Rowland Smith: Blue Bell Boy

HBO says that the title of Boardwalk Empire, Season 3, Episode 4 comes from the original Mother Goose. Like most nonsense Mother Goose rhymes, there are ‘opposite pole’ descriptions of the title character who supposedly does his work very well, but the verses show that is meant sarcastically. The Blue Bell Boy rhyme goes like this:

Click here to read the poem

By the way, there was also an earlier reference to Rowland Smith hiding out near Blue Bell, Pa.

Rowland Smith (portrayed by Nick Robinson) was an enterprising kid who thought he could get away with stealing liquor from both Waxey Gordon and Nucky Thompson. Rowland was both cheeky and glib, and thought he could talk his way out of anything. And he very well might have, if not for Nucky’s perception that Owen was forgetting his place.

Blue Bell Boy: Nucky’s Costly Detour

All very funny, because Owen certainly forgot his place in Season Two when he took Margaret to bed right in Nucky’s house! To the viewer, the idea that Nucky killing a lying little opportunist like Rowland will put the fear of God in Owen is hilarious, except maybe for the fact that he shot this 19-year-old kid in the back of the head with no warning at all. Still, one must remember, that Owen is a ruthless killer himself, a hitman back in the old sod.

A lot of folks would have preferred to see Rowland stay on in Nucky’s employ, but not us. His movie star of the day references, saying he was Lon Chaney, Norma Talmadge and Baby Peggy, were most amusing, but let’s face it, we’ve got enough characters running around in the Boardwalk Empire as it is.

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