Money From Home . . . . 1954

This Martin & Lewis flick was the first, so my sources say, in color (and in 3-D, yet!). It's based on a Damon Runyon story (available from Amazon.com) and follows the adventures of gambler Herman "Honey Talk" Nelson (Dean Martin) and his vegetarian veterinarian-wannabe cousin, Virgil Yokum (Jerry Lewis).

Honey Talk ain't a very successful gambler, in hock to lots of bookies and broke from horse racing, so when gangster boss Jumbo Schneider buys up all Honey Talk's markers and demands that he go up to Maryland to fix a race or else, Honey Talk doesn't really have a choice. He's supposed to get his cousin the "horse doctor" to fix the lead contender, My Sheba, while Honey Talk himself works on My Sheba's owner, a "pretty doll" named Phyllis Leigh.

So Honey Talk gets Virgil to go with him to Maryland. Unfortunately, he sells the tickets to bet on a sure thing, and loses, so they have to sneak onto the train disguised as part of the entourage of the Pujo, a real character straight out of some Arabian Nights picture book, who intends to buy the horse that wins the upcoming race. The fake facial hair Honey Talk wears with his costume doesn't do much for me, but Virgil in drag as one of the Pujo's wives does even less. Hollywood never seems to get tired of men dressing as harem girls (see also On the Town).

Virgil is surprisingly distressed to be locked in the compartment with the other wives. (Comment-- When he sits by the window, the lady next to him--you can only see her leg--is she taking her stocking off, without taking her shoes off, or pulling them up by unrolling them all the way? I can't remember the last time I did anything the way any of these dames do here, but after all, pally, I've never been a harem girl, which could explain it.) Honey Talk gets in at the first opportunity, when the Pujo sends for a wife. Naturally the wife he chooses is Virgil (coulda seen that one a mile away) and what results is a skin-crawling little scene that makes me hope I never wind up in this guy's harem. The way he yells "Faster!" when Virgil's dancing, the way he enjoys chasing him all around the room, really getting off on Virgil's resistance. . . Cut to Honey Talk in the midst of the harem, singing. Okay, yeah, pally, I'd be in his harem. Like a shot.

So they are discovered and jump off the train, Honey Talk loses the fake beard ( ! ) and they are forced to hitchhike, with Virgil posing as bait (and someone actually stops!). One thing I wonder-- they jumped off the train without their luggage, and later they have it again. How'd it happen? Your call, pally. The driver who stops for them is Bertie Searles, the jockey who's supposed to ride My Sheba in the race. And he's plastered. (Drunk men seem to like the sight of Jerry Lewis in drag--see also At War With the Army.) He's out cold by the time they arrive in Tarryton.

There, Honey Talk meets up with Miss Phyllis Leigh, the owner of My Sheba, circling her the way Gene Kelly circled Judy Garland in The Pirate, and uses some prime lines on her. She's none too impressed. He tells her he's Bertie's American agent. The plan is, Virgil's gonna impersonate Bertie, since Phyllis has already seen Honey Talk. Watch Virgil slightly misquote Romeo and Juliet. . . So they do. Another question--how do they wear Bertie's clothing? Both the guys are 6', and Bertie's a jockey, yet the clothes all fit perfectly. At some point they recover their own luggage, but? And another thing--from the opening narration, I woulda expected it to be the 1920s, 30s at the latest, but everything else suggests 1950s. . . enough of that. Back to the story.

Enter Marshall Preston, whose horse, Sweep Forward, is the one Jumbo Schneider wants to win the race. Honey Talk dances with Phyllis, to the irritation of Marshall, who has been involved with her until now. Honey Talk's line: "Mr Preston, every dog has his day but the nights are mine." Following is the requisite singing-while-dancing scene, interrupted by Bertie, still plastered, wandering down from upstairs. In the ensuing scuffle Virgil loses his ant farm (his luggage having arrived, you see) and the ants travel faster than normal ants ever could, providing a highly predictable dance number.

They have breakfast the next morning, and through the window they see a dog in the middle of the road. Virgil rescues the dog, behaving as if in a Frogger game, and takes it to Dr Claypool, the local veterinarian, with whom he soon falls in love. Dr Autumn Claypool wants to build a new animal clinic, and she's betting on My Sheba for the money.

