utgard14 Sach's special power this time is smelling diamonds and the special location the boys are headed to is Africa. Yeah it's time for another misadventure of everybody's favorite group of morons, The Bowery Boys. This is the thirty-fifth entry in the series, of which I'm generally a fan. However, it's pretty obvious not much thought was put into the stories. But that's not the end of the world, provided Leo Gorcey still has some funny malapropisms and Huntz Hall can find new ways to contort his face. I found Huntz flat-out annoying in this one. Leo has some funny lines, though. As usual, Bernard Gorcey is the highlight as the lovable Louie. David Gorcey and Bennie Bartlett are hanging around in the background. Laurette Luez is the obligatory pretty girl this time around. Look out for Clint Walker at the end. It's enjoyable enough for what it is but, like many of the later Bowery Boys films, the first half is the best. So if you start watching it and aren't laughing within the first twenty minutes or so, you're probably not going to.

vespatian75 Since I've reviewed a couple of Grade B Jungle Movies I'll try my hand at this one. I liked it a lot. The Gorceys and Huntz Hall always cracked me up. I regard this as one of their better late outings. Leo Gorcey's malaprops are there in all their glory. My favorite, "Africa, the dark condiment". Louie Dombrowski (Leo's dad Bernard in real life) from the sweet shop bringing his luggage on safari, jungle girl Laurette Luez' ridiculous fight with the stuffed lion to save Satch, most of all the wonderful chemistry between Slip Mahoney (Leo) and Satch(Hall). The thing moves. It doesn't let you think. They paid attention to little things, particularly casting. Laurette Luez is a vision as the Jungle Girl Onata and Clint Walker's cameo as a Tarzan type is priceless. Too bad they didn't make a real Tarzan movie with those two in the lead. Also look for the great Woody Strode as one of the native bearers. Apparently not all of the reviewers were crazy about the flick. It's a matter of taste, but it certainly works for me for me.

classicsoncall Oh man, where was Johnny Weismuller when you needed him! Wouldn't it have been something if the Bowery Boys ran into Jungle Jim in this African misadventure? Between his jungle flicks and TV shows, Weismuller probably made about as many pictures as the Bowery Boys, the difference being that Slip and Sach were being goofy on purpose, whereas some of Jungle Jim's stories were just unintentionally hokey. That's why I still get such a kick out of both.Well in another story of Sach (Huntz Hall) acquiring an unusual new power, the boys go off to Africa with a jungle trader so Sach can use his nasal ability to sniff out a fortune in diamonds. You know, these movie villains just never figured things out to their advantage. If Sach could lead them to a treasure trove once, you would think they'd want to keep him around to do it over and over again. It's a big world you know.The picture has it's obligatory appearance by a chimpanzee and a few lions, but what - no gorillas! What were they thinking? Every comic jungle movie needs a gorilla - just ask Abbott and Costello ("Africa Screams"). In fact there's only one significant animal dust-up when Sach is inadvertently credited for his defeat of a Simba, compliments of jungle goddess Anatta (Laurette Luez). For his effort, Sach is honored as the Bwana Kubwa Kabashi. Or something like that.For a minute there, with the appearance of German villain Goebel (Rudolph Anders), I thought there was going to be an attempt made at a Nazi connection, a recurring theme in both Jungle Jim and Tarzan pictures. But it all merely boiled down to the Boys finding the gems or having their heads shrunk to a size one and seven eighths. I wonder if Sachola's nose would have shrunk down in proportion.And holy cow!!! - what a way to end the story! Nobody knew him at the time, but today you'll do a quick double take when he appears at the end of the story as a Tarzan-like character - it's Clint Walker!!! So who needs Weissmuller?

curly-17 A lot of the Bowery Boys movies had the theme that Sach discovered a new power-- whether a K.O. punch in the boxing ring, or a wonderful singing voice, etc. In this film, Sach develops the power to "smell" diamonds! (Sach got it from taking a new antibiotic, "Striptopifficin" 50,000 micrograms, for a sinus "infatuation.") When a jewel thief runs into Louie's Sweet Shop, and tries to hide some stolen diamonds from a policeman, Sach sniffs out the loot-- "a king's transom" of diamonds, as Slip says. So the Boys decide to sniff out diamonds in Africa. Actually, they spend a lot of time on a sound stage with trees and tropical plants, and look at mis-matched stock footage of the Serengeti Plain (sort of like an episode of "Ramar of the Jungle"). They hack through a steaming jungle, where the temperature is 130 degrees "centipede." Sach meets beautiful jungle girl Anatta (Laurette Luez), with the same beauty salon hairdo, eye shadow and lipstick she had as Tigri in "Prehistoric Women" (1950). She wants to "Kiss, kiss, kiss" Sach (who said these movies make sense)? The Boys are captured by a hostile tribe, and the witch doctor wants to shrink everyone's head (except Sach's). Slip bemoans, "I don't know one place in New York City that sells 1-and-7/8 size hats!" Will they escape? Will they find the diamonds? Will they ever see the Bowery and Louie's Sweet Shop again? Watch the movie and enjoy!A Bowery Boys movie, written by Edward Bernds and Elwood Ullman. It doesn't get any better than this. And if you don't think this movie has one of their prettiest guest stars in Laurette Luez, you should get your eyes examined by an "octopus" (oculist).