Complete credited cast: | |||
Joe Penner | ... | Wilbur Meeley | |
Lucille Ball | ... | Carol Meeley | |
Richard Lane | ... | Nails | |
June Travis | ... | Judy Daniels | |
Fritz Feld | ... | Count Pierre Fountaine de Louis-Louis | |
Tom Kennedy | ... | Icebox | |
Granville Bates | ... | Halliday | |
Bradley Page | ... | Frank | |
George Irving | ... | Mr. Daniels | |
Arthur Stone | ... | Warden | |
Jack Carson | ... | Warren Miles | |
Frank M. Thomas | ... | Police Chief |
When the First Union National Bank of Williamstown is robbed, the three bank robbers get away by hitching their car to Wilbur's trailer. When the police find part of Wilbur's coat in front of the open safe, they suspect bank teller Wilbur of being in on the robbery. But according to Carol, Wilbur is not smart enough to rob a bank and it shows. While on the run, they come into contact with Julie, the copper heiress, and make plans to have Wilbur help kidnap her. Of course, Wilbur has no clue as to their true intentions. Written by Tony Fontana <tony.fontana@spacebbs.com>
Bumbling bank teller Wilbur Meeley (Joe Penner) lets out the bank's secret vault to a gang of robbers casing the joint. He wins a trailer and pulls it home under his own power. His wife Carol (Lucille Ball) is no fan of the trailer and sends him to sleep in it. That night, the robbers come back for the vault. As they make their escape, they find and hook up the trailer pretending to be a family on vacation. Wilbur becomes the clueless prisoner of the gang. Carol reports him missing but the manager accuses Wilbur of being the one who stole the $50k.
I've never heard of Joe Penner who is a long forgotten vaudeville star during the Depression era. I can see his wacky voice being funny on the radio. As a movie lead, he's a bit schlubby. He's no leading man. He's more a comedic sidekick. The screwball comedy plot is a mess of convenient encounters and random connections. I'm not sure if it actually makes sense or that it matters. It gets more and more crazy. I actually admire the random sitcom plotting. The biggest aspect is of course Lucille Ball. She's a tall drink of water with a very unique voice. She has her moments even as a side character. She's kinda pretty and can really work her comedic face. This is not necessarily laugh out loud today although I can see the audience of yesteryear having a good time.