Beautifully photographed by Marcel Le Picard, but otherwise this one comes across as a very routine Bowery Boys entry. As usual, at this stage of the series, we are treated to a massive amount of weak jokes and lots of other time-wasting dialogue. Leo Gorcey is forced to carry much of the film, and he does this duty very poorly by making his tepid material even more wearisome by his deliberately heavy-handed approach. Fortunately, the other players are a bit more skillful. In fact, it's real nice – if a little disheartening – to see people we really like such as Ted de Corsia and Allen Jenkins reduced to accepting roles in a "B" picture like this one. Unfortunately, William Beaudine's direction doesn't help much. He tends to make tepid material even more wearisome by his generally heavy-handed approach.

Before the Bowery Boys came on the scene they were known as the East Side Kids. The East Siders had a horse racing story of their own in "That Gang of Mine" from 1940, which I recommend for it's respectful handling of a black/white racial issue that's presented in the story. Leo Gorcey was known as Muggs Maloney in that one, and the picture ends with a racing photo finish like this one with some neat twists along the way.With this story you'll have to pay attention or you'll get dizzy with a horse switcheroo the Boys try to pull off against a gang run by a hoodlum known as Duke (Ted de Corsia). Duke's top henchman is Weepin' Willie, portrayed by veteran character actor Allen Jenkins. I almost feel sorry for Jenkins appearing in these later Bowery Boy flicks after supporting caliber actors like Jimmy Cagney in the Thirties. He also played a hapless seaman in the Bowery film "Let's Go Navy!".The story starts out with ice cream shop owner Louie Dumbrowsky (Bernard Gorcey) failing to collect on a two year old debt owed by Sunnybrook Riding and Hunting Club owner Flynn (Tim Ryan). Say, is it my imagination or is the layout of Louie's Sweet Shop different from picture to picture. I've wondered about this a while, I don't think Louie could afford a remodel between movies. Anyway, Flynn has an attractive daughter Terry (Gloria Saunders) who along with her father confound the Boys with a 'My Girl' gimmick before they figure out that they're referring to a horse. It reminded me of something Abbott and Costello would try to pull off.By the time we get to the horse race that caps the story, I'm pretty sure everyone involved must have been pretty confused because even though My Girl is introduced over the loudspeaker as ridden by Horace Debussy Jones (Huntz Hall), the bad guys still think their horse in the race is the real deal. My Girl wins it by a nose, but wouldn't it have been cool if the film makers had found a way to make it look like Sach's nose?

You can't give a heartless job to big hearted mugs like the Bowery Boys. When Louie (Bernard Gorcey) sends them to collect a debt from a struggling horse trainer, what do you think happens? Do the boys come home with the cash or do they come home with a horse? The correct answer obviously is number two, and after listening to the sob story of broke Tim Ryan, the boys surprise Louie with quite a horse of a different color than he was expecting. Of course this turns out to be a racehorse, and if another money-making scheme for those oh so desperate to achieve Bowery Boys. as what happens in most Bowery Boys movies where they end up in a situation like this, they end up involved with suspicious characters, in this case that veteran of Warner Brothers suspicious character, character actor Allen Jenkins. But Jenkins himself as an aging Bowery boy of a different era and he doesn't realize who he smashed up against.In my initial viewing of this several years ago, I gave this only a 2 rating out of 10 but after seeing it again to write this review, I re-evaluated it to give it a higher rating. Their films grow on you, and as dumb as they can be, there's always something amusing to find in them. Somewhere there has to be a list of all of the English words that they destroyed in their 20-year career on screen, from the film version of "Dead End" in 1937 to the last of the low-budget comedy at Monogram in 1957. when Turner Classic Movies Randy's in chronological order a few years ago on Saturday mornings, I was glued to my TV and look forward to each one. Fortunately they have come out in box set on DVD, and the chance to watch him over is easier than ever. This one may not be one of the most consistently funny, but it certainly has many moments of great amusement.

To cancel a debt owed sweet shop owner Bernard Gorcey (as Louis "Louie" Xavier Dumbrowsky), "The Bowery Boys" leader Leo Gorcey (as Slip Mahoney) and sidekick Huntz Hall (as Sach Jones) agree to take "My Girl" off the hands of series writer Tim Ryan (as Flynn). At first, they think "My Girl" is Mr. Ryan's fetching daughter, but she's really a horse. "My Girl" rides into residence with Bowery pals William "Billy" Benedict (as Whitey), David "Condon" Gorcey (as Chuck), and Benny "Bennie" Bartlett (as Butch).Then, gangster Allen Jenkins (as Weepin' Willie) and others get interested in horse racing with "My Girl". Mr. Hall appears in "black-face" make-up and Mr. Gorcey appears to have been over-indulging in alcohol. But, "Crazy Over Horses" is most notable for being the last appearance of Mr. Benedict as a "Bowery Boy" trying to get a line in edgewise. It proved to be a good time to exit, as the series was on a downward spiral. It's also the first time little brother David Gorcey is billed as "David Condon" in the credits.*** Crazy Over Horses (11/18/51) William Beaudine ~ Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bernard Gorcey, Tim Ryan