Honey Talk to Phyllis: "100, 000 biscuits? Maybe you can't take it with you, but with all that loot, you can sure go in style." The Pujo, it seems, is willing to pay that much for the winning horse. Virgil comes back to the car with his arm in a sling and says he can't ride today, so they go back to the hotel.

In the hotel-- Bertie's still plastered. Note Virgil's blue polka-dot boxers. Honey Talk comes clean to Virgil about his reasons for being in Maryland. Virgil: "I'm nonplussed! My plus has never been so nonned!" One of Jumbo Schneider's henchmen is listening outside the door, and hears Virgil telling Honey Talk he's going to tell Phyllis everything. Virgil gets punched, Honey Talk tells the henchman to scram. Later, Virgil and Autumn go on a date, and Autumn tells him she's betting the money for her new animal hospital on My Sheba. She asks him to be her partner at the hospital, and they go off to get Bertie to work with My Sheba.

Meanwhile, Honey Talk's on a date with Phyllis. Turns out, she's in debt, and if My Sheba doesn't win the race, Phyllis is going to lose all she has left: the house, the barn, and My Sheba. Honey Talk's in a crisis--he's in love. Phyllis: "Haven't you heard? There's no such thing as happiness. We just have to be happy without it." Later Virgil and Honey Talk have a man-to-man talk at the hotel. Honey Talk: "Something's happened to me. Something awful and beautiful. A doll has busted up the romance I've been having with myself." Turns out they're both in love, and they both intended to take Bertie to meet My Sheba. Jumbo's henchman sees them leave the hotel, and follows them.

Marshall Preston (remember him?) confronts Phyllis with the truth about Honey Talk and Virgil, while at the stable Bertie and My Sheba don't get along at all. Marshall and Phyllis arrive, confronting Honey Talk, who confesses to her, and tells her he loves her. She runs out, and Honey Talk follows her. He encounters Jumbo's henchman, who's in league with Preston, and who threatens him. Honey Talk and Virgil cook up a plan to make Phyllis like him again, which is beyond me. Honey Talk sings "I Only Have Eyes For You," while Virgil stands below her window and lip synchs (this, according to report, was part of Jerry's solo act, pre-Martin & Lewis). Annoyed, Phyllis changes the radio station, which causes Virgil to do all sorts of disturbing routines to each station, while Honey Talk is chased off by a guard dog. When Honey Talk returns, sans Virgil, and resumes singing, he stands under Phyllis' window and the maid pours water on him. She can't bear watching, though--I know I couldn't've done it.

Back at the barn, both Bertie and My Sheba are drunk. The henchman calls Jumbo and tells him about Honey Talk's change of allegiance, and Jumbo and his other henchmen leave for Maryland. Autumn and Virgil work on My Sheba's hangover, while Honey Talk tries to sober Bertie up (see also The Stooge). Jumbo and the henchmen arrive, capturing Bertie, and then Virgil too, while Honey Talk tries to call Phyllis. The henchmen take Virgil to the Hunt Club, where Bertie is. Honey Talk arrives, and Bertie and Virgil change clothes (he must be the tallest jockey on record). The harem girls distract the guard while Honey Talk sneaks in and they make their escape.

A fight breaks out in the stable just before the race between the good guys and the bad guys, and the good guys win except that Bertie's out cold. Virgil rides My Sheba off and into the race, and what follows is a mishmash of every horse-riding joke ever seen. Note also the fake backgrounds and horses in the closeups, and the way everyone in this movie drives everyone else's car. Honey Talk drove Autumn's ambulance earlier, as he had driven Bertie's sports car; now he and Phyllis swipe Marshall Preston's convertible. It comes out that Marshall's in league with Jumbo, and Virgil sends Autumn for the police. After a lot of mud, both Virgil and Marshall cross the finish line first on My Sheba. Marshall is arrested, My Sheba is the winner, and the Pujo wants to buy her. She isn't for sale, but Honey Talk and Phyllis promise him one of her foals. Wedding bells are imminent all round, guaranteed Happy Ending. Not the best Martin and Lewis picture, but highly entertaining nonetheless. << BACK >>