''Who's Minding the Mint?'' is a 1967 American

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

Howard Morris Howard Jerome Morris (September 4, 1919 – May 21, 2005) was an American actor, comedian, and director. He was best known for his role in ''The Andy Griffith Show'' as Ernest T. Bass, and as "Uncle Goopy" in a celebrated comedy sketch on Sid Ca ...

and starring

Jim Hutton Dana James Hutton (May 31, 1934 – June 2, 1979) was an American actor in film and television best remembered for his role as Ellery Queen in the 1970s TV series of the same name, and his screen partnership with Paula Prentiss in four films, ...

Dorothy Provine Dorothy Michelle Provine (January 20, 1935 – April 25, 2010) was an American singer, dancer and actress. Born in 1935 in Deadwood, South Dakota, she grew up in Seattle, Washington, and was hired in 1958 by Warner Bros., after which she first ...

Walter Brennan Walter Andrew Brennan (July 25, 1894 – September 21, 1974) was an American actor and singer. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in '' Come and Get It'' (1936), ''Kentucky'' (1938), and '' The Westerner ...

and Milton Berle. The screenplay, concerning a group of individuals who break into a

United States Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...

building to print currency, was written by R. S. Allen and Harvey Bullock. The movie was produced by

Norman Maurer Norman Albert Maurer (May 13, 1926 – November 23, 1986) was a comic book artist and writer, and a director and producer of films and television shows. Comic books Maurer's lifelong association with the Three Stooges began about the time o ...

for

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

and is Morris’

directorial debut This is a list of film directorial debuts in chronological order. The films and dates referred to are a director's first commercial cinematic release. Many film makers have directed works which were not commercially released, for example early work ...

. The supporting cast features

Joey Bishop Joseph Abraham Gottlieb (February 3, 1918 – October 17, 2007), known professionally as Joey Bishop, was an American entertainer who appeared on television as early as 1948 and eventually starred in his own weekly comedy series playing a talk ...

and

Bob Denver Robert Osbourne Denver (January 9, 1935 – September 2, 2005) was an American comedic actor who portrayed Gilligan on the 1964–1967 television series ''Gilligan's Island'', and beatnik Maynard G. Krebs on the 1959–1963 series ''The Ma ...

Plot

Harry Lucas (

) works at the

Bureau of Engraving and Printing The Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) is a government agency within the United States Department of the Treasury that designs and produces a variety of security products for the United States government, most notable of which is Federal Re ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

He has an admirer in sweet co-worker Verna Baxter (

), who tries to woo him by giving him home-made, yet famously inedible

fudge Fudge is a type of confection that is made by mixing sugar, butter and milk, heating it to the soft-ball stage at , and then beating the mixture while it cools so that it acquires a smooth, creamy consistency. In texture, this crystalline can ...

, but he avoids her because he doesn't feel ready for anything serious. He also has a nemesis in co-worker and supervisor Samson Link ( David J. Stewart), who can't understand how Harry manages to live beyond his means. Unbeknownst to Link, Harry relies on free trials that enable him to take luxury apartments and ride in chauffeured cars, enjoying the good life, including romance with a sexy neighbor. After Harry inadvertently drops $50,000 in new currency into a bag with Verna's fudge and leaves the mint with it, he unknowingly destroys the newly minted money when he dumps the entire contents of the bag into his

garbage disposal A garbage disposal unit (also known as a waste disposal unit, garbage disposer, garburator etc.) is a device, usually electrically powered, installed under a kitchen sink between the sink's drain and the trap. The disposal unit shreds food w ...

. Realizing what he has done, he now fears Link and an audit at the mint. In desperation, Harry turns to Pop (

), a former mint employee forced into retirement just before getting the chance to operate the presses he always maintained, and now has little to live for except the company of his pregnant

beagle The beagle is a breed of small scent hound, similar in appearance to the much larger foxhound. The beagle was developed primarily for hunting hare, known as beagling. Possessing a great sense of smell and superior tracking instincts, th ...

