Loose in London (1953) User Reviews

Sach With A Title

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 6 November 2010]

Possible good fortune knocks on the door of Louie's Sweet Shop on the Bowery where four guys who every now and then have jobs are known to hang out. It seems as though a fellow with the high sounding moniker of Horace DeBussy Jones might actually rate that kind of a name. He could be the long lost descendant of a collateral branch of the Earl of Walsingham's family. And the current Earl is not doing all that well health wise.

Instead of just Huntz Hall coming over the whole gang departs and the sight of them seems to perk the old Earl played by Walter Kingsford up. They've been slowly poisoning him in the hopes of at least one of them being made his heir. But Kingsford is actually charmed by the moronic clowning of The Bowery Boys and he goes off the medicines the relatives have him on and starts getting a little color back in his cheeks.

The relatives are played by Norma Varden, Angela Greene, William Cottrell, John Dodsworth, and Rex Evans and they're not happy about their cousin from across the pond to say the least. It might further their interests if Kingsford got more suddenly dispatched and the Bowery Boys blamed for it.

The Bowery Boys recycle a lot of material from other films and use it in their's. The characters of Walsingham family come from just about every film with an English setting you can name. Still the results here aren't too bad. Huntz Hall's battle with a stuffed fox that may still have some life in it is a classic.

This Bowery Boys film did not have all that much of Leo Gorcey and his original language malapropisms. Huntz Hall has center stage here and if you are fans of his, this film is for you.

This is a good one

[pmtelefon · 7/10 · 23 December 2019]

The Bowery Boys movies are hit and miss. This one is one of the hits. There are more smiles than laughs but that's okay. The movie is enjoyable. The boys are all in fine form, especially Huntz Hall. The last fifteen minutes or so of "Loose in London" is actually really funny. I put this one in the Bowery Boys win column.

Pretty much you expect from a later Bowery Boys film

[planktonrules · 5/10 · 19 September 2016]

The Bowery Boys films were mindless entertainment. This is NOT meant as a criticism--they were quickly made and interesting B-movies with very modest pretenses. I mention this because you shouldn't expect a film that you'd find on a disc from The Criterion Collection or at a fancy film festival--they were popular entertainment for the masses. Because of that, I cut their films a lot of slack and realize they aren't 'high art'!

"Loose in London" is one of the later films from the Boys. Because of that Sach and Slip are looking practically geriatric (they're hardly boys any more) and all the familiar old members of the gang have long since disappeared. It's simply the Sach and Slip show.

The film begins with Sach (Huntz Hall) learning that a very, very distant relative in Britain wants to see him. Once there, the gang learn that the old man plans on leaving his fortune to someone...but hasn't yet decided. As for Sach's other family members, they've decided...Sach must die because he looks like the likely candidate because the Uncle seems to like him a lot! What follows is predictable and a nice time-passer. And, as usual, they manage to escape death...though you'd sure think these idiots would be the FIRST to die in real life!

Nothing special, nothing bad here. The usual blend of slapstick and laughs and nothing more.

Turning Point in the Bowery Boys Series

[lzf0 · 29 May 2010]

It is with this film that the focus of the Bowery Boys movies becomes pure comedy. The change from gangster melodramas to comedy is gradual, and many of the Jan Grippo and Jerry Thomas films which precede this one point in the direction of comedy. Ben Schwab, the new producer of the series, wanted a purer sense of comedy. After doing "Jalopy", which used the regular writers and the regular director, William "One Take" Beaudine, Schwab replaced them with Ed Bernds and Elwood Ullman. These men had been working on Three Stooges shorts for years. Ullman was always a writer and Bernds had started as a sound effects man and had graduated to writer-director. The Bernds directed Columbia short comedies are usually superior to the ones produced at the same time by Jules White. Bernds and Ullman brought their short subject slapstick comedy style to the Bowery Boys and this produced the funniest movies in the series. Sure, the stories might have been better before, but the formula of someone walking in Louie's Sweet Shop and taking the boys out of their element was a great set-up for slapstick comedy. The focus of the films became Leo Gorcey and Huntz Hall; Bernard Gorcey is given better material, but David Gorcey and Bennie Bartlett slip more into the background or even out of the films. Schwab also replaced longtime musical director Edward Kay, whose music consists of transformations of "Sidewalks of New York" and "B" western clichés, with the more modern and comic sound of Marlin Skiles.

