Sudden Money (1939) User Reviews

An object lesson about sudden wealth that is actually very true!

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 28 February 2018]

Sweeney Patterson (Charlie Ruggles) is an ordinary boob who suddenly strikes it rich by winning a sweepstakes. And, like so many lottery winners, he and his family overspend like mad until all their good fortune is soon all used up.

This is actually a story close to the truth, as reportedly 70% of all the million dollar plus lottery winners eventually end up declaring bankruptcy. As such, it's a nice lesson on greed and sudden wealth.

So is the film any good? Yes, though I wouldn't call it a comedy...more an allegory or slice of life movie. The acting is fine and the problem a real one, as human nature is, quite often, really awful and stupid.

By the way, listen closely to the conversation between Sweeney and his daughter near the end of the film when he says: "When a girl gets to be as big as you are, spanking is a husband's privilege"!!! My, how times have changed!!

Society and riches ain't all they are cracked up to be.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 22 February 2020]

When a sudden sweepstakes win makes befuddled Charlie Ruggles and his family wealthy, he finds a fairly calm and organized life turn upside down. Sensible wife Marjorie Rambeau (taking over from Mary Boland, Ruggles' usual partner) goes from family organizer to social climber and potential artist, daughter Evelyn Keyes seeks to become a debutant, brother-in-law Broderick Crawford tries various get richer schemes and youngest son Billy Lee is sent to boarding school which he despises. Ruggles further gets into amusing trouble by creating a hokey hillbilly band which becomes the sort of novelty that high society loves simply because it's something that they can laugh at.

Probably because there's so much going on, this ends up being a bit of a confusing mess in spots, obviously a rip-off of the recent Oscar winning film (based on a hit Broadway play) "You Can't Take It With You", yet without the great direction and fabulous script. Frenzied comedy doesn't always work, especially if it lacks in focus. Charley Grapewin is the wise but seemingly dizzy grandfather who is sort of a Greek chorus. There's a lot to enjoy here, especially in the performances, but the audience already figures out the moral of the story before the script reveals it.

Fairy Gold

[boblipton · 6/10 · 11 September 2023]

Everyone eats in the Patterson home, but money is always a little tight. So when brother-in-law Broderick Crawford asks Charley Ruggles to come in with him on a sweepstake ticket, Ruggles has to struggle to come up with $1.50. When they win, however, he collects $90,000, and the household is turned upside down. Crawford puts his $60,000 into operating his horse-racing system, Ruggles revives his old college jazz band, wife Marjorie Rambeau revives her painting career, daughter Evelyn Keyes goes to a finishing school where she can be introduced to rich boys, son Billy Lee gets sent to military school, and grandfather Charley Grapewin.... well, he just looks on in amused bemusement. Meanwhile, the audience watches the money vanish.

It's a pleasant programmer directed by Nick Grinde, who had been grinding them out since 1928, sometimes A Pictures for MGM, sometimes for Gower Gulch producers. By the time he hung up the megaphone in 1945 he had helmed 65 decent but mostly unexceptional pictures, and this is one of them. He died in 1979 at the age of 86.

a fool and his money

[myriamlenys · 6/10 · 2 February 2024]

In "Sudden Money", a modest hard-working family wins in the sweepstakes. As a result it gets a fortune thrown into its lap. At least four of the adults involved use their sudden riches as a means to realize long-held ambitions. The pater familias, for instance, hopes to resuscitate the band he played in as a young man...

After a bland start, "Sudden Money" grows better as it goes along, telling an amusing tale about the disruptive impact of great and unexpected wealth. The performances are good and there are a number of fine jokes to enjoy.

The movie, however, suffers from over-predictability. One can see a lot of plot developments coming from afar, and the same goes for the ending. The moral is clear : better to have a steady and happy life under modest circumstances, than to see your family disintegrate under the weight of vanities and foibles. I can't say that I disagree with the message, but it might have been delivered with more nuance and imagination.

Unfortunately the quality of the images has deteriorated through the decades. Hopefully some skillful restoration will return "Sudden Money" to its former glory.

Highlight : the visit from the rich man who hopes that the good old-fashioned values of the Pattersons will help to convert his wayward son.