Irish Luck

It is interesting to read comments by people reviewing a flik from 70yrs ago but bringing 21st Cent eyes. I liked the movie for its good combination of plot, set and dialog. I have seen many Frankie Darro shorts and some are better some are worse but all are just short movies to fill in with the feature and he is the oldest or longest lasting youth going other than the East Siders maybe. The classic use of stage Irish and realizing that the Irish were just making it off the bottom of the social ladder prior to WWll gives an insight most people have forgotten since all changed after the war. No more Irish need not apply for jobs or housing. Some of the unintended consequences of these old slices of life from the small studios like PRC are what i find so enjoyable about this type of film. I have seen a few of the other 6 movies in the series and the plot line is familiar though I think the mystery part in this one is best, for what it is. The rest is straight formula but good performances by the whole cast of journeyman actors many of whom are in multiple movies together. Great cohesion good entertainment, short as it is.

Produced by actor Grant Withers, this is the initial entry of a Frankie Darro starring series for Monogram Pictures during which this foremost exponent of the Boyish Enthusiasm genre plays as a hotel bellhop and "Amateur Detective" (the movie's title in England), and it is also the first of six works for which Darro is cast along with comic actor Mantan Moreland as his foil who wishes to exercise no part of crime solving, a chronic habit and avocation of Darro's characters, "Buzzy O'Brien" in this archetypal instance. The short (51 min.) film begins in brisk fashion and continues on a smooth roll throughout with Buzzy, son of a former police detective, becoming entangled in shady goings-on at his place of employment, the Regal Hotel, including multiple murders and a theft of negotiable bonds, with the young bellboy being in the midst of it all, as the temptation to be a nonprofessional gumshoe ensures that his job, his good standing with old family friend Detective Lanahan (Dick Purcell), and his very life will be in hazard. Very popular upon its release, the film still generates approval from viewers due to excellent casting and delivery of rapid-fire and crisp dialogue by the players, with ill-starred Monogram mainstay Purcell earning the acting laurels for his effortless performance as a no-nonsense detective in charge of the many investigations at the hotel; the direction, editing and scoring are not equalled by the studio's 1944 recrafting of the story as THE ADVENTURES OF KITTY O'DAY, featuring Jean Parker.

Frankie Darro and Mantan Moreland made a great team and both were great actors. They were very well directed here by Howard Bretherton in a good story, although there were times the dialogue was a bit over the top and rather too breathlessly delivered.

Still this is fun, and one to watch again.

I saw an excellent version at bnwmovies.com and I highly recommend that site.

Frankie Darro is a bellhop at a hotel where he hones his detective skills. After recovering some stolen bonds,much to the chagrin of the police, he finds himself mixed up in a murder, that may have been committed by a nervous young lady he has befriended. One of the first pairings of Mantan Moreland and Frankie Darro is one of the best. Here we have a real mystery story that keeps you interested from the very start. Its nice to have a programmer that seems to be more than just one set refurnished over and over again. There are some really clever bits, how Mantan flags down the police is priceless and some witty remarks, coming mostly from Mantan or cop Dick Purcell are amusing. If there is any real disappointment in this film its that Moreland and Darro aren't as chummy as they were in later entries. Indeed, where the pair spends most of their on screen time together here there are whole sections where Frankie is front and center with Moreland no where to be found or reduced to simply acting frightened or explaining things to the police, he's good but he's not what he would become in the later films. recommended to anyone looking for a a good mystery.

"Brainy bellhop Buzzy O'Brien (Frankie Darro) tries his hand at sleuthing out a killer when a hundred thousand dollars in bonds disappear and the corpse of Bank Vice President Thaddeus Porter is left in their place. When Kitty Monahan (Sheila D'Arcy), the object of Buzzy's affection, is named as the lead suspect by flat-footed Detective Lanahan (Dick Purcell), Buzzy spirits her away to his mother's apartment where the feisty old Irish battle-ax comically combines courting with crime solving," according to the Alpha Video synopsis, this is "a whimsical whodunit filled with romance, thrills and just a touch of blarney."

Just a touch?

"Irish Luck" was the first film featuring young Darro and vaudevillian Mantan Moreland (as Jefferson) as a team. Herein, they are typical as a hotel bellhop-cum-amateur detective and his servile, easily frightened sidekick. Coming from a common circus background, Darro and Moreland were complimentary and caring. Despite the latter's often stereotypical characterization, they are an engaging duo. What really made them endearing together is that Mr. Moreland "Jeff" overcomes his timidity to save Darro's life, which is followed by a mutual concern. You can see the bond has formed when they run off screen together.

***** Irish Luck (8/22/39) Howard Bretherton ~ Frankie Darro, Mantan Moreland, Dick Purcell, Lillian Elliott