The Bowery Boys films simply went on way, way too long. After all, they made 48...not counting the ones made before this by many members of the group in such incarnations as the East Side Kids, the Dead End Kids and the Little Tough Guys! Talk about over-saturation!! And, to make it worse, after Bernard Gorcey died, his son, Leo, quit the series...and yet they still made more films!!! To make things worse, they often tended to reuse plot ideas--and the Boys ended up battling baddies in haunted houses many, many times...too many! This is why I really was not impressed with "The Bowery Boys Meet the Monsters".
So despite all this, is this later Bowery Boys film worth your time? Well, for some (those who hate the films), no...and for devoted fans, yes. But for the average person...it's probably NOT a good place to start. Instead, find one of their earlier films--the ones they made just after WWII.
This film finds the gang going to Gravesend Manor--where the weirdos living there are anxiously awaiting the visit. At first, they are excited by how stupid Slip sounds when he phones them but upon meeting Sach they realize he's perfect for a brain transfer to a gorilla...something they actually did in several other previous films!! The lack of originality make this hard to distinguish! It's all essentially a retread...and the earlier haunted house/brain transfer with ape films were better. The only major difference? They've also got a giant silly robot in this one...ugh!
So despite all this, is this later Bowery Boys film worth your time? Well, for some (those who hate the films), no...and for devoted fans, yes. But for the average person...it's probably NOT a good place to start. Instead, find one of their earlier films--the ones they made just after WWII.
This film finds the gang going to Gravesend Manor--where the weirdos living there are anxiously awaiting the visit. At first, they are excited by how stupid Slip sounds when he phones them but upon meeting Sach they realize he's perfect for a brain transfer to a gorilla...something they actually did in several other previous films!! The lack of originality make this hard to distinguish! It's all essentially a retread...and the earlier haunted house/brain transfer with ape films were better. The only major difference? They've also got a giant silly robot in this one...ugh!