''Hold That Line'' is a 1952

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

starring

the Bowery Boys The Bowery Boys are fictional New York City characters, portrayed by a company of New York actors, who were the subject of 48 feature films released by Monogram Pictures and its successor Allied Artists Pictures Corporation from 1946 through 195 ...

. The film was released on March 23, 1952 by

Monogram Pictures Monogram Pictures Corporation was an American film studio that produced mostly low-budget films between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram was among the smaller studios i ...

and is the 25th film in the series.

Plot

The members of the local university's trust make a wager that anyone can succeed in college if just given the chance. They enlist Slip Mahoney and his gang to prove the theory by attending the university. While the boys do not become academic scholars, Sach invents a "vitamin" drink that makes him invincible. They all join the football team and Sach becomes the star player, leading them to the big championship game. A local gambler, seeing an opportunity to make some money, kidnaps Sach to prevent him from playing. Slip and the rest of the gang rescue Sach and return him to the game. Sach is out of "vitamins," so Slip plans a ruse on the playing field that distracts the other team and allows him to score the winning touchdown. Afterward, Sach concocts a new formula that allows him to fly.

Cast

The Bowery Boys

Leo Gorcey Leo Bernard Gorcey (June 3, 1917– June 2, 1969) was an American stage and film actor, famous for portraying the leader of a group of hooligans known variously as the Dead End Kids, the East Side Kids and, as adults, The Bowery Boys. Gorcey was ...

as Terrance Aloysius "Slip" Mahoney *

Huntz Hall Henry Richard "Huntz" Hall (August 15, 1920 – January 30, 1999) was an American radio, stage, and movie performer who appeared in the popular "Dead End Kids" movies, including ''Angels with Dirty Faces'' (1938), and in the later " Bowery ...

as Horace Debussy "Sach" Jones *

David Gorcey David Gorcey (February 6, 1921 – October 23, 1984) was an American actor and the younger brother of actor Leo Gorcey. Gorcey is best known for portraying "Chuck Anderson" in Monogram Pictures' film series The Bowery Boys, and "Pee Wee" in i ...

as Chuck (Credited as David Conden) *

Bennie Bartlett Floyd B. Bartlett, known professionally as Benny Bartlett or Bennie Bartlett (August 16, 1924 – December 26, 1999), was an American child actor, musician, and later a member of the long-running feature-film series ''The Bowery Boys''. Biog ...

as Butch (Credited as David Bartlett) * Gil Stratton, Jr. as Junior

Remaining cast

Bernard Gorcey Bernard Gorcey (9 January 1886 – 11 September 1955) was a Russian-born American actor. He began in Vaudeville, performed on Broadway, and appeared in multiple shorts and films. He portrayed ice cream shop proprietor Louie Dumbrowski in ...

as Louie Dumbrowski and Morris Dumbrowski *

John Bromfield John Bromfield (born Farron Bromfield; June 11, 1922 – September 19, 2005) was an American actor and commercial fisherman. Early years Farron Bromfield was born in South Bend, Indiana. He played football and was a boxing champion at Saint Mar ...

as Biff Wallace *

Taylor Holmes Taylor Holmes (May 16, 1878 – September 30, 1959) was an American actor who appeared in over 100 Broadway plays in his five-decade career. However, he is probably best remembered for his screen performances, which he began in silent films in ...

as Dean Forrester *

Veda Ann Borg Veda Ann Borg (January 11, 1915 – August 16, 1973) was an American film and television actress. Early years Born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Gottfried Borg, a Swedish immigrant, and Minna Noble, Borg became a model in 1936 before winni ...

as Candy Callin *

Gloria Winters Gloria Winters (November 28, 1931 – August 14, 2010) was an actress most remembered for having portrayed the well-mannered Nephew and niece, niece, Penny King, in the 1950s – 1960s United States, American Television show#Seasons/series, ...

as Penny Wells * Mona Knox as Katie Wayne

Production

This is the first of two appearances by Gil Stratton, Jr. as a member of the gang, replacing

William Benedict William Benedict (April 16, 1917 – November 25, 1999), was an American actor, perhaps best known for playing "Whitey" in Monogram Pictures' The Bowery Boys series. Early years Benedict was born in Haskell, Oklahoma, After his father's dea ...

. Stratton was reluctant to join the series (his agent accepted the job for the money), and he tried to keep himself as inconspicuous as possible in the films; he often gave his dialogue to Leo Gorcey or Huntz Hall.David Hayes and Brent Walker, ''The Films of the Bowery Boys,'' Citadel Press (Secaucus, NJ), 1984. ISBN 978-0806509310. Director William Beaudine captured the college-campus and football elements of ''Hold That Line'' so well that Monogram hired him to film a more elaborate gridiron picture, ''

The Rose Bowl Story ''The Rose Bowl Story'' is a 1952 American romance film directed by William Beaudine and starring Marshall Thompson, Vera Miles and Richard Rober, featuring a young Natalie Wood. The film was made in Cinecolor. It follows the relationship between ...

'', that same season.

Home media

Warner Archives released the film on made-to-order

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

in the United States as part of ''"The Bowery Boys, Volume Two"'' on April 9, 2013.

References

External links

* {{William Beaudine 1950s sports comedy films 1952 films American black-and-white films American football films Bowery Boys films Films directed by William Beaudine Films set in universities and colleges Monogram Pictures films 1952 comedy films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films