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.

Plot---Arch-criminal Steve Clark uses both charm and guile to trick working girl Julie into joining him in ruthless scheme to kill her aunt and launder his ill-gotten robbery money. So just how far will Julie go in trailing along with him.

All in all, the flick's a cheapo that over-stretches its spotty material. Too bad director Newfield's direction shows little imagination with a storyline that does offer some potential. In fact the staging of the implausible climax ends the flick on a particularly dreary note. Of course, the main attraction now is catching one of TV's favorite dads as soulless killer Steve, a difficult role Beaumont brings off in surprisingly effective fashion. In a better movie, his portrayal could have reached classic status. Trouble is his feminine foil, Julie (Rafferty), is poorly thought out and played in understandably bewildered fashion (where was the helping hand of the director). Julie goes from malt shop hooker (implied) to floor mat for Steve's many schemes, and crucially, without hint of depth the conflicted role requires. Had Julie some depth and had the script some irony, Julie could have turned the tables on her abuser in a way that shows he's underestimated her. Something surprising like that could have made the movie more memorable than the Beaumont showcase it finally is.

A starvation-budget noir riddled with implausibilities, Money Madness might have been a better movie given a snappier script and an inventive director. That said, it's not that bad. We open in a courtroom where a young woman (Frances Rafferty) is being sentenced; rushing to a phone booth, a reporter tells his rewrite man 'You never know what'll come in on the noon bus.'

Next, the noon bus pulls in, disgorging Hugh Beaumont (it's not entirely clear until the end of the movie that we're now in flashback). In his satchel is $200,000, loot from a bank robbery. But he takes a crummy room and gets a job driving a hack. Picking up some fares one night, he encounters Rafferty, out on a bad date. He either falls for her or sees in her his opportunity.

Rafferty lives in a stuffy old mausoleum on the charity of her crabby old aunt (Cecil – sometimes Cecile – Weston). Beaumont hatches a plan to bump the old witch off, marry Rafferty and say his money was stashed up in the attic of the house. He forges ahead despite Rafferty's reservations by dint of cajolery and intimidation. All unfolds according to plan, but for the fact that Rafferty's lawyer (Harlan Warde) takes a shine to her as well...

Before hitting the big time of '50s TV, Beaumont appeared in dozens of Poverty Row pictures (often, as here, starring). He was never memorable but, like the movie, he wasn't too bad, either. In fact, he's rather effective as the manipulative, controlling bastard (who may be a little bit mad). The movie, though, relies too optimistically on convenient coincidences (when the landlady of Beaumont's rooming house finds Warde rifling his quarters, she calls Rafferty's house to issue an alert. How did she know where to find him?) Money Madness' place in the alphabet is considerably south of B, but it's not quite into the letters that get the highest points in scrabble, either.

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.

Money Madness combines the presence of two of 50s television staples, the December Bride Frances Rafferty and everyone's favorite TV dad Hugh Beaumont from Leave It To Beaver. in a small and cheaply produced noir film Money Madness. In this film Beaumont is anything but Ward Cleaver.

Beaumont plays a small time crook who has skipped with the loot from a bank robbery totaling $200,000.00. Now what to do with it.

Hwe hits upon a scheme that involves him wooing and wedding counter girl Frances Rafferty from a malt shop. She has a hypochondriac aunt whom she's chained to having to take care of her played by Cecil Weston. While courting her Beaumont acts just like Ward Cleaver courting June. But what he has in mind is to poison the old girl and then claim that $200,000.00 was part of money that the aunt hid in a mattress. This presuming the money isn't numbered consecutively and serial numbers recorded. As Rafferty has a shady past of her own she wants no one to know about she has to go along.

Of course what really forces her hand is when Ward Cleaver turns vicious and slaps her good. I imagine seeing Money Madness on TV after Beaumont's persona from Leave It To Beaver made him TV's favorite dad must have exponentially increased the shock value in a way the producers couldn't have dreamed of.

This 1948 independent noir film holds up well today and here's a chance to see a really different Hugh Beaumont.