Baby Face Morgan

This was the next to last film of cute Mary Carlisle. She was disappointed that she was never able to break out of the "cute" mould and show what she could do as an actress.

Edward Morgan (Richard Cromwell) works in a drug store. His father, who he never knew, was a crime boss but headed an insurance company as a front for his shady dealings. Two henchmen call on Edward, to tell him of his father's death and to see if he wants to take over the "business". When a phone conversation is misinterpreted (in gangland talk - pineapples mean bombs not fruit!!!) Edward is given the nickname "Baby Face". "Doc" Morgan (Robert Armstrong) the real brains behind the group, instantly realises that Edward is just a country bumpkin but uses the nickname to instill fear into the frightened people that have to pay for protection.

All except Virginia (Mary Carlisle, looking like a very young Lana Turner) - she declares war on the protection gangsters. Morgan, who doesn't know he is the notorious "Baby Face" begins selling insurance for real and when trucks and shops are blown up pays the proprietors for real. Suddenly "Baby Face" isn't so frightening anymore!!!

I found it pretty funny, especially as Edward didn't realise that "Baby Face" was himself. Richard Cromwell looked such an innocent, you could really believe his disbelief!!!!!

The film was a who's who of former stars. Aside from Mary Carlisle, who was Bing Crosby's leading lady in a few of his early films, there was Robert Armstrong, who had starred in "King Kong" and "Son of Kong". Ralf Harolde, who played a variety of interesting parts in some early 30s films, including "Night Nurse" (1931) with Barbara Stanwyck, plays the disgruntled Joe Torelli. Warren Hymer spent the 30s playing dumb, comic gangsters and this film was no exception - he played Wise Willie. Chick Chandler, who introduced "How Do I Know it's Sunday" in "Harold Teen" (1934) played Edward's cousin Ollie.

I can recommend this film.

Flaky PRC production. Looks like the producers were aiming for a gangster comedy, with veteran goof-balls like Hymer and Barnett, along with serious types like Armstrong and Harolde, plus a gamely compliant Cromwell. What they get instead is a silly concoction, despite a cast that tries hard. Sweet-natured innocent (Cromwell) is set up by conniving gangster (Armstrong) as fall-guy for his insurance scheme. Trouble is the kid has no business sense and undercuts the scheme with wasteful spending. Meanwhile Armstrong has to contend with rival toughie Harolde who doesn't trust him. So there's trouble all around. Too bad the script is so clumsy (many gaps), along with slack direction from pedestrian director Dreifuss (check his credits). The result is 60-minutes of awkward entertainment, best left to aficionados of the 1940's.

Baby Face Morgan is one frustrating film. Producers Releasing Corporation a true poverty row outfit assembled a good cast of players and had a really original idea for a story. If this had been done by a major studio with a top director this could have been one of the great comedy gems of the era.

Richard Cromwell is in the title role and he plays a hayseed young man who happens to be the son of a notorious gangster. Dad split from Mom and Cromwell never had any contact with him.

Cromwell has a Mr. Deeds like quality to him as Robert Armstrong plucks him from obscurity to use him as a front man for their protection racket. Things go well for Armstrong until Cromwell falls for Mary Carlisle who heads a trucking company that was a victim of the protection racket. It all unravels for Armstrong after that.

Any film with such colorful movie faces like Warren Hymer, Chick Chandler, Charles Judel and Ralf Harolde is going to be enjoyable on some level. But there was real potential here that was sadly wasted.

What Preston Sturges could have done with Baby Face Morgan.

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.

My score of 7 is very good, but relative to other B-films I'd give this one a 9--it's that good despite the tiny budget. For a lesser production made by a so-called "Poverty Row" studio (PRC--one of the cheaper and crappier studios), it's amazingly good. Normally, you'd expect ordinary or lousy writing--not a clever film like this one.

The film begins with a meeting of various mobsters. Robert Armstrong (of "King Kong" fame) is leading the discussion and he's lamenting the death of their leader years before and how he wishes the mobs would all work together like the "good old days" under Morgan's leadership. Armstrong suggests that perhaps Morgan's son MIGHT be the guy to take this leadership role. The problem that the men in the meeting are not aware of is that Morgan's son (Richard Cromwell) has no idea who his father was and is a very nice and somewhat wimpy young man. However, throughout the film, there are many opportunities where various mobsters see the guy and assume he's talking about killings and extortion--when the guy is really talking about mundane things that aren't the least bit violent. What makes it even funnier is that after he's brought to the big city to run the mob, he thinks this is a legitmiate insurance company--and he begins selling policies right and left. He's so successful, though, not because of his salesmanship but because everyone else thinks he's selling "protection". Eventually, however, "Baby Face" learns the truth--and how can he possibly extricate himself from this terrible situation?! This film made me laugh many times. The acting, writing and entire production are very crisp and clever--making it a hidden gem that is a standout among the Bs.