The Bowery (1933)
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39% of users liked it
(238 ratings)
In this rough-and-tumble action comedy, Chuck Connors (Wallace Beery) and Steve Brodie (George Raft) are friendly rivals on New York's Bowery in the 1890s. Connors owns a fancy tavern and looks after a streetwise kid named Swipes McGurk (Jackie Cooper), while Brodie is a daredevil willing to do… More In this rough-and-tumble action comedy, Chuck Connors (Wallace Beery) and Steve Brodie (George Raft) are friendly rivals on New York's Bowery in the 1890s. Connors owns a fancy tavern and looks after a streetwise kid named Swipes McGurk (Jackie Cooper), while Brodie is a daredevil willing to do nearly anything to get the better of Connors. When both men fall in love with Lucy Calhoun (Fay Wray), who has fallen on hard times, Brodie takes her under his wing and helps get her back on her feet. Connors is furious that his rival has won her heart, so he goads Brodie into doing something spectacular to prove his love for her -- jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge, for example. Reckless but not stupid, Brodie has no intention of making the jump and plans to use a dummy instead, but when Connors and his henchmen show up to make sure that Brodie doesn't back down, the dare is turned into a wager, and Brodie emerges the new owner of Connors' bar after successfully making the jump. In real life, George Raft and Wallace Beery were not nearly so friendly as their characters: Raft persuaded director Raoul Walsh to hire a number of his underworld cronies as extras, which irritated Beery no end. When the two actors had a fight scene, Beery refused to hold back, and the staged fistfight quickly turned into a for-real battle royale. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Directed By
- Raoul Walsh
- Genres
- Drama, Action & Adventure
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Jan 1, 1933 Wide
Critic Reviews
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Michael E. Grost, Classic Film and Television
Failed low brow comedy is done in by racism.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Wallace Beery
as Chuck Connors
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George Raft
as Steve Brodie
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Jackie Cooper
as Swipes McGurk
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Fay Wray
as Lucy Calhoun
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Pert Kelton
as Trixie Odbray
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George Walsh
as John L. Sullivan
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Oscar Apfel
as Ivan Rummel
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Ferdinand Munier
as Honest Mike
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Herman Bing
as Max Herman
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Lillian Harmer
as Carrie Nation
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Tammany Young
as Himself
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John Kelly
as Lumpy Hogan
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Irving Bacon
as Hick with Tailors
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Lucille Ball
as Bit Part
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John Bleifer
as Mumbo the Mute
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James Burke
as Recruiting Sergeant
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Charles "Heinie" Conklin
as Drunk/Fight Spectator
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Jimmy Conlin
as Enlistee
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Lester Dorr
as Cynic
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Bobby Dunn
as Cockeyed Violinist
- Mack Gray
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Kit Guard
as Arsonist/Henchman
- Pat Harmon
- Jack Herrick
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Harold Huber
as Slick
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John Ince
as Crony
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Fred Kelsey
as Detective Kelsey
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Charles B. Middleton
as Detective
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Frank Moran
as Bettor
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Esther Muir
as "The Tart"
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Fletcher Norton
as Googy Cochran
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Harvey Parry
as Raft's Double
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Hal Price
as Editor
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Harry Semels
as Artist
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Phil Tead
as Tout
- Harry Tenbrook
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Andrew Tombes
as Shill
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Charles Lane
as Doctor
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Frank Mills
as Fireman
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Kid Broad
as Pugs
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Charles McAvoy
as Waiter
- Sailor Vincent
