Million Dollar Mystery (1987)

User Rating:

4.6/10   

Director:

Richard Fleischer

Writers:

Rudy De Luca (writer)
Tim Metcalfe (writer)

Release Date:

12 June 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

There are millions hidden somewhere nearby, and these wild and crazy people will do almost anything to find it.

Plot:

A disparate group of travelers is eating in an isolated restaurant when a man drops dead of a heart attack...

Plot Keywords:

Audience Participation | Vietnam Veteran | Wrestler | Pipe | Bridge

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Jamie Alcroft	...	Bob
Royce D. Applegate	...	Tugger
Penny Baker	...	Charity
Eddie Deezen	...	Rollie
Mack Dryden	...	Fred
Douglas Emerson	...	Howie Briggs
Tawny Fere	...	Faith
H.B. Haggerty	...	Awful Abdul
Rich Hall	...	Slaughter Buzzárd
LaGena Hart	...	Hope
Mona Lyden	...	Barbara Briggs
Pam Matteson	...	Dottie
Daniel McDonald	...	Crush
Gail Neely	...	Officer Gretchen
Rick Overton	...	Stuart Briggs

Also Known As:

Money Mania

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:L | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Bisbee, Arizona, USA

Company:

De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG)

Trivia:

Glad Bags and DeLaurentiis Entertainment co-sponsored a real-life million-dollar "treasure hunt" to coincide with this film's release. At the end of the movie, the cash is still missing, and moviegoers were invited to find the location of the hidden stash, using clues provided in the film (the sponsors also emphasized that the money wasn't PHYSICALLY hidden anywhere, lest anyone injure themselves or damage property while searching for the loot; the audience just had to GUESS where the money was hidden). Ticket buyers were even given game cards shaped like American currency--with a big photo of Dino De Laurentiis where the President should be. In the end, it was a big disaster for the studio. The film was one of the major flops of the 1980s, barely grossing a million dollars at the box office, which the studio wound up forking over to the contest winner, a woman in Bakersfield, California. (Incidentally, the money was hidden in the bridge of the Statue of Liberty's nose).

Quotes:

Tugger: Why did he have a paper-shredder this big anyway?
Stuart: Well, he worked for the government, didn't he.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Rat Race (2001)

Soundtrack:

Million Dollar Mystery

A Generation's Mad, Mad, Mad World...

A fun, but thankfully underdone genre of film are the "find the lost treasure" movies. IT'S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD is the grandfather of these films, and still the best. SCAVENGER HUNT was the 70s answer to these films. MIDNIGHT MADNESS followed in the late 80s. MILLION DOLLAR MYSTERY in the late 80s, and RAT RACE just a few years back. These are not meant to be GONE WITH THE WIND or CITIZEN KANE. People who review these films in that context miss the point. Not every film has to have a deep meaning, political commentary, or bring the audience to tears. These movies are to entertain. Period.

MILLION DOLLAR MYSTERY is the weakest of the aforementioned movies. It has its moments. If You've seen all of the others, then I'd recommend seeing this too. If You haven't seen the others yet, then I'd recommend seeing those first. You won't be disappointed.