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| It's In The Bag! - 1945 |
Coming up next we have 1945's "It's In The Bag!", a humorous film about the owner of a flea circus who finds he's suddenly inherited a fortune. What he doesn't know is that the fortune's already been spent, and somebody is bent on getting their hands on what remains.
The film's cast includes Fred Allen, Jack Benny, Don Ameche, William Bendix, Victor Moore, Rudy Vallee, Binnie Barnes, Robert Benchley, Jerry Colonna, John Carradine, Gloria Pope, William Terry, Richard Tyler, Sidney Toler, George Chandler, and Emory Parnell.
An eccentric millionaire decides to leave his money to his only living relative. But, he fears others might be after the fortune. So, he hides the money in the stuffing of a chair.
It turns out his intuition was correct. He's gunned down in cold blood right after the money is hidden.
Well, the lucky recipient of the $12,000,000 fortune he left behind is the owner of a flea circus, Fred Floogle, the millionaire's grand nephew. The whole family is excited. Fred tells his wife Eve, "Now I can get you what you've always wanted, mink underwear and a chinchilla sarong."
However, the Floogles are a bit confused when they go to the lawyer's office and discover that their inheritance is five chairs and no money. The lawyer explains that Fred's great-uncle was a bit eccentric and made several bad investments during the last years of his life.
Fred and Eve are visited by every tradesman in town, and before they know it, they have completely overextended themselves. New jewels, dresses, suits, and other accessories were all purchased on the assumption that they had $12 million in the bank.
When their inheritance arrives, Fred makes arrangements for it to be sent to a local auction house in the hopes that he can make $250.
The Floogles are visited by a police detective who informs them that Fred's great-uncle was murdered and that Fred himself is considered a prime suspect. The way the detective figures it, Fred stood the most to gain by the old man's death.
Shortly after the detective leaves, Fred receives a package from his late great-uncle. It's a phonograph record that details that the old man hid $300,000 in the chairs he gave Fred along with a list of men he feels are responsible for his death. Fred jumps into action to stop the sale of the chairs, but is too late. Now, he's got to track down each one.
However, his great-uncle's lawyer also wants the chairs, and we find out that he is responsible for the old man's death.
Fred traces one of the chairs to Jack Benny. Fred visits Benny on the pretense of being president of a local chapter of a Jack Benny fan club.
Benny invites him in, and Fred is shocked to find that he's got to pay for checking his hat and is directed to a vending machine when he's invited to partake of a cigarette.
Fred eventually gets around to asking for the chair. (This scene showcases the best of the professional feud between radio greats Fred Allen and Jack Benny). Benny is upset to discover that Fred's fan club only has twelve members out of a town of six thousand. He suggests that maybe the club is too exclusive, with Fred arguing that that is not the case.
Benny: Well, what about my movies?
Fred: Your movies? Even the riffraff won't go see them.
Benny: Have they tried giving away dishes?
Fred: Yes, and people threw them at the screen.
Benny: I see. Have they tried not giving away dishes?
Fred: Yes, and people bring their own dishes and still throw them at the screen.
Eventually, Benny rents him the chair for ten dollars a day and includes a gift wrapping service in the deal. It turns out that it is not the right chair.
Fred tracks down another chair in a nightclub. To gain admittance, he has to sing as part of a quartet with such "washed up" stars as Don Ameche, Rudy Vallee, and Victor Moore. Eventually, a fight breaks out among the nightclub patrons and another man ends up dead.
Another chair is in the possession of actor William Bendix and his infamous gang, which turns out to be quite a bloodthirsty group.
With Bendix's help, Fred is able to recover the money and get a confession out of the ones responsible for his great-uncle's death. Using some particularly nasty methods, Bendix says, "When you gentlemen are ready to confess, please signify by saying 'Ouch'".
Money safely in his possession, Fred returns home but gets unnerved when people start crawling out of the woodworks once they realize his windfall of cash.
Cast rundown:
Fred Allen....................................Fred Floogle
Jack Benny...................................Himself
Don Ameche.................................Himself
William Bendix..............................Himself
Victor Moore.................................Himself
Rudy Vallee..................................Himself
Binnie Barnes...............................Eve Floogle
Robert Benchley............................Parker
Jerry Colonna...............................Dr. Greengrass
John Carradine.............................Jefferson T. Pike
Gloria Pope..................................Marion Floogle
William Terry................................Perry Parker
Richard Tyler................................Homer Floogle
Sidney Toler.................................Detective Sully
George Chandler...........................Elevator Operator
Emory Parnell...............................Mr. Buddoo
And that's it for It's In The Bag!. It's quite humorous, especially the bits which portray the professional feud between Fred Allen and Jack Benny. One of the film's screenwriters was Alma Reville, wife of Alfred Hitchcock.
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