That was just a filament of your imagination

[sol1218 · 6/10 · 7 November 2010]

***SPOILERS*** The "Bowery Boys" get the startling news from British solicitor Allison J. Higby, at Louie Dumbrowsky's Sweet Shop in the Bowery that one of their illustrious members Sach or Horace Dumbussy Jones, as he's legally known as, is related to the filthy rich English Earl of Walsingham! It turns out that this guy-the Earl-is loaded to the gills owning coal mines in Wessex textile mills in Essex an exclusive sporting lodge, that the British Royal Family members attends annually, in Sussex and to round things off is part owner of an NBA Basketball team in Phoenix!

Getting on the first boat sailing for jolly old England the boys, Slip Sach Butch & Chuck, together with Louie Dumbrowsky who was a stowaway, by getting himself smashed at the going away party and forgetting to leave the boat, on board finally get to Walsingham Castel only to find out that the Earl's, who's on his deathbed, fortune is to be divided among his greedy relatives who in fact, by slipping poison in his medication, are tying to murder him. Sach for his part brings the Earl back to health by substituting his "medication" with ice cream and cookies that makes his relatives mad as hell. So mad that they plan to do Sach as well as the Earl in before he changes his will and leaves everything, the sporting lodge coal mines textile mills and basketball team, over to Sach!

***SPOILERS*** The "Bowery Boys" go into action foiling the Earl of Walsingham's relatives from murdering him but the Earl now on his feet and ready for action, due to Sach treating him, does a pretty good job himself with his Olympic caliber fencing skills. The sad thing about all this is in the end when all the dust is cleared and the Earl safely out of harms way it turns out that Sach is not the Horace Dembussy Jones who's related to him. That's a guy named Jones in far off Australia! And what do you think Sach & the "Bowery Boys" together with Louie get for all the trouble they went through in saving the Earl's life from the grateful Earl, who's worth billions, himself? A measly 1,000 pound sterling which isn't even pocket change for him! That lousy and ungrateful cheapskate!

Bowery Boys in London

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 29 January 2022]

Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones is an heir to an English fortune. He and the gang travel to London. The Earl's other relatives disapprove of Sach and work to scare him away. On the other hand, the Earl takes a liking to Sach. With the intention to rewrite an ancient wrong, he insists on making Sach his principal heir.

The Bowery Boys go to England. There is a Scooby-Doo feel to it. It's light weight and fitting for the franchise. It's fine. Fans will like it.

Welcome to the land of tea and trumpets.

[mark.waltz · 4/10 · 21 July 2016]

Everything happens to Sach, whether gaining a singing voice like Perry Como, becoming both professional boxers and college football heroes, and gaining the ability to see the future. Of course, they are all for brief periods of time, each miraculous happening for Sach forgotten by the beginning of the next film.

Here, Hubtz Hall's Sach gains, not only a full knowledge of British history (disproving Slip's claim about King Henry V8) but a claim to a British estate as well. Of course, a Bowery Boy spouting historical knowledge is still a mug, not a proper English lord. Sach and the boys (and Louie of course....) find themselves out of their element in dealing with both the upper-crust, their servants and several common folk whose dialects they can't comprehend even though it is in the same language.

Don't underestimate the craftiness of the British nobility with such esteemed British character actors such as Walter Kingsford as the family patriarch, John Dodsworth and Norma Varden as scheming older members of the family and pretty Angela Greene as a relative willing to do anything to discredit this interloper. The result is a sort of reverse "Pygmalion" with Sach giving a twist to Eliza Doolittle. "Downton Abbey" may have had its share of strange visitors, but these New Yorkers certainly takes the Shepard's pie.

America's Oliver

[Ramar · 10/10 · 11 November 1998]

Fair is fair Oliver came to America to make movies, so America sent its finest...Mr. Huntz Hall to England.

Bombed in Britain

[wes-connors · 4/10 · 13 June 2009]

An English messenger arrives at the "Sweet Shop" with some startling news - harebrained Huntz Hall (as Horace Debussy "Sach" Jones) is the blue-blooded heir to a potential fortune. To claim his prize, Mr. Hall sails to jolly old England, to meet his worldly relatives, and divvy up the riches. Of course, "Bowery Boys" leader Leo Gorcey (as Terrence Aloysius "Slip" Mahoney) accompanies Hall, as financial adviser and extended pinkie trainer. Other travelers include David "Condon" Gorcey (as Chuck Anderson), Benny Bartlett (as Butch Williams), and reluctant stowaway Bernard Gorcey (as Louie Dumbrowsky). In Hall's ancestral castle, relatives plot to get rid of the competition. Cheap, obvious, and occasionally funny.