, Inky. Pop agrees to help Harry sneak into the mint after hours and print up replacement currency. Harry learns that they will need help from others to succeed. One by one, he has to offer a partnership to a

safecracker Safe-cracking is the process of opening a safe without either the combination or the key. Physical methods Different procedures may be used to crack a safe, depending on its construction. Different procedures are required to open different safes ...

named Dugan ( Jack Gilford); Luther ( Milton Berle), a pawnbroker who can front expenses; Ralph (

), a

public works Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, sc ...

employee who can navigate a secret passage to the mint through D.C.'s sewer system; an amusement park boat captain (

Victor Buono Victor Charles Buono (February 3, 1938January 1, 1982) was an American actor, comic, and briefly a recording artist. He was known for playing the villain King Tut in the television series ''Batman (TV series), Batman'' (1966–1968) and musician ...

) who can build a boat that can fit down a

manhole A manhole (utility hole, maintenance hole, or sewer hole) is an opening to a confined space such as a shaft, utility vault, or large vessel. Manholes are often used as an access point for an underground public utility, allowing inspection, m ...

, and an

ice cream truck An ice cream van ( British) or ice cream truck (North American) is a commercial vehicle that serves as a mobile retail outlet for ice cream, usually during the spring and summer. Ice cream vans are often seen parked at public events, or ne ...

driver named Willie (

) who has the means to distract the one resident on the street whose apartment overlooks the manhole. Harry ultimately winds up asking Verna to help once Pop reminds him that a professional cutter will be needed to cut the printed sheets of bills. To his surprise, she agrees to help. Unknown to Verna, however, the other conspirators accept an offer of $2,000 apiece at first, but as they rehearse for the big night, they decide to help Harry only on the condition that he and Pop will print them a million dollars apiece. An unexpected change at the mint forces the caper to be moved up. The group has to drop what they are doing and go in immediately. Despite the rehearsals, many things go wrong, including Ralph bringing along his straight-off-the-boat Italian cousin Mario (

Jamie Farr Jamie Farr (born Jameel Joseph Farah; July 1, 1934) is an American comedian and actor. He is best known for playing the cross-dressing Corporal turned Sergeant Maxwell Q. Klinger in the CBS television sitcom ''M*A*S*H''. He was inducted to ...

), and Inky going into labor. Verna is upset when she discovers that far more than $50,000 is being printed. After several setbacks, the group manages to leave with the money — over seven million dollars — only to have Mario mistakenly allow uniformed garbage collectors (whom he mistakes for police officers) to haul away the cardboard boxes containing the bills, placing them on a barge to be dumped into the ocean. Harry is defeated. He goes to the mint to confess to Link, knowing that he likely will lose his job and be sent to prison on a variety of felony charges. Pop saves the day when, on the steps of the mint, he turns up with $50,000 in extra bills that were printed and used to line the box in which Inky gave birth. Harry can replace the missing currency now, and he also has a new appreciation for the pure-hearted Verna. Later, the rest of the gang, including Inky, are seen searching for the lost currency with scuba diving equipment.

Cast

as Harry Lucas *

as Verna Baxter *

as Pop Gillis * Milton Berle as Luther Burton *

as Ralph Randazzo *

as Willie Owens * Jack Gilford as Avery Dugan *

as the Captain *

as Mario * David J. Stewart as Samson Link * Jackie Joseph as Imogene Harris * Erin Moran as little girl on tricycle (uncredited)

Production notes

The score was composed by Lalo Schifrin. The opening titles sequence, designed by the prolific Wayne Fitzgerald, displays the credits over images of Federal Reserve Notes, which were still in use for official transactions at the time, starting with a United States one-dollar bill, $1 bill and ending with a Large denominations of United States currency#$100,000 bill, $100,000 bill. Over $1,000,000 of real United States currency was used in the movie, but was carefully watched by armed guards. Most of the currency shown being printed was larger by half of actual United States currency and had obvious printing errors, so there was no chance the money could be passed as genuine. Dell Comics, Dell published a 12-cent comic book version of this movie as a tie-in.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Who's Minding The Mint? 1967 films 1960s crime comedy films 1960s heist films American crime comedy films American heist films Columbia Pictures films Films scored by Lalo Schifrin Films adapted into comics Films directed by Howard Morris Films set in Washington, D.C. 1967 directorial debut films 1967 comedy films 1960s English-language films 1960s American films

Plot

Cast

Production notes

See also

References

External links