This Is the Bowery (1941) User Reviews

A Day In The Bowery

[krorie · 6/10 · 13 August 2006]

"This Is The Bowery" is one in "The Passing Parade" series of MGM one-reel shorts, narrated by John Nesbitt, mainly dealing with the changing American scene. There were at least 68 released between 1938 and 1949. "This Is The Bowery" follows one homeless man as he drifts from handout to handout in New York City's Bowery District until he is finally salvaged by the Bowery Mission operated by Charles St. John, who appears as himself. What starts as a depressing depiction of humanity at its barest, ends with an inspirational uplift as we see a broken human being fixed both physically and emotionally, heading uptown to a renewed life of hope.

This is a typical entry in the series and if somewhat dated in method and script, is still entertaining and worthwhile. Plus the cinematography by William Miller of the Bowery in crisp black and white is eye catching.

They Say Such Things And They Do Such Things

[boblipton · 5/10 · 18 December 2021]

This episode of John Nesbitt's THE PASSING PARADE concerns itself with the Bowery, Manhattan's skid row, and a man who finds himself walking its soul-desolate streets. Nesbitt always was in charge of the subject and his narration, but director Gunther von Fritsch went down to the Bowery with cameraman William Miller, and shot the scenes there.

The Bowery has changed in the last couple of decades. Before then, it had maintained its seedy reputation for more than a century.

do-gooder short

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 23 June 2023]

MGM presents John Nesbitt's Passing Parade. The New York City Bowery is like many other places in crowded cities, a place for the down-and-out, liquor stores, and cheap diners. Unemployed men wander arounder struggling to get by. This follows a newcomer who doesn't even know how to panhandle properly. He finds help at a local church.

I'm trying to figure out the motives behind this pre-Pearl Harbor short. I doubt it's a road map for these downtrodden since they wouldn't have the money to see this. It's a do-gooder and church short. Maybe it's for dog lovers. It's pulling yourself up by your boot straps. It's old school.

Nice Document of the Bowery

[Michael_Elliott · 21 March 2010]

This is the Bowery (1941)

*** (out of 4)

Nice entry in John Nesbitt's Passing Parade series takes us to the ugly streets of the Bowery in New York. Nesbitt describes it as the "permanent hangover" as various men find themselves homeless due to the lack of a job, their own desire or sometimes bad luck. We then follow one man as he sleeps on sidewalks but eventually finds himself in a church where help might be. One would think that the film would turn preachy or religious but it actually doesn't and instead it tries to make one believe in themselves no matter how many times you get kicked around. The opening part of this 9-minute short really comes off like a dark horror film as we get to see all the ugly stuff and hear about some dark images including how many people freeze to death in the winters simply by going to sleep. As usual, Nesbitt's narration is top-notch and really delivers the emotional aspect that the film needs.

This brief documentary focuses upon the sagging underbelly . . .

[oscaralbert · 8/10 · 3 May 2019]

. . . of America's Working Class. The protagonist of THIS IS THE BOWERY (or, "our man," as the narrator refers to him) is doubtless one of the HEROES FOR SALE gaining the spotlight in an earlier Warner Bros. feature film. As a returning World War One veteran, this gentleman no doubt discovered a crass country dominated by the corrupt Fat Cat corporate One Per Center class upon his return home from defending Democracy "Over There." Possibly he's a shell-shocked survivor of the Pershing-Eisenhower-MacArthur massacre of the libeled "Bonus Army" ordered to be wiped out on the Capitol Steps by the venal money-grubbing POTUS "Herbie Hoover." Deprived of even their contractual military pensions, these victims of a shocking Wealth Disparity were either slain or relegated to America's back alleys, such as the Barbary Coast in San Francisco and the Bowery in New York City, the voiceover guy notes. The Authorities hold these one-time Heroes' pants hostage just for the "privilege" of shaving, reveals THIS IS THE BOWERY. No person possessing a heart or a soul will be able to experience THIS IS THE BOWERY and THEN dismiss it from mind to do business as usual with the miserly megalomaniacs monopolizing ALL of America's so-called 'brand names"!