It's in the Bag! (1945)

Waste of time

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

I purchased this DVD on a chance. What an absolute delight. I had never seen Fred Allen perform nor heard his radio programs. He is absolutely hilarious, as are all the writers who contributed to this hidden gem. It begins with Allen commenting to the movie audience as the beginning credits roll. He comments about the names and how common they are, that they are a bunch of nobodys and these names can be found in any phone book. It's just plain interesting and unique from the get-go. I laughed aloud many times. I will be looking for other movies by this director and the writers. I am excited to go off on a new tangent with the comedian Fred Allen. I look forward to finding some Fred Allen radio broadcasts to listen to as well!

Fred Allen is the ringmaster in a flea circus, until he inherits a fortune (and he needed it badly - but of course who doesn't), from a relative, who is murdered, but not before, the old man hid $300,000.00 in the seat cushion of a chair. Fred is told by the old man's friends (ha!) that there is no money (they squandered it all,) but he is bequeathed five chairs. Only after he has sold them to a furniture dealer for $300, does he get a record which the old man recorded stating that in one of them is $300,000.00! Apparently, they were sold instantly, and now he has to find that chair! This is a precursor to the Mel Brooks film The Twelve Chairs, but I believe that story was from a much older source. There is a scene much later on, that is similar to and is a precursor to Some Like It Hot. Binnie Barnes costars as his wife, who's grew tired of the life as a flea-master's wife a long time ago, and his boy is a real character, with supposedly the gift of a retentive memory. Then, there are a slew of cameos to look for: Don Ameche, Rudy Vallee, Victor Moore, William Bendix, and Sidney Toler, as a detective in a parody of his most famous role, that of Charlie Chan. But maybe the highlight of the whole film is the footage of Jack Benny, who once again is made fun of for being cheap. We see him first, as he has the first chair. Upon getting there, Fred Allen has to pay a check-girl to hold his hat (Fred says "only Jack Benny could think of a thing like that.") and has to use a cigarette machine in Jack's apartment for a cigarette! Then, when Jack refuses to give him the chair, he agrees to rent it to him! What a guy! (But in real life, Jack Benny wasn't like that at all. If he had been, he probably wouldn't have found any humor in being that way in films. He was known for his generosity to charities, for his own self-deprecating humor, and for letting other comedians get a laugh as well. Most comedians don't like their thunder taken from them, or a joke turned on them. But Jack wasn't like that at all.) With Jerry Colonna as a mixed-up psychiatrist and Robert Benchley as a future in-law who doesn't like Fred, this is one fun-filled escapade you don't want to miss. It's a chance to see Fred Allen, who's sadly been forgotten, Jack Benny and company at their best.

I was surprised by the quality of the writing in this forgotten exhibition of the comic talents of radio personality Fred Allen. The story is one of those madcap farces in which a virtually non-existent plot is held together by a relentless barrage of jokes and quips which, for a change, hit more often than they miss.Allen plays Fred F. Trumble Floogle, the penniless owner of a flea circus who unexpectedly comes into an inheritance when a distant relative is murdered. What Fred doesn't realise is that most of the fortune has already been siphoned off by crooked lawyer John Carradine and his cronies, and the few hundred thousand dollars that remains is hidden in one of a set of five chairs that have been sold at auction. There then follows a fast paced hunt for the missing chairs that leads Floogle into the paths of all manner of unusual characters. One of these is Jack Benny, and the film has a great time poking fun at his legendary stinginess. Two of the chairs have been sold to a nightclub where Floogle finds former stars Don Ameche, Rudy Vallee and Victor Moore working (Ameche has run out of things to invent in the movies so is reduced to working as a singing waiter to make ends meet.) The story continues in this vein for ninety minutes, but very rarely does the pace – or quality of the jokes – flag. Others have pointed out that many of the gags will be lost on those with no – or little – knowledge of the period, but there's still plenty of timeless jokes that still work today.

The fun starts with the credits as Fred Allen denigrates everyone listed with the exception of his co-stars Don Ameche, William Bendix and Rudy Vally. Jack Benny, supporting cast members, the producer, director and even the make-up artists get a blast from Allen's withering tongue. The plot is simple enough that we can kind of forget it while enjoying the comedic interludes that are woven around it. Good old fashioned slapstick comedy combined with the type of wit and highbrow comedy you'd expect from intellects like Fred and Robert Benchley. Any fan of Fred Allen's radio shows will appreciate this film. There is the delightful visit to Jack Benny's apartment (which costs Fred over $13.00) and even a visit with Allen's Alley denizen, Mrs. Nussbaum. The cameos are strange but interesting. There is wisecracking galore and one wonders just how much ad-libbing went on. The film is a fun glimpse at one of radio's greatest and most forgotten comedians. Is it a comedy classic? A cinematic masterpiece? No way. But it's a blast seeing Benny vs Allen, Benchley vs Allen and getting some belly laughs from the hilarity that unfolds. A keeper.