Fighting Fools
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Reginald Le Borg
Leo Gorcey
Huntz Hall
Gabriel Dell
Frankie Darro
Lyle Talbot
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Slip Mahoney and the rest of the Bowery Boys are working as concession attendants at a New York boxing arena, hawking programs, hot dogs, drinks and popcorn. The main event is a bout between Joey Prince and the gang's friend, Jimmy Higgins, "The Battler from the Bowery," who will get a shot at the title if he wins that night. During the hopelessly mismatched bout, Jimmy takes a severe beating and is knocked out in the second round. Jimmy never recovers consciousness and Slip and Sach are asked to break the tragic news to his mother. Mrs. Higgins has two other sons, Boomer, Jimmy's younger brother, and older brother Johnny, a former boxer, and the boys decide to help her by finding Johnny, who disappeared when racketeers double-crossed him. They eventually locate him in a bar, drunk with a floozie named Bunny Talbot. Johnny has not heard about Jimmy's death, and the news begins to sober him up. After Slip convinces Johnny that he can get him back into fighting condition in order to earn money to help his mother, Slip, Sach and reporter Gabe Moreno promote a fight card to benefit the Higgins family. Soon, Jimmy's crooked manager, Blinky Harris, whom Slip feels was responsible for Jimmy's death, shows up, trying to attract new boxers to his stable, but Slip throws him out. From the ring, Slip announces that Johnny will soon make a comeback. Although Mrs. Higgins does not want Johnny to fight, Slip, acting as Johnny's manager, persuades their friend Louie to let them use the loft of his sweet shop as a training gym for Johnny. However, noise and damage to his ceiling cause Louie to lose customers. After Gabe arranges for an article about Johnny's comeback to appear in his newspaper, Harris reveals to champ Dynamite Carson that Jimmy's fight was supposed to be have been "fixed," but Jimmy would not go along with it. Johnny enters the ring again and wins several fights, making himself eligible for a title match. At a meeting concerning Johnny's future, the boxing commissioner agrees to Harris' suggestion that Johnny fight Joey Prince, with the winner guaranteed a match with Carson. Later, as Mrs. Higgins and Boomer listen to the radio broadcast, the bout between Johnny and Prince begins. However, after Prince takes a dive in the first round, he claims to the commissioner that Johnny was in on it, and both boxers are suspended. Harris, who engineered the dive, then tells Slip that Prince will clear Johnny and the match with Carson can occur, on condition that Johnny takes a dive, then wins the rematch. Although Slip agrees to the plan, he and Johnny intend to double-cross Harris and win the first fight. As "insurance," Harris has Boomer kidnapped on the day of the fight. In the locker room, just before the fight, Slip receives a phone call that Harris has Boomer and that he will not be hurt as long as Johnny loses the fight. The gang is dispatched to comb the city, and Sach follows one of Harris' men to the rooming house where Boomer is being held, and helps the boy to escape. Meanwhile, at the fight, Johnny spars with Carson for the early rounds in the hope that Boomer will be found and he will not have to take a dive. When Boomer appears at ringside, Johnny quickly attacks the champ. However, when Harris sees Boomer, he slips a metal rod into Carson's hand, and Johnny takes a beating, saved only by the bell. Sach sees the rod being removed between rounds and replaces it with a hot dog. With the rod gone, Johnny takes control of the fight and easily knocks Carson out. Afterward, Sach shows the rod to the commissioner, who tells Harris that they are going to take a trip to headquarters. Later, as the boys celebrate, Sach jokingly presents Slip with one of his hot dog buns, into which he has placed the metal rod.
Director
Reginald Le Borg
Cast
Leo Gorcey
Huntz Hall
Gabriel Dell
Frankie Darro
Lyle Talbot
Billy Benedict
David Gorcey
Benny Bartlett
Bert Conway
Evelynn Eaton
Bernard Gorcey
Teddy Infuhr
Ben Welden
Dorothy Vaughan
Sam Hayes
Bill Cartledge
Paul Maxey
Stanley Andrews
Tom Kennedy
Eddie Gribbon
Marty Mason
Robert Walcott
Meyer Grace
Frank Hagney
Anthony Warde
Ralph Peters
Frank Moran
Bert Hanlon
Buddy Gorman
Roland Dupree
Johnny Duncan
Mike Pat Donovan
Joe Gray
Larry Anzalone
Johnny Kern
Al Bayne
Sammy Lamarr
Benny Goldberg
Jack Mower
Charlie Sullivan
Jimmy O'gatty
Gene Delmont
John Indrisano
Eddie Rio
Carl Sklover
Jim Lennon
Joe Greb
Crew
William Austin
Raymond Boltz Jr.
Lloyd Garnell
Jan Grippo
Charles Huber
John Indrisano
Edward Kay
Bert Lawrence
Harry Lewis
Otho Lovering
John Martin
Dave Milton
Ed Morey Jr.
Gerald Schnitzer
Edmond Seward
Melville Shyer
William Sickner
Earl Sitar
Al St. Hilaire
Ilona Vas
Allen K. Wood
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
This film's working titles were Bowery Comeback and Iron Dukes. The opening titles read: "Leo Gorcey and The Bowery Boys in Fighting Fools." For more information on "The Bowery Boys" series, consult the Series Index and the entry below for Live Wires.
