oscaralbert Review of This Is the Bowery

This Is the Bowery (1941)

This brief documentary focuses upon the sagging underbelly . . .

[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"!