**** Loose in London (5/24/53) Edward Bernds ~ Huntz Hall, Leo Gorcey, Bernard Gorcey, Norma Varden

Sach: Hair to an English Fortune

[hogwrassler · 8/10 · 29 January 2022]

This BB movie marks the first time that opening theme is an instrumental version of "The Gang's All Here." Also, this is the first time that caricatures of Slip and Sach appear on either side of the screen as the opening credits roll. These are fresh, welcome changes that emphasize that Sach and Slip are going to be the main focus of the BB movies from now on. Louie has better lines, but Chuck and Butch are pure background scenery and have almost no lines.

The plot revolves around Sach learning that he is one of the heirs to a British fortune. The patriarch, Sir Percy, wants to gather the clan at his London castle to see which one deserve to be named in his will. Naturally, a few of the other potential legatees want to do away with the Sir Percy. This is the situation the BBs find themselves in when they arrive at the castle. Can they protect Percy from the evil distant cousins?

Angela Greene plays Lady Marcia. In the early 1940s, she dated young naval Lieutenant John F. Kennedy. Seeing Angela in Loose in London, it's easy to see why the future President was so interested in her.

Loose in London does mark a big change in the Bowery Boys movies. The accent is now on Sach and Slip, the comedy, and away from the gangster/crime elements that featured so prominently in previous movies in the series.

"You know in America, we serve cocktails. In England, they serve tea and trumpets."

[utgard14 · 5/10 · 1 October 2016]

The Bowery Boys wreak havoc in England in this so-so entry in the series (the thirtieth!). The flimsy plot has Sach finding out he's related to an earl, so he and the fellas head to London. The plots to these things always seem to revolve around Sach. Anyway, it's basically like the one where they hung out with hillbillies except the gags are changed to fit the new locale. Still another "fish out of water" story. Leo Gorcey and Huntz Hall are both in fine form doing what they do. Bennie Bartlett and David Gorcey prop up scenery (as usual). Bernard Gorcey is fun as Louie the Sweet Shop owner, an unofficial Bowery Boy himself and the scene stealer in many of these films. It's really not a great movie but it is fun in spots. Not one of my favorites.

Hollywood's resident (second-string) English Colony gets work.

[horn-5 · 23 April 2006]

And, they nor anybody else in this film saw London or England during its six-day production.

As fate, and the writers, would have it, word comes to the Bowery that titled, great, great granduncle of Horace Debussy Jones (Huntz Hall), better known as Sach, is near death and has provided transportation to summon relatives from around the world. Sach and the Bowery Boys, Slip Mahoney (Leo Gorcey), Butch Williams (Bennie Bartlett), Chuck Anderson (David Gorcey as David Condon)and Soda Shoppe owner Louie Dumbrowsky (Bernard Gorcey), trade Sach's pre-paid first class ticket for lesser (much lesser) accommodations and embark for ye olde London towne.

There, they find the old man, the Earl of Walsingham (Walter Kingsford) already surrounded by sinister Sir Edgar Whipsnade (John Dodsworth); Reggie (William Cottrell), the obligatory Fop; the spinster Aunt Agatha (Norma Varden); the young and seductive Lady Marcia (the young and seductive Angela Greene), moronic Cousin Herbert (Rex Evans), and Hoskins (James Logan), the Butler.

They, of course,are assembled in a plot to slowly poison the old Earl and to get rid of Sach and his pals.

No giveaway to lay their chances at slim-to-none.

"You don't seem to understand the mathematical itinerary of our problem".

[classicsoncall · 5/10 · 18 September 2016]

As if the Bowery Boys didn't create enough havoc on the streets of New York, they bring their brand of merry mayhem to London when Sach (Huntz Hall) discovers that he's an heir to the fortune of the British Earl of Walsingham. With his pals and Sweet Shop owner Louie (Bernard Gorcey) in tow, the boys head on over across the pond to make Sach's claim.

