Real Stars, The (The Movie Buff's Bible of Hollywood's Greatest Character Actors)
MILLIONAIRES IN PRISON (1940)
Film Pick of the Day
Wednesday, June 26, 2024
Five millionaires arrive at the State Penetentiary: Dr. Bill Collins for drunk driving manslaughter, James Brent & Sidney Keats for stock fraud, and Bruce Vander & Harold Kellogg, two naive businessmen involved in one of Brent's and Keats' schemes. The five share a dormitory cell with three other convicts, among them the Professor (Shemp Howard) and Happy (Cliff 'Ukulele Ike' Edwards). Nick Burton (Lee Tracy), an apparently good-hearted man serving time for armed robbery, has a gift for gab and getting things done, which has earned the respect of the prison population. Dr. Collins is assigned as a medic in the prison hospital, and at Burton's urging, decides to continue his previous research in finding a vaccine for Malta fever. But Burton also takes on the role of confidence man, assisting Conway & Keats in a scheme to unload fake copper mine stock on fellow inmates. Do Burton's sympathies truly lie in helping his fellow convicts, or earning a fast buck?
Shemp Howard and Cliff Edwards round out the main cast, but most of the film's humor revolves around the fish-out-of-water attempts by Vander & Kellogg to fit into prison life. They simply cannot understand why filet mignon isn't on the mess hall menu.
Details
Average Rating:   [ 7.40/10 ] 5 votes |
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| Featuring | Shemp Howard (Solo) |
|---|---|
| Release Date | Friday, July 26, 1940 |
| Studio | RKO |
| Production Type | Feature Film |
| Duration | 64.2 min. |
