No Holds Barred (1952)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Fun Bowery Boys entry has Sach (Huntz Hall) gaining power at the top of his head so Slip (Leo Gorcey) throws him into a wrestling ring. Soon Sach is the hottest thing in the sport but the only problem is that this special "power" goes from one part of his body to the next without any explanation. The plot to this entry sounds incredibly stupid and it is for the most part but it's also fun enough to get plenty of nice laughs through its short running time. I think the first thirty-minutes are extremely entertaining but sadly the final potion of the film falls back into the tire, worn out routine of the boys getting involved with gangsters who want to use Sach to make money. It seems these films have at least one gangster or gambler and it's growing rather tiresome because we keep seeing the same thing over and over. I understand this is a "B" movie series but this is number twenty-eight and probably all but three feature this same type of plot. With that said, the first thirty-minutes contain some great laughs and even though Hall got second billing there's no question that this is his film. Hall has no problem carrying the movie and this is apparent because he's the only one inside the ring so it's pretty much up to him to get the laughs. Gorcey continues to just be a supporting player and the "other two" boys pretty much are doing nothing but that's been the case with the past several films. Hall does a very good job inside the ring as his funny facial gestures are always on display and his physical timing during the wrestling is actually very impressive. One fight it might be his head that contains the power and the next fight it might be his arm, his toe or his leg. Each one has Hall handling the physical nature and this is where the film finds the majority of its laughs.
