mark.waltz
The death of the head of a protection racket hands the reigns over to the son (Richard Cromwell) he's never met. Cromwell has no idea of what he's getting into and in order not to be bored as the supposed head of pop's business, begins to sell insurance to the victims of the racket he has unknowingly inherited which ultimately threatens to bankrupt it. This, of course, makes him an invisible enemy of the criminal mastermind who turns out to be himself! The titled moniker is all he knows this racketeer to be known as, and even if they share the same last name, he still don't get it. This ultimately brings out the real criminal element determined to bring him down and pin all the crimes on him.A silly comedy crime caper, this exploits the small town kid as a dumbbell too honest yet too dense to see what's going on. Mary Carlisle is the pretty heroine he romances, unaware that "she" is "his" biggest victim in the protection racket. Veteran actor Robert Armstrong plays an underling of the late racketeer who becomes "protector" to the naive kid while Chick Chandler offers total silliness as Cromwell's sidekick. Take it as it is or avoid it. There's no believability to the film's non- sensical plot line and the one-dimensional gangsters involved in the racket have cutesy names obviously influenced by Damon Runyeon. But this ain't no "Big Street", "Lemon Drop Kid" or "Guys and Dolls".
GManfred
Is there anything worse than a comedy film that lacks humor? The answer is Yes; one that fails to generate any interest throughout the picture. The premise is not too bad - a naive front man for an illegal business - but this is a potboiler with a poor script and screenplay and just does not work.Was this considered a good 'B' in 1942? Hard to imagine. The only positive aspect of the picture is the cast, which contains several well-known faces from the '30's and '40's, such as Warren Hymer, Vince Barnett and Robert Armstrong (I always dismiss Richard Cromwell as the weakling who got Gary Cooper killed in "Lives of a Bengal Lancer", so I wasn't counting him).Can't recommend this one and gave it a rating of 3 - if you have a choice, get a root canal.
Hitchcoc
If you want to make a movie like this, have the threat be real. Don't surround your patsy with a bunch of Bonzos. There is no credibility here. The plot is dull and unbelievable. The acting is even worse. I thought that I was watching Arthur Lake (Dagwood) who is one of the worst actors in history, when I saw the main character. Oh well, at some point he has to face the music and get fighting mad. I don't care. Do you? There are all these long scenes set in this austere office (the furniture made out of cardboard or masonite). People talk and smoke and don't do anything. Most of the action happens in a five minute sequence. After that, it's over. Don't bother.
Spuzzlightyear
A son of a deceased mobster is unwillingly ceremoniously placed as the new leader of a racket the mob has put together, even though he is a bit naive and light headed. Through a clumsy series of events, he opens an insurance company that covers insurance claims on mob hits, even though he has no idea that this is all a front for the Mob. Soon, he gets way over his head, and eventually has to pretend to be someone that he is not to clear his name! If this whole premise sounds familiar, you may be right. This film, of all things, is a pre-successor to Corky Romano, which is about a dim-watt son of a Mobster infiltrating the FBI, unknowingly to benefit the mob. Another similarity? They're both pretty awful.James Cromwell, who plays the title character, looks strikingly like Jude Law. Too bad he can't act like him. The film, which is typical for these type of pictures, jumps all over the place from comedy to action to drama to thriller, leaving plot holes galore. But this is never boring, just stupid in its approach.
AD
