Million Dollar Kid (1944)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Wallace Fox

Writer:

Frank H. Young (original story & screenplay)

Release Date:

28 February 1944 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

It's Their FIGHT of FIGHTS! They've got the toughest guys in town on the run!

Plot:

The gang is befriended by a millionaire whom they save from a mugging. However, they begin to suspect...

Plot Keywords:

Gang | Mugging | Millionaire | Duplicity | Impersonation

Cast

Leo Gorcey	...	Muggs McGinnis
Huntz Hall	...	Glimpy McClosky
Gabriel Dell	...	Lefty
William 'Billy' Benedict	...	Skinny (as Billy Benedict)
Louise Currie	...	Louise Cortland
Noah Beery	...	Captain Mathews (as Noah Beery Sr.)
Iris Adrian	...	Mazie Dunbar
Herbert Heyes	...	John H. Cortland (as Herbert Hayes)
Robert Greig	...	Spevin - Cortlands' Butler (as Robert Grieg)
Johnny Duncan	...	Roy Cortland (as Johnnie Duncan)
Stanley Brown	...	Lt. Andre Dupree
Patsy Moran	...	Mrs. McClosky
Mary Gordon	...	Mrs. McGinnis
Al Stone	...	Herbie
David Durand	...	Danny (as Dave Durand)

Runtime:

65 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:TV-G (TV rating) | USA:Approved

Company:

Banner Productions

Trivia:

The Press and Pictorial Department of the Office of Censorship disapproved this picture for export because of its bad portrayal of America, citing the mugging scene, a rich boy participating in crime for excitement and poor police work.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): David Durand, Jimmy Strand and Buddy Gorman are billed on-screen as Danny, Pinkie and Stinkie respectively, but when Muggs introduces them to Louise, they're called Dave, Lou and Slug. Durand is called "Dave" also in another scene.

Quotes:

Muggs McGinnis: There's no smokin' around here.
Messenger with Telegram: I'm not smoking.
Muggs McGinnis: You got a cigarette in your mouth, haven't ya?
Messenger with Telegram: Sure. I've got shoes on my feet but I ain't walkin'

Movie Connections:

Followed by Mr. Muggs Rides Again (1945)

Enjoyable series entry

The East Side Kids, now sans Sunshine Sammy Morrison and Bobby Jordan but with Huntz Hall and Billy Benedict, rescue a rich passerby (Herbert Heyes, later to play Mr. Gimble in Miracle on 34th Street) from a mugger. The grateful tycoon invites the boys over to his pad, where a fully equipped gymnasium awaits them. There are subplots involving Heyes ne'e'r do well son (Johnny Duncan, a few years before playing Robin in the Columbia serial Batman and Robin )and his feisty daughter (Louise Currie). The otherwise unknown Al Stone delivers an amusing one-off performance as cousin Herbie, an erstwhile East Side Kid whose relationship with Muggs and Glimpy is somewhat convoluted. One of the wittier series entries.