Money Madness

Hugh Beaumont -- suffering from MONEY MADNESS -- and a variety of other pathologies, runs to a small town and romances a small town girl to put in motion his unique (and ingenious) plot to launder his stolen 200 grand. How many people will he have to murder before law or fate catch up with him?

Though this is forgotten by everyone except the rare brave few who go and seek out the B-minus classics issued by PRC and, um, "Film Classics" - this film's distributor -- Hugh Beaumont, before he was father to the Beaver, acted in a fair number of minor film noirs, where he tended to play cops, detectives, and the occasional murderer. In this one, Beaumont brings his trademark likability, and family man charm to the role of a deceptive, conniving creep, on the run from the cops, and his co-conspirators in a successful bank job. And this movie turns on his unshowy but quite strong performance, as the plot depends on him being able to pretend to be "Ward" just long enough to get the heroine into his clutches, and then depends on him being the sort of Ward Cleaver that David Lynch might have used, had he got his hands on the Leave It To Beaver franchise.

It's cheap -- and the last plot twist is a bit much to take -- but it's always good to see an actor use his skills for something he's not usually known for, and succeed. There was more to Hugh Beaumont than his film/TV career really let him show, and this movie is a prime exhibit.

With MONEY MADNESS, Director Sam Newfield (using fake name of Peter Stewart on this occasion) manages to add yet another dud to his extensive collection. A word to the wise: rewatch the start to the flick to get what happens to Frances Rafferty, the wife.

Cinematography is clearly below par, though the persistently dark surroundings help set up and thicken the atmosphere. I regret to admit that the copy I watched was poor, with cuts and what appeared to be a loss of some lines, which clearly did not help elevate my rating of MONEY MADNESS.

Certainly, the best aspect about this flick is Hugh Beaumont's performance. He is a quick-thinking and acting criminal, ruthless to the chase. He has no qualms about getting lovely Rafferty to marry him and then he poisons her aunt for good measure, so that he has a roof to hide in while waiting to collect the inheritance. The way he disposes of aunt Cora and keeps his wife silent and cooperative is quite remarkable (safe guess that it must have raised many an eyebrow back in 1948!).

Beaumont would as soon as kiss as kill anyone. When in the middle of apparently amenable conversation he suddenly orders Frances Rafferty, "beat it!", you know this guy has no thought for anyone except No.1, and he will take no prisoners.

Pity that the rest of the movie does not live up to Beaumont's level. 6/10.

Marry in haste...repent at leisure. Truer words were never spoken.

"Money Madness" from 1948 stars Hugh Beaumont (Ward Cleaver of Leave it to Beaver) and Frances Rafferty.

In the first scene, we see Steve Clark (Beaumont) dropping a fortune into a safe deposit box. The next thing we know, he's driving a cab. When a passenger begins hassling his date (Rafferty), Clark throws him out of the cab and proceeds to charm the young woman, whose name is Julie.

Julie lives with her absolutely horrible aunt, who continually accuses her of not caring about her, leaving her alone all the time, etc. Julie would love to leave, but she can't bring herself to. After not very long (maybe five minutes) Steve proposes, and the two get married and go to Steve's place.

Steve then has a prearranged telephone call; when he hangs up, he tells her that his divorce never went through, so he is now a bigamist. It will take a little time to work it all out, so she needs to go back to her aunt's place. Boy have times changed!

Julie returns, with Steve coming by constantly. He poisons the old bat and then explains to Julie that she will inherit the house, and because he needs to hide where that money came from, he can put it in a chest in the attic, and everyone will think it was her aunt's.

Julie is naturally unhappy with this idea, especially since he's a murderer, but he reminds her that she can't testify against him since they're married (untrue - she cana't be forced to testify against him) and the bigamy deal was only so she would get back to her aunt's house; and she served the liquid with the poison.

Julie is stuck, and when Steve guns down an old partner who is after the money in front of her, she's plenty scared. The lawyer (Harlan Wade) handling her aunt's estate sees she is acting strangely, but she won't talk to him.

You won't be able to get over what a nasty piece of work Beaver's father is! He does a very good job, as does Rafferty as the fightened young woman.

The moral of this story is, get to know someone before you get married.

While this film has a few minor issues, it's a generally well made film noir picture and provides a wonderful opportunity to see Hugh Beaumont (the father on "Leave it to Beaver") playing a cold-blooded monster!

When the film begins, Steve Clark (Beaumont) blows into a new town and gets a job as a cab driver. In one of his first fares, he has an annoying drunk sexual harasser who is out on a date with a nice girl who is refusing his advances. Julie (Frances Rafferty) is thrilled with the cab driver intervenes and he looks like a really nice guy. And, through much of the film Steve appears to be a real sweetheart. However, underneath this veneer is a real sociopath and by the time the film's over, he's terrorized sweet Julie as well as killed a couple folks...and is about to kill more!!

The best thing about the film is Beaumont's performance. He is creepy and very convincing. Unfortunately, Rafferty is not very good and much of it could be the writing...as her character is too weak and a bit stupid. Plus, she believes that because she's married Steve that she cannot legally testify against him...which is NOT the case. She could not be COMPELLED to testify against him if she didn't want to...and there is also question as to whether or not they are actually married. Still, a very enjoyable film...one that I would strongly recommend to noir fans.

Wow, this one is certainly a candidate for restoration.. the sound and picture quality are just terrible. Hugh Beaumont is "Steve", a crook on the run from "something"... we're not sure just what. Beaumont was the Dad on Leave it to Beaver. Steve meets up with "Julie", (Frances Rafferty) who ALSO has a past of her own. They hit it off, and that's when the trouble begins! Dick Elliot is in here as a customer in the diner... Elliot was the town mayor in Andy Griffith. Gumming up the works is Julie's elderly aunt, who sometimes fakes being ill to get attention, but sometimes really is sick. Dealing with that brings out the worst in both Julie AND Steve, so it's going to hit the fan fast! Another fun face in here is "Mrs. Ferguson"... Ida Moore. She was ALWAYS a little old lady... she had a great, tiny little part in Desk Set! (Gotta see that if you haven't already) Money Madness flows right along, no plot-holes, or glaring problems. Not many big names, which is probably why its playing on Moonlight Movies channel. Beaumont had done a bunch of war films in the 1940s, and more in the 1950s, but he's probably the biggest name in here. Directed by Sam Newfield.. he and his brother Sigmund were bigshots in "the biz", and they turned out TONS of films, starting in the silent shorts. This one is actually pretty good.