Il benemerito spiantato

A young man named Willie Musher (Eddie Quillan) couldn't say no to anyone. His inability to say no led him to be a sponsor of an orphan named Oscar (Douglas Scott) to the tune of $10/week. That would be a burden today, so what more of a guy making $20/week.

He did what he could to raise the money including working two jobs: at a department store dressing mannequins and waiting tables at a nightclub. By sponsoring little Oscar it gave Willie a chance to get close to Mary Robbins (Sally Starr).

Willie was a cut up the entire movie, but he had a big heart. In its own way "Night Work" was as touching as it was comical.

Free on YouTube.

"Night Work" is an unusual case for me. I've seen quite a few of his films and yet I never really liked him or his movies. Yet, surprisingly, with this film I found myself liking him and enjoying this low-budget project quite a bit. It's not exactly brilliant but is fun and worth your time.

Eddie plays 'Musher'--the low guy on the totem pole at the department store where he works. His immediate boss is a jerk and he's the designated guy to fire. What does this mean? Whenever customers come in to complain, Musher is brought in and fired in front of the customer--and then he goes right back to work in the window dressing department! It's actually pretty funny though his character hates his lot in life--at least until he meets a cute young lady. But this is also a serious problem. She works at an orphanage and he just cannot say no to her. He even agrees to become the sponsor for one of the orphans though he cannot afford it with his meager salary. How does all this work out amazingly well in the end? See the film.

The pleasantness and decency of the characters help with this one. You really like Musher and his girlfriend and you want them to succeed. And, the ending is a hoot--tying everything together wonderfully. Overall, a nice little film that isn't especially deep and has too much singing but is quite fun.