By Frank Miller
Up In Smoke
Brief Synopsis
The Bowery Boys' leader sells his soul to the devil for help betting on the horses.
Cast & Crew
Read More
William Beaudine
Director
Huntz Hall
Horace DeBussy "Sach" Jones
Stanley Clements
Stanislaus "Duke" Coveleskie
David Gorcey
Chuck
Eddie Leroy
Blinky
Dick Elliott
Mike Clancy
Film Details
Genre
Comedy
Crime
Release Date
Dec
22,
1957
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Allied Artists Pictures Corp.
Distribution Company
Allied Artists Pictures Corp.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 4m
Sound
Mono
Color
Black and White
Film Length
5,790ft
(7 reels)
Synopsis
Horace DeBussy "Sach" Jones, Stanislaus "Duke" Coveleskie and their Bowery neighborhood friends have been collecting money to help a young polio victim in the neighborhood. At Mike Clancy's café, Sach is entrusted with taking the ninety dollars they collected to the bank. Sam, a new customer of Mike's, offers to give Sach a ride to the bank, but takes him instead to a phony bookie joint where, unaware that the operation is not legitimate, he loses all the money to con men Tony and Al. After Duke berates him for losing the cash, Sach tells Blinky that he would give his very soul to get even with the bookies. Seconds after Blinky leaves, Sach receives a visit from the devil, sporting a morning coat and two small horns under his hat. The devil offers Sach a deal: he will provide Sach with the name of a winning horse every day for a week in return for Sach's soul. Although scared, Sach ultimately agrees and, after signing the devil's contract, is provided with his winner of the day. When Sach returns to Tony and Al to make a bet, they ask him for cash. Sach then decides to sell a jalopy belonging to the boys and takes it to a used car dealer, unaware that Duke has just sold the car to a patrol officer. The dealer virtually tears the car apart to reduce its value and offers Sach a dime for it, just as the policeman finds and arrests him. The devil visits Sach in jail and gives him the name of another winning horse. When Sach's horse wins, Tony and Al wonder if he might have inside information. With Mike's help, Duke and the others bail Sach out and the next day, the devil reappears in the form of an organ grinder's monkey with another tip. After the boys discover Sach chatting with the monkey, they arrange for him to visit a psychiatrist, but Sach only confuses the doctor, who ends up asking him for tips on winning horses. With twenty dollars borrowed from Mike, Sach returns to the phony bookie joint to bet on the newest horse the devil gave him, and Tony and Al decide to lay legitimate bets on the same horse. At the last moment, however, Sach is persuaded by a tout to bet on a different horse and everybody loses. Tony and Al are mystified by Sach's inside information and persuade Mabel, Tony's girl friend, to take a waitress job at Mike's to keep tabs on Sach and to find out the source of his tips. On the last day of their agreement, the devil gives Sach a hundred dollar bill and tells him to go to the racetrack and await word on the winning horse's name. Sach and Duke go to the track, accompanied by Mabel, and are followed by Tony, Al and Sam. Just after Sach receives the horse's name, "Rubber Check," from the devil, disguised as a soft drinks salesman, Chuck arrives with the news that the Polio Fund has agreed to pay for the boy's treatment. Sach then realizes that they now do not need the money and he can cancel the devil's contract. Duke, however, insists on betting on Rubber Check and Mabel tips off Tony and the others. Sach talks with the devil and attempts to break the contract, but the devil refuses and points out that if the horse wins, Sach's soul is his. Sach then convinces Duke to help him to disable Rubber Check's jockey after which Sach takes his place in the race, but is unable to stop the horse from winning. Just after Sach explains the full dimensions of his problem to Duke, the devil reappears to claim him, but is thwarted by an official track announcement that Rubber Check is disqualified as he had an unauthorized jockey, thereby nullifying the devil's contract with Sach and causing Tony and his gang to lose all their money. Back in the Bowery, Sach is surprised to find the disenfranchised devil working as a busboy at Mike's. After the devil tells him that he can regain his "horns" by securing new clients, Sach directs him towards the bookies.
