HOLD THAT GHOST

Joan Davis and Lou Costello

HOLD THAT GHOST (1941). Director: Arthur Lubin. Colorized. 

Chuck (Bud Abbott) and Ferdy (Lou Costello) discover that a dead gangster has left them all of his loot, if they can only find it in the crumbling old mansion where it is hidden. The two fellows travel by auto to the place, whereupon other passengers in the car are stranded along with them due to a storm. These passengers include professional radio screamer, Camille (Joan Davis), pretty Norma (Evelyn Ankers of Captive Wild Woman), Dr. Jackson (Richard Carlson of Tormented), and some uninvited ghosts -- or guests. Some of the gangster's associates want the dough for themselves and won't stop at murder to get it!

Those teeth! Patti Andews sings "Aurora"

A cut below the Abbott and Costello classic, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, this is still an amusing if often very silly movie. Some of the gags -- such as a bit with a bedroom transforming into a mini-casino  and vice versa -- go on ad nauseam, but there are also funny scenes such as a dance routine between Davis and Costello, who make an amusing team. Others in the cast include Mischa Auer as a dyspeptic club manager, Ted Lewis as a singer and master of ceremonies, Marc Lawrence as a hood, and the Andrews Sisters doing a couple of snappy numbers, including "Aurora."  

Verdict: Amiable nonsense with the lovable comedy team -- and the Andrews Sisters! **3/4. 

JIGSAW

 

JIGSAW (aka GUN MOLL/1949). Director: Fletcher Markle.

Howard Malloy (Franchot Tone) investigates a secret organization that appeals to people's racism in order to sell uniforms and other materials for profit. Charles Riggs (Myron McCormick) is a crusading reporter who detests racism and is out to expose the group no matter what. Angelo aka "The Angel" Agostini (Marc Lawrence of Inside Job) is a hood who gets sexy model Barbara Whitfield (Jean Wallace) to romance Malloy. Grace Hartley (Winnifred Lenihan) is a political widow and one of Malloy's mentors. There are interesting elements to the movie, but it never quite jells, and the most notable thing about the production is seeing famous guest stars doing cameos -- Marlene Dietrich walks out of a nightclub called The Blue Angel where Henry Fonda is a waiter! Seeing these two in such a cheapie production as this is a little bit surreal. Another plus: the ending is quite unexpected. The actors are at least professional.

Verdict: Okay but no cigar. **.

INSIDE JOB (1946)

Alan Curtis and Ann Rutherford

INSIDE JOB (1946). Director: Jean Yarbrough. 

Eddie Norton (Alan Curtis) works as a kind of mechanical man in a department store window, and hides the fact that he is an ex-con because of a youthful indiscretion. His old "friend" Bart Madden (Preston Foster) threatens to tell his employers about his past if he doesn't help him rob the department store. You'd think Eddie would want no part of this scheme no matter what -- especially since Eddie took the fall for Bart --  but the dope not only eventually decides to go along with it but enlists his wife, Claire (Ann Rutherford), in his plans, which include ultimately cutting Madden out of the profit. But loose lips and a cute little boy with a cop father may prevent Eddie from realizing his larcenous ambitions.

Alan Curtis hatches plan

Inside Job features perhaps two of the dumbest protagonists in any movie. They seem to have no real skill at robbery or much of anything else. The three leads give solid performances, although Rutherford is not really the "gorgeous model" type that she is supposed to be (although she was cute enough to excite the interest of Andy Hardy when she played Polly Benedict). The movie glosses over details about the heist so that a lot of the plot doesn't make much sense. Midway through the movie it decides to drag in some sentiment with a cute neighbor kid (Jimmy Moss) next door as Eddie and Claire hide out after the heist. There's also a borderline cloying simple-minded nanny named "Ivory" (Ruby Dandridge, mother of Dorothy) and the kid's father, a cop named Thomas (Joe Sawyer). Marc Lawrence and Milburn Stone are also in the cast. The script for Inside Job is just too weak to make this a contender, but the uncompromising ending makes it clear that crime, in this case, really doesn't pay despite the fact that the couple are pretty much redeemed by their actions at the end. 

Verdict: Minor film noir with sentimental interludes. **.