You know, if you think about it, the inept family members of the Earl (Walter Kingsford) could have prevented Sach from becoming principal heir if they only did their homework ahead of time and prevented the solicitor from ever making it to America. I guess then we wouldn't have had a story, or get to see them even more inept when their plans of taking out the Earl and the Boys goes down the tubes.

With Slip's (Leo Gorcey) malapropisms kept to a minimum, Sach takes up the slack with his dazzling display of British history and knowledge of London's landmarks. A quick flashback instructs how one of his ancestors wound up banished to the Colonies in the first place, so at least there was that one non-sensical bit attempting to establish his English heritage.

Well, with Lady Marcia (Angela Greene) failing to foil Sach's favor with the Earl, and the inept family assassins dropping like flies, the Boys might have been successfully transplanted to the English version of the Bowery, whatever that might have been. But just in the nick of time, Scotland Yard arrives on the scene to make the save, though it all turns out for naught. Seems that the wrong Horace Debussy Jones was contacted as a relative to the Earl. You mean there were two of them?

ALWAYS LOOSE AND OFF THE WALL!

[tcchelsey · 10/10 · 29 January 2022]

THE BOWERY BOYS go to London, actually a cardboard prop studio-- but it works!

10 Stars.

The difference between the 1950s episodes compared to the 1940s episodes is that Sach was allowed to get into more goofy situations. Here, his great, great grand uncle comes from royalty.... so the gang gets to go overseas to check on the old gent, who presumably does not have long to live?

Interesting stuff. Edward Bernds, who long directed the THREE STOOGES, added a bit of Stooge-mania to this episode, replete with a haunted castle. This was an old gimmick since the Stooges were at their best in haunted house stories. This was also Bernd's first film with the Bowery Boys. Leo Gorcey and Huntz Hall wanted to try out a new director with new ideas. However, the story goes Gorcey was not one to be told what to do. He did his schtick his way. In later years, Bernds commented that Gorcey was right. If he followed the script line by line, and without ad libs and malaprops, the stories would fall flat.

The film also has a good supporting cast, lead by veteran Walter Kingsford (as Sir Percy), who especially takes a liking to crazy ole Sach. Also Norma Varden is always fun to watch as the grande dame. She has a hilarious line, commenting on the gang... "They come from the Bowery --wherever that is!" believing its some neighborhood for rich trash!

Got to be seen, especially the sword fight sequence -- with rubber swords! Remastered by Warner Brothers in several box sets, generally including 6 to 8 episodes. Thank you TCM for rerunning the series, like the old days.

Bowery Boys #30

[Michael_Elliott · 17 November 2010]

Loose in London (1953)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Pretty good Bowery Boys entry has Sach (Huntz Hall) being informed that his rich uncle in Britain is about to die and needs to meet him to see if he's civil enough for the family money. Slip (Leo Gorcey), Louie (Bernard Gorcey) and the "other two" end up in Britain as well as they try and teach Sach the proper way to act but soon it appears some jealous family members might be trying to knock him off. Number thirty in the series is actually a refreshing change of pace as William Beaudine was replaced by Edward Bernds who helped co-write the screenplay with Edward Ullman. Ullman was a veteran of countless Three Stooges shorts and it's clear he brought some of that frantic pacing to this film. There were countless times during the film where you'd think you were watching a Stooges short simply because of how fast pace the film was. You can also see several examples of Hall doing a mixture of Curly and Larry including one sequence where he gives that angry squeal that Curly often gives after getting frustrated. We're also treated to much more physical humor and poor Louie takes the majority of the abuse including his scenes on a ship where he drinks a tad bit too much and ends up getting knocked out, which is why he ends up in London. Both Gorcey and Hall seem re-energized by the newer material and it's clear that Leo is back of full strength. I certainly wouldn't say this was one of his better performances in the series but at least it seems like he's into what's going on. One of the funniest bits in the series is when Hall thinks a stuffed fox on the wall is moving and he gets too close only to have the creature attack his nose. Those hoping to see the boys actually in London might be somewhat disappointed because everything that does take place overseas is simply shot against rear projection. That really doesn't hurt the film too much as everything is so fast paced and energetic that you can't help but enjoy all the madness going on. At 62-minutes the film goes by very quickly and the crazy ending will certainly have a smile on your face. LOOSE IN London is a long way from a classic but following such bad entries as the previous three films you can't help but see it as a mini-masterpiece for the series.