The latter Bowery Boys episodes without Leo Gorcey were not that bad, but he was missed. You often wonder how some of these films would have turned out had he not left the series. Case in point is UP IN SMOKE, and one of the last of the series, in which Sach makes a pact with the devil, alias Mr. Bub (and very well played by Byron Foulger). You may remember Foulger as the befuddled Professor Quizzard in HARD BOILED MAHONEY ten years earlier! This is a goofy movie, and has Duke (Stanley Clements) kicking Sach out of the gang for being so dumb --just like Slip used to do! Sach teams up with sly old Mr. Bub to raise money for a boy stricken with polio and to get even with a bunch of crooks. Sach, though, manages to turn the tables on Mr. Bub at the same time! The gang has a lot of fun, but could you imagine Gorcey throwing his malaprops at Mr. Bub!
Not bad comedy due to the fact that Hall is completely insane and that's what its all about!!
Behind the scenes, the story goes that the series producer quit and another independent producer, Richard Heermance was brought in to manage production rather than to pay off Huntz Hall's contract. Its all about the money! Still worth watching, particularly for Sach's confrontations with the man downstairs! Warner Brothers box set dvd.