Kids, then later the East Side Kids and finally The Bowery Boys. Acting car ...

as Jim Lindsay *

Evelyn Brent Evelyn Brent (born Mary Elizabeth Riggs; October 20, 1895 – June 4, 1975) was an American film and stage actress. Early life Brent was born in Tampa, Florida, and known as Betty. When she was age 10, her mother Eleanor (née. Warner) died, ...

as Gypsy Carmen *

Ian Keith Ian Keith (born Keith Ross; February 27, 1899 – March 26, 1960) was an American actor. Early years Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Keith grew up in Chicago. He was educated at the Francis Parker School there and played Hamlet in a school p ...

as Ken Duncan * Thelma White as Diane Gibson *

Frank Jaquet Frank Garnier Jaquet (March 16, 1885 – May 11, 1958) was an American actor known for playing supporting roles with his career extended from 1934 to the mid-1950s. Biography In 1925, Jaquet was part of the Summer stock cast at the Elitch ...

as Lester Cartwright *

Anne Sterling Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in th ...

as Jane *

Wheeler Oakman Wheeler Oakman (born Vivian Eichelberger; February 21, 1890 – March 19, 1949) was an American film actor. Early years Oakman was born as Vivian Eichelberger in Washington, D.C., and educated in that city's schools. He grew up in Fairfax, Vir ...

as Tom Wilson *

Fred Kelsey Frederick Alvin Kelsey (August 20, 1884 – September 2, 1961) was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. Kelsey directed one- and two-reel films for Universal Film Manufacturing Company. He appeared in more than 400 films betw ...

as McGuire *

William Ruhl William Harris Ruhl (October 25, 1901 – March 12, 1956) was an American character actor of the 1930s, 1940s, and early 1950s. Early life Born on October 25, 1901, in Colfax, Washington, Ruhl entered films in the small role of a shopper i ...

as Lieutenant * Kenneth MacDonald as Henchman * Betty Sinclair as Apartment Manager * Francis Ford as Sports Writer *

Eddie Cherkose Eddie or Eddy may refer to: Science and technology *Eddy (fluid dynamics), the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid flows past an obstacle * Eddie (text editor), a text editor originally for BeOS and now ported to Lin ...

as Scoop *

Joe Bautista Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

as Houseboy *

Bernard Gorcey Bernard Gorcey (9 January 1886 – 11 September 1955) was a Russian-born American actor. He began in Vaudeville, performed on Broadway, and appeared in multiple shorts and films. He portrayed ice cream shop proprietor Louie Dumbrowski i ...

as Mr. Johnson, taxi driver (uncredited) *

Jack Mulhall John Joseph Francis Mulhall (October 7, 1887 – June 1, 1979) was an American film actor beginning in the silent film era who successfully transitioned to sound films, appearing in over 430 films in a career spanning 50 years. Early years Mu ...

as Sgt. Ryan (uncredited)

Production

It was filmed under the title ''Mr. Muggs Meets a Deadline''. While on leave from military duty,

visited the set during its filming and he was written into the film (as himself) at the last minute. The film marks Jimmy Strand's last East Side Kids film, while it includes

's father, Bernard, as Mr. Johnson, the taxi driver.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bowery Champs 1944 films 1944 comedy films 1940s English-language films American black-and-white films Monogram Pictures films Films directed by William Beaudine Films produced by Sam Katzman American comedy films East Side Kids 1940s American films