Director
William Beaudine
Director
Cast
Huntz Hall
Horace DeBussy "Sach" Jones
Stanley Clements
Stanislaus "Duke" Coveleskie
David Gorcey
Chuck
Eddie Leroy
Blinky
Dick Elliott
Mike Clancy
Judy Bamber
Mabel
Byron Foulger
Satan
Ralph Sanford
Sam
Ric Roman
Tony
Joe Devlin
Al
James Flavin
Policeman
Earle Hodgins
Friendly Frank
John Mitchum
Desk sergeant
Jack Mulhall
Police clerk
Fritz Feld
Dr. Bluzak
Wilbur Mack
Druggist
Benny Rubin
Bernie
Crew
William Austin
Film Editor
Jesse Corallo Jr.
Assistant Director
Del Harris
Sound Editing
Richard Heermance
Producer
Joseph Kish
Set Decoration
Carl D. Kuhlman
Music Editor
Emile Lavigne
Makeup Artist
Bert Lawrence
Story
Frank Mckenzie
Recording Engineer
David Milton
Art Director
Sidney Mintz
Wardrobe
Ted Mossman
Props
Harry Neumann
Director of Photography
William R. Poole
Assistant Director
Frank Remsden
Set Construction
Milt Rice
Special Effects
Marlin Skiles
Music
Jack Townley
Screenwriter
Elwood Ullman
Story
James West
Const Supervisor
Allen K. Wood
Production Manager
Film Details
Genre
Comedy
Crime
Release Date
Dec
22,
1957
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Allied Artists Pictures Corp.
Distribution Company
Allied Artists Pictures Corp.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 4m
Sound
Mono
Color
Black and White
Film Length
5,790ft
(7 reels)
Articles
Up in Smoke (1957)
For their next-to-last outing, the Bowery Boys delivered one of their funniest films in 1957, thanks to the return of their usual director, William Beaudine, after a two year absence from the series and a script borrowing from the Faust legend. When Sach (Huntz Hall) gets duped into betting on a losing horse, he threatens to sell his soul to the devil for a winning tip. In response, up pops Mr. Bub (Byron Foulger), who promises to give him a winner a day for a week, after which he will collect the clown's soul. Hall's efforts to cash in on the deal and cancel the contract with Satan lead to a slapstick encounter with used car salesman Earle Hodgins and a hilarious scene with a psychiatrist (Fritz Feld). One big selling point for Up in Smoke is the character actors who help flesh out the plot. Feld was an expert at playing officious European types, a role he perfected in films like Bringing Up Baby (1938) and Phantom of the Opera (1943). Foulger was also an accomplished character actor who had been a member of the Preston Sturges stock company, appearing in such classics as Sullivan's Travels (1941) and The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944).
By Frank Miller
By Frank Miller
Up in Smoke (1957)
For their next-to-last outing, the Bowery Boys delivered one of their funniest films in 1957, thanks to the return of their usual director, William Beaudine, after a two year absence from the series and a script borrowing from the Faust legend. When Sach (Huntz Hall) gets duped into betting on a losing horse, he threatens to sell his soul to the devil for a winning tip. In response, up pops Mr. Bub (Byron Foulger), who promises to give him a winner a day for a week, after which he will collect the clown's soul. Hall's efforts to cash in on the deal and cancel the contract with Satan lead to a slapstick encounter with used car salesman Earle Hodgins and a hilarious scene with a psychiatrist (Fritz Feld). One big selling point for Up in Smoke is the character actors who help flesh out the plot. Feld was an expert at playing officious European types, a role he perfected in films like Bringing Up Baby (1938) and Phantom of the Opera (1943). Foulger was also an accomplished character actor who had been a member of the Preston Sturges stock company, appearing in such classics as Sullivan's Travels (1941) and The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944).
By Frank Miller
Quotes
Trivia
This film, and In the Money (1958), were the last two films in the Bowery Boys series. They were made because Huntz Hall still had two films left on his contract with Allied Artists.
Notes
The opening title cards read: "Allied Artists Pictures Corporation presents Huntz Hall and the Bowery Boys in Up in Smoke." According to a Hollywood Reporter news item, Pamela Light was added to the cast, but her appearance in the released film has not been confirmed. For more information on "The Bowery Boys" series, please consult the Series Index and the entry for Live Wires in AFI Catalog of Feature Films, 1941-50.
