Michael Elliott wrote:
Gorcey and H. just aren't strong enough to carry films and especially films that are pretty poorly written and feature a director like Beaudine [...] the very good supporting cast really picked the film up for me.
Oh, see, that's what bugged me the most... there so many other characters buzzing around and I felt that they all de-Bowery Boys-ized the proceedings... Fritz Feld, Frankie Darro, and Lionel Stander stole the show while Gorcey & Hall schlepped around in bellboy uniforms. I understand your point, but it felt way too unfocused for my tastes.

I haven't seen these movies since the '70s, so for all practical purposes, I'm seeing them for the first time, really... so I gotta say: what's up with Gabe? I've been dutifully watching the series as TCM has been showing them, and Gabe is completely re-invented from one movie to the next, but each time he comes complete with a history as if he's been doing the same thing right along with everyone else. It's so bizarre... no other character in the gang has changed even a little bit through these films, but Gabe seems to have multiple-personality disorder, and everyone else just goes along with it.