Red Lights Ahead (1936)

Pa Wallace, an ardent member of the Whales, is offered a chance to invest $5,000 in a gold mine by the head of the Whales, Grand Harpoon F. Q. Whitney. Mrs Wallace is opposed but the four ... See full summary »

Director:

Roland D. Reed

Writers:

Robert Ellis (screenplay), Helen Logan (screenplay),

Stars:

Andy Clyde, Lucile Gleason, Roger Imhof

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Andy Clyde	...	Grandpa Hopkins
Lucile Gleason	...	Molly 'Ma' Wallace (as Lucille Gleason)
Roger Imhof	...	Pa Wallace
Ben Alexander	...	George Wallace
Ann Doran	...	Mary Wallace
Frank Coghlan Jr.	...	Willie Wallace
Paula Stone	...	Edna Wallace
Addison Randall	...	Nordingham
Sam Flint	...	Franklin Q. Whitney
Eleanor Stewart	...	Celeste - the Maid
Herbert Clifton	...	Perkins

Storyline

Pa Wallace, an ardent member of the Whales, is offered a chance to invest $5,000 in a gold mine by the head of the Whales, Grand Harpoon F. Q. Whitney. Mrs Wallace is opposed but the four Wallace children, Willie, George, Edna and Mary are all for it, on the premise that if Pa makes some easy money, they can continue to loaf. Grandpa, a kindly but meddling old soul also arrives for a visit. Money begins to roll in but not as fast as the children spend it. The bubble bursts when the police arrest Whitney and his accomplice Nordingham as swindlers involved in a pyramid scheme. Stone broke and without the money to pay the mortgage Pa put on the house, the clan moves back to their small, old home. The children come through and knuckle down down to work to help the family recover. Then, Grandpa tells them that the gold mine never existed and the monthly checks had been coming from him, as he was anxious to prove that they weren't just loafers.

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Plot Keywords:

grandfather grandson relationship | father son relationship | costume | fraternity | ritual | 

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Taglines:

RIOTOUS! The intriguing story of the reckless Wallaces...plunging rashly down the dizzy course of their mad life...never heeding danger signals!

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Genres:

Comedy | Family

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 November 1936 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Chesterfield Motion Pictures Corporation (I)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

70 min

Sound Mix:

Mono Mono (RCA Victor High Fidelity System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was the last Chesterfield production and release.

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Connections

Remake of In the Money (1933)

User Reviews

tepid slice of life

This slight comedy looks at the Wallace household, weakly governed by a genial old fool (Roger Imhof) who takes pride in serving as his fraternal lodge doorman. His many offspring are a mildly eccentric, self-absorbed lot. The script dwells on their trivial tribulations (and chucks in some unexpected digs at spiritualism.) Just as one gets comfortable with the characters, the writers inject the creaky cliché of having the clan falsely believe they've come into a fortune. Non-hilarity ensues, and the preposterous denouement sours whatever goodwill the actors have generated.

RED LIGHTS is not unwatchable, but I question if even the cast's descendants would sit thru it twice.