Beggars in Ermine

I guess one of the reasons I liked this film so much was because my expectations were so incredibly low. After all, this film was made by a "Poverty Row" studio I'd never heard of and the movie has slipped into the public domain. Plus, while I like the star, Lionel Atwill, he had a habit of making films for crap studios. Fortunately, I was wrong and I thoroughly enjoyed the movie...even if the plot is a tiny bit tough to believe.

The film starts off with Atwill playing a tycoon who owns a very successful steel mill. He's an interesting boss, as he often goes to work with the men in the mill! I thought this was an interesting idea but it didn't work all that well for one major reason--Atwill's erudite presence just made it very, very hard to believe him working in a steel mill! But, despite this, the plot became very interesting very quickly. It seems that a corporation wanted to buy up his mill but Atwill had no interest in selling. So, to force the sale, the leader of some horrible schemers did some outrageously evil things. First, he instigated an accident in the mill where Atwill was almost killed. In fact, his legs were burned off by molten steel deliberately poured on him!! He spent the next several months in the hospital--during which time, the evil plan grew. First, they convinced him to give his power of attorney to his "loving wife"--who then sold the mill! Then, she ran off to Europe with all the funds--leaving Atwill poor and without the business! Later, however, Atwill is able to recreate his fortune in a very unique way--he forms a union, of sorts, with the handicapped beggars on the street (much more common in the 1930s than today, thank God). He helped them find gainful employment, invested their earnings, got them health and retirement plans--and made a wonderful life for these marginally employable men. Why he did this was partly because he was a nice person and part of this was so that he could rebuild his fortune and regain his old factory. The plan would take many, many years and there were some nice twists along the way, but by the end of the film, he has his confrontation with his arch-enemy--the man who did so much to orchestrate his ruin.

Overall, the film has a truly unique plot that kept me guessing. While you'd think it would simply be a tale of betrayal and revenge, it was so much more. It also is one of the better early depictions of the handicapped as having so much more to offer society and themselves. And, to top it all off, the acting was very good--especially Atwill and his friend, played by Henry Walthall. A nice little hidden gem.

By the way, a 9 seems like a high score, but I am comparing it to other B-films. Compared to the rest, this is definitely a standout--one that got me thinking well after the film ended.

Little known now, but pretty big stars for their day, Lionel Atwill and Betty Furness star in Beggars in Ermine. Atwill is "Dawson", owner of the mill, but is injured in an accident, caused by one of his own workers. then his own wife screws him over and takes all his money. now he's broke, and he organizes the homeless, and forms an organization to get the employees to try to save the company from complete destruction from his wife and the new owners. It's pretty good... similar to John Doe. Directed by Phil Rosen.. this one just one of TEN that he directed in 1934 ALONE! wow. Mr. "B" movie factory. It's not bad. Catch it if you can.

the reviews of this film unfairly marginalize it for lack of realism. Did they scoff at, say, "Fight Club" for such reasons? It's far more unique and interesting for its cache of Depression-era lore and its assumptions about the dispossessed. Highly recommended for its bizarre mix of creepiness and homiletic. Obviously allegorical, it nevertheless fails -i think somehow deliberately - in being uplifting and points instead to something sinister in the crippled, maimed and poverty-stricken denizens of the city. The blind accordionist who attaches himself to Atwill wears glasses which are half black, half clear. His speeches are absurdly virtuous cliché, which belie his mendacious appearance in a very unconvincing way. I also noticed the back of the envelope calculations Atwill makes when pitching his stock market club for beggars only involved impossible amounts: millions in months. A lot of ticker tape shenanigans go on in the second half of the film, all of which are so exaggerated, I ended up thinking public anxiety about the market was also being channeled here quite volubly, along with fear of the disabled and wretched poor. In a word, peculiar.

A rare turn for Lionel Atwill as the hero. He plays a factory owner and friend of the working man who is crippled by a real piece of work (Jameson Thomas), who not only steals the guy's company but his wife as well. Years later Atwill plots to get even with the help of a blind homeless man.

Well this certainly sounds like a hoot, doesn't it? Unfortunately, it never quite hits the mark. I did like it, especially the first half, but it just kind of petered out after that. This is largely due to the static direction, a colorless villain, and a script that could use some punching up. Also the movie hits one of my pet peeves by skipping over some events and filling them in after the fact, largely through dialogue. "Show not tell" almost always works better, in my view.

John 'Flint' Dawson (Lionel Atwill) was delivered one of the worst two-piece combinations you could possibly get. He lost his legs in an industrial accident, then while he was in recovery he lost his wife, his daughter, and all of his money to the same guy! That would make me want to do one of two things: commit suicide or go on a killing spree.

John was a better man than me.

John Dawson was the general manager of a steel mill and he also had a controlling interest in it. The man who ruined his life was James 'Jim' Marley (Jameson Thomas). He wanted Flint Dawson's company, and his wife was a necessary tool to get it.

Dawson never knew what hit him. He was crippled and broke within the blink of an eye. He resorted to panhandling like so many other disabled men. But, being the resourceful man he was, Dawson united thousands of unemployed cripple men to make a consortium to benefit all of them. It was either the new chapter in his life or his attempts to close an old chapter.

"Beggars in Ermine" was decent. It had enough going on to keep me attentive and invested in the ending. Based upon some of the things that occurred in the movie, If this same movie was made today, it would be about meme stocks. And who wasn't at least curious about the success of meme stocks?

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