Smashing the Money Ring (1939)

T-Man Brass Bancroft goes undercover in a prison which has a secret counterfeit operation set up in the print shop.

Director:

Terry O. Morse

Writers:

Anthony Coldeway (original screenplay), Raymond L. Schrock (original screenplay),

Stars:

Ronald Reagan, Margot Stevenson, Eddie Foy Jr.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Ronald Reagan	...	Lt. Brass Bancroft
Margot Stevenson	...	Peggy
Eddie Foy Jr.	...	Gabby
Joe Downing	...	Dice Mathews
Charles D. Brown	...	Parker
Joe King	...	Saxby
William B. Davidson	...	Warden Denby (as William Davidson)
Charles C. Wilson	...	Capt. Kilrane (as Charles Wilson)
Elliott Sullivan	...	Danny Galloway
John Hamilton	...	Night Captain
Sidney Bracey	...	Pop Dryden (as Sidney Bracy)
Jack Wise	...	Prison Runner
Jack Mower	...	First Night Guard
Don Turner	...	Joe

Storyline

The prison print ship is making counterfeit $10's and $20's and shipping them outside to Dice. He then goes aboard the gambling ship 'Kismet' and exchanges his bills for real money. But Steve Parker does not like this and gets himself arrested and Dice captured by the cops. But the phoney money has been spotted by the Feds and Brass is put into the prison population to see if he can get Dice to talk. It is up to Brass to find out where the bogus bills are being printed and who is behind it.

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Plot Keywords:

prison | ship | gambling | gambling ship | state prison | 

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Taglines:

UNCLE SAM'S SECRET SERVICE...ready for crooks, gangsters, gunmen, thieves...to guard the safe-being of every American citizen!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 October 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

Queer Money

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

57 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jim Pierce is in studio records/casting call lists in the role of Counterman, but he did not appear in the movie.

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Goofs

When Reagan and Joe Downing are on the prison wall, their medium shot is undercut with a long shot, obviously archival footage from an earlier film. The mismatch has Reagan's Bancroft go from wearing a hat with no gun to no hat and holding a pistol while Downing's character Dice goes from no hat and a pistol to a hat and a rifle.

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Quotes

Warden Denby: That's enough, Captain.
Night Captain: But, Warden, you can't handle killers with kid gloves. They are killers!
Warden Denby: Granted but you first gotta prove it.

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Connections

Referenced in Jeopardy!: Million Dollar Celebrity Invitational Quarterfinal 3 (2009)

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Soundtracks

"My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean"
(uncredited)
Traditional
Whistled by George Chesebro

User Reviews

Another good entry in series

Although most of the people associated with this third entry in the Brass Bancroft series are generally unknown today, they had a lot of talent and deserve recognition.

The female lead, for example, Margot Stevenson, is the cutest of all, with the most personality, at least of the first three, and she spent more than three decades on Broadway, as well as keeping sort of busy in TV and movies. She should be better known.

The script is rather involved, moving from the offices of the Secret Service to California, including an off-shore gambling ship and a prison.

The premise, what the bad guys are doing that brings Bancroft onto their trail, is not only clever but entirely plausible.

The boss bad guy, whom I identified fairly early, but unhappily -- he is a likable character and I hated it that he was actually pretty nasty -- is also a good actor, but I won't say who it is.

Actually, the entire cast is good, and combined with a good script and good direction from someone of whom I know nothing, they make "Smashing the Money Ring" into a thoroughly watchable film.

Reagan got better and better and I think it was the next one in this series that showed the producers he was ready for the big time.