The Brass Monkey [1948] [DVD]

There is an awful charm about this movie from 1948. I thought it couldn't get worse or cornier...and then it did. Don't misunderstand me. Brass Monkey is a comedy murder mystery that is harmless and good-natured. Several of the actors give it their all, like the teenager who plays Flight of the Bumble Bee on her accordion.

The plot is a thin idea that's used to feature a popular British radio personality, Carroll Levis playing himself, and his program of talented discoveries. The plot? It seems that long, long ago three monkeys were made of what was much later discovered to be brass. They disappeared ages ago, but then were rediscovered, separated, lost and now, individually, are worth a lot of money. Two have been "collected." Reuniting them with the third will bring out the worst in both comedy and murder. And all because, after hanky panky at British dockside customs, the third monkey is misplaced in Carroll Levis' office by his ditzy secretary.

Brass Monkey uses this plot to showcase the spirit and heart of show business, with crooks and killings thrown in for contrast. We see a lot of that spirit and heart, and odd talent, amongst those trying out for Levis' radio program. Levis' live broadcast of his show is where everything comes together. The murderer will be discovered, but only after we witness with open mouth two of the worst comedy songs I suspect Terry-Thomas ever performed, as well as that teenager and her bumble bee, a geezer with his musical saw who is madly applauded when he tells us how many children and grandchildren he has, and a contortionist who aims her leotard-covered crotch directly at the camera while Terry-Thomas sings of his love of show business people. There's Avril Anger who uses her own name to play the secretary. She was a talented and versatile performer, skilled at raucous songs. She does a fine job with one here. Anger was a well-known performer in Britain. She was one of the first female stand-up comedians, a comic actress who could sing, dance and handle serious roles. For someone who meets her for the first time in this movie, she's a bit like Gracie Allen in the ditzy department as the secretary and Betty Hutton knocking about when she sings. Terry-Thomas, who could be so good at times (just watch him in School for Scoundrels: "Oh, hard cheese, old chap!"), tries so hard playing Terry-Thomas that it's both painful and endearing. Herbert Lom gives us a sinister villain determined to find the missing monkey. Best of all is the emaciated Ernest Thesiger as an elderly and single-minded collector.

And then there's Carole Landis. Anyone could have played her part as Kay Sheldon, an American songstress Levis discovered five years earlier. Now Sheldon is a big-time singer, come back as the featured star on Levis' show. This was her last movie. She was a troubled woman who made bad choices in her men. Landis, in my opinion, was no great shakes as an actress, but she was blond and attractive. That's always enough for Hollywood until the bloom wears off. By the time she made this British movie she was on the skids. She soon committed suicide, some say because of an unhappy relationship with the married Rex Harrison. For most of the movie Landis is simply acting by the numbers. Her one attempt at deliberate overacting is embarrassing.

Do I regret having spent five British pounds for Brass Money? No. I like old British movies. I like British comics like Tommy Trinder, Arthur Askey and Norman Wisdom. At least I didn't spend $22.49, which is what the DVD costs in the U.S. The brochure enclosed with the DVD contains biographies of Terry-Thomas, Lom and Landis. There are no extras. The DVD transfer equates to an old VHS tape.

Odeon have a print entitled Brass Monkey but the film is also known by the title Lucky Mascot. This comedy thriller has as its backdrop the auditions for and broadcast of The Carroll Levis radio show. In 1948 when the film was made he was a household name in the UK. He appeared in only 3 films and died in 1968 aged only 58.
Carole Landis whose last film this was committed suicide in 1948 at the end of a relationship with a famous actor. Her best film because she was happy at the time of making it was Four Jills in a Jeep, a war time musical made in black and white but full of colourful characters.
Brass Monkey is an oddity and well worth watching for some great OTT performances from the likes of Ernest Thesiger, Avril Angers and Terry-Thomas. There is even a rare appearance of Leslie A Hutchinson simply known as Hutch to his fans. Herbert Lom plays the nasty character with conviction and the right clothes too. Thornton Freeland wrote the screenplay and directed this film (his penultimate) his last being Dear Mr Prohack in 1949.
Was the rare brass money really a lucky mascot for those involved with this film? I think not, but as a period piece is is entertaining and the print used is not bad. I would have liked better sound but with these vintage films this is something you can never guarantee.
The liner notes booklet is good providing plenty of information on the stars of the film. All in all a welcome addition to The Best of British Collection.

Odeon's print leaves a lot to be desired. The first 4 mins is a butchered mess, with some obvious video printed graphic titles in the opening credits. What is worse is during those 4mins we have two different soundtracks running at the same time making it impossible to follow what is being said in either one. Thanks Odeon.