''The Lucky Stiff'' is a 1949 American comedy crime film directed by

Lewis R. Foster Lewis Ransom Foster (August 5, 1898 – June 10, 1974) was an American screenwriter, film/television director, and film/television producer. He directed and wrote over one hundred films and television series between 1926 and 1960. Selected film ...

, starring

Dorothy Lamour Dorothy Lamour (born Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton; December 10, 1914 – September 22, 1996) was an American actress and singer. She is best remembered for having appeared in the '' Road to...'' movies, a series of successful comedies starring Bing ...

Brian Donlevy Waldo Brian Donlevy (February 9, 1901 – April 6, 1972) was an American actor, noted for playing dangerous tough guys from the 1930s to the 1960s. He usually appeared in supporting roles. Among his best-known films are '' Beau Geste'' (19 ...

, and

Claire Trevor Claire Trevor ( Wemlinger; March 8, 1910April 8, 2000) was an American actress. She appeared in 65 feature films from 1933 to 1982, winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in ''Key Largo'' (1948), and received nomina ...

. The film is based on the 1945 novel of the same name by Craig Rice. ''The Lucky Stiff'' was produced by famous comedian

Jack Benny Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky, February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success playing violin on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century wit ...

, the only

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

he ever produced, through his production company, Amusement Enterprises.

Plot

Lawyer John Malone (Donlevy) is an ardent admirer of the sultry night-club singer Anna Marie St. Clair (Lamour). After meeting her at the club, he is present when her boss is killed, and she is arrested for the crime. Anna Marie is sentenced to death, so Malone and his secretary Maggie Seaton (Trevor) set out to find the real murderer, who is probably also responsible for a protection racket Malone is investigating. At the last possible moment, Anna Marie is saved from execution. When she learns that the newspapers have reported that she is dead, she decides to use her status as a "corpse" to her advantage. Millie Dale, her replacement at the nightclub, is also killed. Malone concludes that nightclub owner Eddie Britt has been behind the scheme all along but that Anna Marie, in love with Britt, was also complicit. Police inspector Von Flanagan ends up placing Anna Marie back under arrest, while Malone places a kiss on Maggie.

Cast

Production history

Craig Rice turned many of her novels into films, including ''

Having Wonderful Crime ''Having Wonderful Crime'' is a 1945 American screwball comedy and mystery film directed by Eddie Sutherland from a screenplay by Howard J. Green, Stewart Sterling, and Parke Levy, based on the novel of the same name by Craig Rice. In her s ...

'' (1945) and ''

Home Sweet Homicide ''Home Sweet Homicide'' is an American mystery film directed by Lloyd Bacon and released in 1946. It stars Peggy Ann Garner, Randolph Scott and Lynn Bari, and was based on the eponymous mystery novel by Craig Rice. The film features the lin ...

'' (1946). “The Lucky Stiff,” which was released in 1945, was another addition to the hit mystery series that included the famous character, John J. Malone.

wrote and directed the movie,

Ernest Laszlo Ernest Laszlo, A.S.C. (born Ernő László; April 23, 1898 – January 6, 1984) was a Hungarian-American cinematographer for over 60 films, and was known for his frequent collaborations with directors Robert Aldrich and Stanley Kramer. He w ...

was cinematographer, and the film was edited by Howard Smith. Furthermore,

Lewis H. Creber Lewis Creber (1901-1966) (also billed as Lewis H. Creber) was a British art director who spent his career in the United States, working on well over a hundred films and television series.Lombardi p.340 He worked for the major Hollywood studio ...

was the art director, Alfred Kegerris was the set decorator, Odette Myrtil was in charge of costumes, music was handled by Heinz Roemheld and David Chudnow, the sound of the film was done by William Fox, and the dance was staged by Eddie Prinz. The film included the song, “Loneliness” by

Victor Young Albert Victor Young (August 8, 1899– November 10, 1956)"Victor Young, Composer, Dies of Heart Attack", ''Oakland Tribune'', November 12, 1956. was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor. Biography Young is commonly said to ...

and

Ned Washington Ned Washington (born Edward Michael Washington, August 15, 1901 – December 20, 1976) was an American lyricist born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Life and career Washington was nominated for eleven Academy Awards from 1940 to 1962. He won the Bes ...

. The film was released on January 22, 1949, and in April of 1949, a Human Resource news item reported that the film lost $400,000,AFI CATALOG OF FEATURE FILMS. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/26011 which caused

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

, who had purchased the production company from Benny, to sue Benny. Additionally, in August 1948 Human Resources had Irmgard Dawson, Crane Whitely, Jack Shea, Bert Stevens, Barbara Stone, and Jim Nolan in the cast for the film, but they were never seen on the released film. Lastly, this film was Billy Vine’s first appearance on the big screen.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lucky Stiff 1949 films 1940s crime comedy films American crime comedy films American black-and-white films United Artists films Films directed by Lewis R. Foster Films scored by Heinz Roemheld Films based on works by Craig Rice 1949 comedy films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films