'Irish Luck' sets a path for Darro & Moreland

Irish Luck (aka "Amateur Detective") (1939)
Starring: Frankie Darro, Dick Purcell, Mantan Moreland, Sheila Darcy, and James Flavin
Director: Howard Bretherton
Rating: Six of Ten Stars

Hotel bellhop and wanna-be detective Buzzy (Darro) becomes involved in a case of murder and stolen bearer bonds when he takes it upon himself to prove the innocence of a guest (Darcy) who is suspected of murder.

"Irish Luck" was the first film that teamed Frankie Darro and Mantan Moreland. In 1930s racially segregated America, it was a bold move to produce a film led by a comedy team consisting of one black and one white actor. It was a move that paid off, though, as the eight films the pair made together were among the most successful Monogram released.

With "Irish Luck," the formula for most of the films to follow was established: Darro and Moreland were a pair of working class buddies, usually in some service industry and usually with big dreams, who find themselves in the middle of a dangerous conspiracies and murder plots. Through luck and tenacity (and usually some late minute help from the authorities), they solve the mystery and save the day.

One of the neatest aspect of many of these films is that unlike most others from this period where black characters were embarrassingly subservient to white characters and generally slow-witted, the Darro/Moreland characters are presented as equals and close friends. In at least half the films, Moreland is usually the voice of reason that Darro ignores and then drags him into whatever harebrained scheme ends up getting them involved in their misadventure. In fact, more often than not, Moreland is the smarter of the two, and in almost everyone of their films, Darro is a bad influence upon him present in so many other comedies.

With "Irish Luck", Moreland's character stands at a halfway point between the slow-witted Step-and-Fetchit character so common in comedies from the 1930s and 1940s, and the friend and equal standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Darro that we see in some of their other films... but there is still a warmth of friendship that shines through. I suspect these films were written this way, because Darro and Moreland were, reportedly, friends in real life.

Some of the portrayals of Moreland's character aside, the script for "Irish Luck", by Mary McCarthy, is very well done. The writer swiftly and elegantly explains the history between Buzzy and the police detective played by Dick Purcell in an exchange between characters that seems completely natural. She also keeps the mysteries at the heart of the film engaging while still playing fair with the viewers by leaving clues to its solution where we can spot them along with the characters.

"Irish Luck" is a strong start to Darro and Moreland's Monogram team-up that's well worth the hour it'll take you to watch it.

'No Hands on the Clock' is flawed but still fun

No Hands on the Clock (1941)
Starring: Chester Morris, Jean Parker, George Watts, Astrid Alwynn, Lauren Raker, Dick Purcell, and Rose Hobart
Director: Frank McDonald
Rating: Five of Ten Stars

A missing person case in Reno turns into a tangle of mistaken identities and murder involving a dysfunctional family and bank robbers... and it's disrupting the honeymoon of a private detective (Morris) and his bride (Parker), not to mention threatening to end their marriage before it even gets off the ground.

"No Hands on the Clock" is a light-hearted murder mystery that is dragged down by a mystery plot so complicated that it's difficult to follow. It's not neccesarily a bad plot--and I think it was probably perfectly fine in the novel this film was based on--but this film has too short a running time to give enough room for the motives for kidnapping and murder of the many characters to be given enough context and explanation.

But, honestly, the plot is almost secondary to the antics of the quirky detective, Humphrey. played by Chester Morris, and his wife Louise, played by Jean Parker. They're fun to watch as they exchange one-liners and witty remarks, although I couldn't help but think this marriage is going to end in a quicky Reno divorce with the level of disrespect Humphrey has for his wife, and the rampaging jealousy Louise has regarding he husband talking to other women, even when he's obviously doing so while "on the job."

The film is also fun to watch, because Morris and Parker are supported by actors and actresses who are cast as perfectly as they are in their various roles. Dick Purcell shines almost as brightly as Morris and Parker in a small but crucial role as a notorious gangster. The only sour note is a strange performance given by Astrid Allwyn, in what would be her final film appearance of note. She has a fake smile frozen on her face and she is never looking at the actors with whom she shares a scene but always slightly away from them, staring into space with a gaze as fixed as her smile. I don't know if she was reading cue cards just off set or what was going on there, but she gave a performance more fit for radio than the screen, and she stole her scenes in a bad and distracting way whenever she appeared. (I could understand what she was doing if her character was supposed to be blind that wasn't the case.)

In the end, there is just enough bad in "No Hands on the Clock" to outweigh the good. It's flawe, but still fun, and comes in on the low end of average.

Cinematic Black History Milestone:First Black Sidekick Who's Smarter Than the Hero

King of the Zombies (1941)
Starring: Dick Purcell, Mantan Moreland, John Archer, Joan Woodbury and Henry Victor
Director: Jean Yarbrough
Rating: Four of Ten Stars

Mac (Purcell), Bill (Archer), and Jeff (Moreland) are forced to land on a mysterious island after their plane runs low on fuel. Here, they find a mysterious family who aren't at all what they seem... and who are the center of a Nazi cult of undeath.


"King of the Zombies" is one of those movies that you should not show to your ultra-liberal, hyper-PC friends. Their heads will explode when Moreland (as Jeff, friend and loyal servant to adventuresome pilot, Mac) starts in on his stereotypical, subserviant negro comedy routine--a character that was common in this sort of film through the late 1940s.

There's a difference here, however. Unlike most films where the black comic relief character is a cowardly goof who needs the guidance and protection of the dashing, capable white hero to get safely through the night, it's actually Jeff who recognizes the danger faced by the heroes. If Mac and Bill weren't a pair of racist jackasses, who dismiss everything that Jeff has to say without even the slightest bit of consideration, there would have been fewer lives lost as the trio struggles against the Nazi zombie master.

Unfortunately, I doubt the filmmakers were aware of this irony, either while reading the script, during shooting, or while assembling the final product. If they were, it goes unnoticed by any character in the film. Given the overall lack of quality in this too-slowly-paced, mostly badly acted low-budget part horror/part wartime propaganda film, I am almost certain the juxtaposition of the very clever black character against the dull-witted white heroes is a complete accident.

I can't really recommend "King of the Zombies", but I do think Mantan Moreland's performance is an excellent one, as he has great comedic timing and a whole raft of truly hilarious lines. The fact that Jeff ultimately emerges as the brightest character in the film is also something that's noteworthy, and I think it gives the film a unique twist.