''Money Madness'' is a 1948

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...

mystery film A mystery film is a genre of film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur Detective, sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means ...

directed by

Sam Newfield Sam Newfield, born Samuel Neufeld, (December 6, 1899 - November 10, 1964), also known as Sherman Scott or Peter Stewart, was an American B-movie Film director, director, one of the most prolific in American film history—he is credited with d ...

starring

Hugh Beaumont Eugene Hugh Beaumont (February 16, 1909 – May 14, 1982) was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of Ward Cleaver on the television series '' Leave It to Beaver'', originally broadcast from 1957 to 1963; and as private detec ...

and

Frances Rafferty Frances is a French and English given name of Latin origin. In Latin the meaning of the name Frances is 'from France' or 'free one.' The male version of the name in English is Francis. The original Franciscus, meaning "Frenchman", comes from the F ...

Plot

Steve Clark (

) is on a

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

-bound bus and gets off in a small town en route. In his suitcase he has been carrying loot from a bank robbery; he stashes it in a safety deposit box. He becomes a taxi driver, which leads him to a chance encounter with Julie Saunders (

), a local woman in her 20s. Julie lives with an elderly, bitter aunt who makes her life miserable. Clark, with his charm and original outlook on life, instantly becomes a ray of sunlight for her, and they quickly marry. However, Clark soon admits to her that the marriage is part of a plan he has crafted, to help him launder his ill-gotten cash—but it also involves murder and will make Julie an accessory to it, against her will.

Cast

as Steve Clark *

as Julie *

Harlan Warde Harlan Warde (born Harlan Ward Lufkin; November 6, 1917 – March 13, 1980) was a character actor active in television and movies. Career Warde showed up in supporting roles as detectives, doctors, and ministers. Warde made five guest appearan ...

as Donald * Cecil Weston as Cora *

Ida Moore Ida Moore (March 1, 1882 – September 26, 1964) was an American film and television actress. Early life Moore was born in Altoona, Kansas, she was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Marvelton Moore. Career Moore's first professional work had ...

as Mrs. Ferguson *

Danny Morton Danny Morton (born 1 July 1973) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Fitzroy and Port Adelaide in the Australian Football League (AFL). Morton, a rover, was drafted to Fitzroy from North Adelaide, with the 70th selection o ...

as Rogers * Joel Friedkin as Mr. Wagner *

Lane Chandler Lane Chandler (born Robert Clinton Oakes, June 4, 1899 – September 14, 1972) was an American actor specializing mainly in Western (genre), Westerns. Biography Early life Chandler was raised on a ranch near Culbertson, Montana, the so ...

as Policeman

Reception

Critical response

Film critic Dennis Schwartz, while giving the film a mixed review, liked the feature, writing, "A low-grade film noir that has its chilling moments. It opens with Julie Saunders (Frances Rafferty) sentenced to a prison term of ten years for being an accomplice to murder. A flashback is used to show how a sweet girl like Julie could have gotten into such deep trouble ... Beaumont went on to be Ward Cleaver in television's '' Leave It to Beaver'', but here he's great to watch as a sleazeball and sicko killer. It's film where it takes a suspension of belief to get through all the problems built into the implausible plot, but nevertheless the film has a certain insanity kicking in that somehow works to give it an edge."

Production

Ben Winkler Benjamin Winkler (May 25, 1902 – February 22, 1979) was an American sound engineer and recordist in the U.S. film industry having some 135 credits to his name. Born in The Bronx, New York. His film credits included '' Money Madness'', ''D.O.A ...

served as the

sound engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...

for the film.

References

External links

* * * * * * (public domain) {{DEFAULTSORT:Money Madness 1948 films American mystery films American black-and-white films 1940s English-language films Film noir Films directed by Sam Newfield Film Classics films 1948 mystery films 1940s American films