There's a lot more to the famous Oscar controversy concerning this entry in the series. True, it was mistaken for an MGM musical, but according to writer Ed Bernds, had they not informed the Motion Picture Academy of the mistake, the Bowery Boys film had a good chance of winning for original story. Bernds said the story category did not have many entries, and in itself was kind of a misleading. Do the math.
For decades, Huntz Hall was asked about this and he firmly said, had it been up to him, he would have told the Academy nothing. He said they deserved it for their many years of work. He had a valid point, and especially since comedians (with the exception of Laurel and Hardy), never received Oscars. Laurel and Hardy received two Oscars. Even Abbott and Costello were never considered, which was a shame, although their "Whos on first?" routine is honored by the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Subsequently, The Academy said how grateful they were to Ed Bernds for pointing out the error, sending both he and co-writer Elwood Ullman Academy nomination placques. It was the least they could do, and Ed Bernds said he kept it in his office for years.
Oscar winning or not, HIGH SOCIETY is hilarious, directed in fine style by William Beaudine. While working in a garage this time, run by Slip of course, Sach learns he is heir to the estate of the late Terwillinger Debussy Jones. He and Slip are invited to the mansion to sign some important papers --naturally Louie, Chuck and Butch follow--
and they discover that 12 year old master Terwillinger the Third (or Twig) is the rightful heir. Ronald Keith plays Twig, and he's great. You can tell he's having a blast with the gang.
In typical Bowery Boys fashion, Twig's unfaithful cousins are out to get him and claim the fortune for themselves. The rats! This is fast and goofy stuff with lots of gags and sucker punches.
Leo Gorcey said in later years the most fun he had was doing the fight scenes, and it shows. You have to admit, there was a lot of fancy footwork to doing those scenes, and to especially insure nobody got injured.
There's also an early appearance of young Amanda Blake, playing sneaky Clarissa, just before she joined the cast of GUNSMOKE. The supporting cast is filled with veteran character actors, such as Paul Harvey playing an exasperated lawyer, and Addison Richards.
Best of the rest has Sach meeting up with a Liberace look-a-like (about to play the piano) while mischievous Twig sprinkles itching powder into the audience. The phony Liberace and Sach make one insane team.
Not to miss the hilarious "cold plate" scene where Sach takes a bite out of the fine China, sort of in the tradition of the THREE STOOGES, who Ed Bernds also wrote for.
Great line department: Slip tells the lawyers, "There's only one thing more important than the money. WHEN are we gonna' get it!"
A bit of Sach's family history is also thrown in for fun. Louie explains that his mother was not named Gwendolyn, but Gertie. This shows that Louie must have known the guys for a long time...
but the audience is still in the dark about who their parents actually are and where do the Bowery Boys live?
Enjoy the insanity. This episode was followed by SPY CHASERS, very similar in style
Released via Warner Brothers dvd, 6 to 8 films per box. Thank you TCM for rerunning the Bowery Boys!
