Time to check in on the East Side Kids, aka The Bowery Boys.
Huntz Hall makes his debut in the series in 1941's "Bowery Blitzkrieg", in which Muggs (Leo Gorcey) steps into the boxing ring, competing in the Golden Gloves under the sponsorship of the NYPD. Keye Luke (billed as "Key" Luke) appears briefly as the owner of a pool hall.
Ernest "Sunshine Sammy" Morrison (ex-Our Gang) is part of this group. Edited for broadcast when it aired on channel 5 in NYC back in the day.
It was bound to happen, sooner or later, so Hal Roach brought back some of the original members of Our Gang. including Matthew "Stymie" Beard, Joe Cobb, & Mickey Daniels, to meet Spanky, Alfalfa, Darla, and the rest.
Originally titled, "Our Gang Follies of 1937", the film has since been reissued as "Reunion in Rhythm":
The title says it all, folks. Jonathan Swift's classic is parodied by Mickey Mouse as he spins a yarn for a group of orphaned mice.
"The Henpecked Duck" is Daffy Duck in this Bob Clampett farce, with Porky Pig as the presiding judge, Sara Berner voices Mrs. Duck.
Jeff Bergman has been a mainstay at Hanna-Barbera & WB for 30+ years, and recently, landed one of the biggest roles of his career, as he inherits the voice role of Mr. Potato Head in "Toy Story 5", taking over for the late Don Rickles.
This weekend, Jeff was interviewed on CBS Saturday Morning, so many of us finally got a face to go with all those voices, plus some archived footage of Mel Blanc with David Letterman.
Porky Pig stars in Friz Freleng's loose adaptation of Aesop's The Grasshopper & The Ant, "Porky's Bear Facts", as he contends with a lazy neighbor...
Many moons ago, we discussed WSBK's Mystery Theatre, which was a lead-in to The Three Stooges on Saturday mornings back in the 80's. The only two components were Charlie Chan, which we discussed back then, and Mr. Moto, our next subject.
Peter Lorre was cast as Moto, John Marquand's secret agent, now rebooted as a detective, and, in 1938's "Mr. Moto's Gamble", as a criminology professor in San Francisco. "Gamble" was originally meant to be a Chan movie, but Warner Oland had taken ill, and subsequently passed away, so the script was rewritten with Moto taking over. Lee Chan (Keye Luke) is one of Moto's students. Our supporting cast is loaded with some familiar names, including Lon Chaney, Jr., "Slapsie" Maxie Rosenbloom, Ward Bond, Douglas Fowley, and John Hamilton, who'd also appear with Boris Karloff in a Mr. Wong film, well before Adventures of Superman.
