Million Dollar Mystery (1987)

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

May use standard dash-for-the-cash comedy devices, but it's still quite funny. (spoilers)

Nevermind that Gladbags sponsored this film, as one viewer has already pointed out in previous comments. Actually, a better indicator of quality here is the appearance (in a more minor role) of Eddie Deezen. Not for the brilliance of his performance or anything, but because if you've seen previous Deezen b-grade comedies that usually go unnoticed on the video shelf (such as the cult favorite, Surf II), then you've noticed that he sticks with a pretty stable selection of these comedies. That's not to say that Million Dollar Mystery was bad, because by any measure, I actually found it to be surprisingly funny (and you needn't take something so silly so seriously...never with movies like these). But, it is what I would at least consider Deenzen's typical choice in comedies. So, at least you know what kind of comedy you're in for (although minus the gratuitous nudity.

Million Dollar Mystery was originally a movie sponsored by Glad Bags and DeLaurentiis Entertainment. But, offering more than just a standard movie-viewing experience, the sponsors asked that its audience also participate in a real-life hunt for a secret stash of cash (see the trivia page).

Million Dollar Mystery borrows heavily for its plot from the 1960s comedy classic It's a Mad Mad Mad World and the 1980s Cannonball Run. Guests at a middle-of-nowhere restaurant (conveniently all at the same time) arrive just as a man (Tom Bosley, Glad Bag's old spokesman), wanted for stealing a large sum of money, drops dead of a heart attack. But, before he dies, he explains to his guests that there are four locations in which he has hidden one million dollars each. The details are scant and the guests hurry in their dash for the cash. So naturally, they first team up to track down the money before their greed gets the best of them, and they endure one misadventure after another trying to beat each other to their rich destinations. Although, it follows most of the standards of this dash-for-the-cash genre, with all the added slapsticky misadventure and running gags we'd expect, it is funny, nonetheless, and well worth a lazy 'noon viewing.