The Bowery (1933)

45% of users liked it
(234 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

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 32 min.
Directed By: Raoul Walsh
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1933 Wide

Critic Reviews

Michael E. Grost, Classic Film and Television
Failed low brow comedy is done in by racism.

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Cast

            Wallace Beery as Chuck Connors

            George Raft as Steve Brodie

            Jackie Cooper as Swipes McGurk

            Fay Wray as Lucy Calhoun

            Pert Kelton as Trixie Odbray

            George Walsh as John L. Sullivan

            Oscar Apfel as Ivan Rummel

            Ferdinand Munier as Honest Mike

            Herman Bing as Max Herman

            Lillian Harmer as Carrie Nation

            Tammany Young as Himself

            John Kelly as Lumpy Hogan

            Irving Bacon as Hick with Tailors

            Lucille Ball as Bit Part

            John Bleifer as Mumbo the Mute

            James Burke as Recruiting Sergeant

            Charles "Heinie" Conklin as Drunk/Fight Spectator

            Jimmy Conlin as Enlistee

            Lester Dorr as Cynic

            Bobby Dunn as Cockeyed Violinist

            Mack Gray
            
            Kit Guard as Arsonist/Henchman

            Pat Harmon
            
            Jack Herrick
            
            Harold Huber as Slick

            John Ince as Crony

            Fred Kelsey as Detective Kelsey

            Charles B. Middleton as Detective

            Frank Moran as Bettor

            Esther Muir as "The Tart"

            Fletcher Norton as Googy Cochran

            Harvey Parry as Raft's Double

            Hal Price as Editor

            Harry Semels as Artist

            Phil Tead as Tout

            Harry Tenbrook
            
            Andrew Tombes as Shill

            Charles Lane as Doctor

            Frank Mills as Fireman

            Kid Broad as Pugs

            Charles McAvoy as Waiter

            Sailor Vincent
            
See full cast

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