It's In The Bag! (1945)

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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To Be Or Not To Be (1942)

 

To Be Or Not To Be - 1942

Coming up next we have 1942's "To Be Or Not To Be", a story about a group of Polish actors who must fool the occupying Nazi troops in order to safeguard the identities of Polish airmen in the British RAF.

The film's cast includes Carole Lombard, Jack Benny, Robert Stack, Felix Bressart, Lionel Atwill, Stanley Ridges, Sig Ruman, Tom Dugan, Charles Halton, Henry Victor, Maude Eburne, and Helmut Dantine.

Adolf Hitler is apparently walking the streets of Warsaw.  Don't worry.  It's not really him.  It's a publicity ploy to get people to come to a new play that is rehearsing entitled "Gestapo".

The play's lead actors are husband and wife team Joseph and Maria Tura, who insist on making changes to the play.  When the producer asks Maria if that is what she is supposed to be wearing in a concentration camp, she replies, "I think it’s a tremendous contrast.  Think of me being flogged in the darkness.  I scream.  Suddenly, the lights go on and the audience discovers me on the floor in this gorgeous dress."

Privately, the couple bickers back and forth over who should have top billing.  Each of them claims that they have the bigger name and are the bigger audience draw.

Their current play, however, is "Hamlet", with Joseph starring in the title role.  However, whenever he starts his "To Be Or Not To Be" soliloquy, a young man gets up and interrupts.

The young man, a Polish flier in the RAF names Sobinski, takes an opportunity to visit the woman of his dreams, Maria, backstage.  She's flattered, but doesn't let his attentions go too far.  "I hope you’ll forgive me if I’m a little clumsy, but this is the first time I ever met an actress," he tells her.  She smiles and says, "Lieutenant, this is the first time I ever met a man who could drop three tons of dynamite in two minutes."

The acting company's play "Gestapo" is scrapped by order of the Polish government.  They are concerned about the play worsening the country's relationship with Germany.

Soon, though, the German forces invade Poland and tighten its grip on the struggling country.  The actors are out of work and forced to live in reduced circumstances.

In London, the RAF flier Sobinski bids goodbye to a certain Professor Siletsky, the leader of the Polish resistance, who is flying back to Warsaw.  Sobinski asks Siletsky to deliver a message to Maria Tura, but Siletsky has no clue who she is.  Sobinski suspects that the professor is a German agent, and warns the Polish underground ahead of his arrival.

Sobinski makes it to Warsaw, and Maria hides him in her apartment while her husband is out.  Then, she is summoned by Siletsky to his offices, where he attempts to cultivate her to become a spy.  "This is a very difficult place to get in, but it’s much more difficult to get out," he warns.  She responds with, "Oh, I'm terribly frightened and terribly thrilled."

Back in the Tura apartment, Joseph arrives to find Sobinski wearing his pajamas, and he is not at all thrilled about what he thinks has gone on between his wife and the young flier.  "We're all in the same boat," says Sobinski.  To which Joseph asks, "Oh, in the same boat, eh?  Well then, let me ask you something as one sailor to another.  What ill wind blew you into my slippers?"

Once Maria returns, the three of them work together to come up with a plan to stop Siletsky from exposing the names of Polish fliers working in the RAF.  Maria agrees to become a spy for Siletsky so she can find out where he keeps his important papers.

And Joseph masquerades as Colonel Ehrhardt, who is to be Siletsky's contact in Warsaw.  Professor Siletsky is quite happy about meeting the "colonel".  "You know, you’re quite famous in London, Colonel.  They call you Concentration Camp Ehrhardt."  Joseph laughs and jokes, "Yes, yes.  We do the concentrating and the Poles do the camping."

The Turas, along with Sobinski and the rest of the acting company, succeed in getting rid of Siletsky before he can expose anyone, which results in Joseph having to impersonate him in front of the real Colonel Ehrhardt, which is absolutely hilarious.

Now, seeking to get out of Poland to safety, they must outwit the Fuhrer himself while he is at the theater in order to escape.

They use the actor who portrayed Hitler at the beginning of the story in order to make their way to a plane that will take them to England.

Once they arrive safely on English soil, the group of actors, along with Sobinski, are heralded as heroes for protecting the identities of the Polish airmen.

As a reward, Joseph gets to play Hamlet on the London stage.  However, he gets upset when he begins his "To Be Or Not To Be" speech, and someone gets up and leaves.

Cast rundown:

   Carole Lombard...............................Maria Tura

   Jack Benny......................................Joseph Tura

   Robert Stack...................................Lt. Stanislav Sobinski

   Felix Bressart..................................Greenberg

   Lionel Atwill....................................Rawitch

   Stanley Ridges................................Prof. Alexander Siletsky

   Sig Ruman......................................Colonel Ehrhardt

   Tom Dugan.....................................Bronski

   Charles Halton.................................Producer Dobosh

   Henry Victor....................................Captain Schultz

   Maude Eburne.................................Anna

   Helmut Dantine...............................Co-Pilot

And that's it for To Be Or Not To Be.  This very funny film proved to be Carole Lombard's last before her untimely death in a plane crash.  It has been recognized as #49 on the American Film Institute's list "100 Years...100 Laughs".  The film was remade in 1983 under the same name, and it starred Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft in the lead roles.

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