Money Means Nothing

This Monogram drama from 1934 is from the period when they were still trying to make good movies, before they focused on cheap second features. It has a good script, a fine supporting cast, including Edgar Kennedy, who gets to do one of his patented slow burns, and Maidel Turner, who is excellent as a well meaning, gossipy neighbor. Wallace Ford is also good in the lead. Unhappily, Gloria Shea, as the female lead, is not up to the standards of the rest of the cast, which also includes Betty Blythe and Vivien Oakland, but the material is good enough to support her.

Christy Cabanne was on a bit of a roll during this period, working with small budgets but getting good casts, and here he gets to play some tricks with the camera-work. Early, character-setting scenes are shot with a highly mobile camera that swoops gracefully through the world of the rich, but it stops dead in its tracks once Ford and Shea are married and living in poverty in Brooklyn. The effect is beautifully calculated to keep the audience in a state of low-level anxiety, a trick of the camera that was discovered during the silent era but rarely used in the sound era. I can think of only a few cases, such as Kurosawa's HIGH AND LOW and Sturges' THE GREAT ESCAPE that use this method.

Cabanne is often denigrated as the least of D.W. Griffith's disciples, but he managed to keep directing until his death, usually second features with small budgets. I think the low esteem he is held in is undeserved and hope that people who care about movies will give him a chance.

Gloria Shea tries to communicate with Wallace Ford in a auto supply store and tries different car horns to attract his attention. She settles on one that sounds suspiciously like the notes used in 'Close Encounters'. If Steven Spielberg is a film historian, I wonder if this scene stuck in his mind. This film reminds me of 'My Man Godfrey' in that a rich socialite is trying to attract a common man. This is the first film I can remember with Gloria Shea & she seem to be a formidable actress. She carries her first scene in the film quite well. You would have to ask Spielberg is he sees similarities between Shea & Capshaw. I don't know if this film qualifies as a 'Meet Cute', but I would think so. The comedy reminds me of Laurel & Hardy.

Browsing today through one of my favorite places to buy DVDs, in the used section was a single, lonely new DVD still wrapped with the price of 99 cents. The film was called "Money Means Nothing", a title that meant nothing to me. Oh well, for that price, even if the film was a real stinker, all I would be out would be the buck. What a surprise to find a lively little programmer with a good story (based on a play), good acting and surprisingly good production values for Monogram Pictures. Gloria Shea, who I have barely heard of turned in a nice performance as the rich girl newly married to a poor boy, equally well played by Wallace Ford. Edgar Kennedy and Maidel Turner are hilarious as the newlywed's neighbors who are just a little too crude for the bride's family. Former silent star Betty Blythe plays the bride's Mother a bit like Billie Burke or Helen Broderick would if the film had been shot at MGM or RKO. With a running time of 64 minutes, you could find worse ways to spend an hour.

I agree with the other reviewer who felt that "Money Means Nothing" turned out much better than they expected. After all, it was made by a tiny so-called 'Poverty Row Studio' (Monogram) and their track record wasn't exactly golden. Plus, although there are a few minor stars in the movie (Wallace Ford and Edgar Kennedy), the actors were mostly small-time and unknowns.

The film begins with a spoiled rich girl, Julie (Gloria Shea), slumming it in a local dive. Looking for excitement, she follows some thugs to see what they're up to. Unfortunately, she nearly gets herself killed when they turn out to be robbers--and she inadvertently ends up helping these jerks! At first, the driver who is robbed, Kenny (Ford) is annoyed at her--especially when she keeps throwing herself at him. However, after awhile he reciprocates and they begin dating. However, he is a simple working stiff and she's from a rich and well-connected family, so their love seems doomed. But, despite the odds, they marry...only to have a series of events nearly tear them apart.

I liked the plot because although I had a general idea where it was going, the film managed to surprise me several times. Additionally, the ending was very, very satisfying and the film was a great vehicle for Ford--a very competent and likable actor but also a guy who never rose to the higher echelons of acting--most likely since he seemed so ordinary and average. Well worth seeing and very well written. And, incidentally, one of the rare films that makes a great case in favor of spousal abuse!!

Poor tire salesman Wallace Ford (as Kenneth "Ken" McKay) meets rich blonde Gloria Shea (as Julie Ferris) when the two are involved in a car accident. They fall in love, but Mr. Ford worries about money. Believing "Money Means Nothing", Ms. Shea proposes to Ford and he accepts. The Brooklyn couple discovers hard economic truths. Eventually, tire thieves involved in the opening accident return to cause more trouble. When things get dull (which is most of the movie), boisterous neighbors Edgar Kennedy and Maidel Turner liven it up. Also teamed effectively are 1920s "vamp" Betty Blythe and tired son Eddie Tamblyn. One continuous camera tracking movement is used nicely, early in the running time.

*** Money Means Nothing (6/15/34) Christy Cabanne ~ Wallace Ford, Gloria Shea, Edgar Kennedy, Maidel Turner