Soak the Old

Ralph Morgan is a man with an idea for a pension plan. He can't get anywhere with it, until con artist Robert Middlemass and his gang start helping him out. He collects the donations and they pocket the money. How can we be certain they won't get away with it? Because CRIME DOES NOT PAY.

The long-running MGM crime series tackled some real issues in its time, and this is one of them. It's an accepted truism that the elderly are suckers for any good-sounding con artist, and while I'd like to think that I'm not, there's no denying that every day the world becomes a bt more complex, and I'm falling behind a touch.

Keep an eye out for Hugh Beaumont in his second movie appearance.

This 1940 short is one of a series (Crime Does Not Pay) intended to inform the populous about crime and how to protect themselves from scams. It stars Ralph Morgan, older brother of Frank Morgan of Wizard of Oz fame (they look strikingly similar, but sound quite different). This is the first of this particular series I've seen, and I caught it today on TCM.

I was not familiar with the pension scam referred to in this short, and after watching it, I was no better off. Some things were not explained, as I imagine old folks at the time were already familiar with such pension funds. It looked to me like people would donate to these funds, but nobody could get money out. I couldn't see the appeal of such a fund, even if it was legitimate.

The big problem I had with this short was that it was quite dreary, and frankly, a little depressing (telling old people they are useless? C'mon!). Nothing really to be learned here anymore either, as whatever this scam was is long gone now. But when it comes to that, who will remember the current "Nigerian millionaire" e-mail scam 60 years from now?

This is MGM and the Crime Does Not Pay series. The elderly and their supporter are fighting for pension reform. Radio host Petersen is leading the effort and asking for donations. A group of conmen start stirring up trouble for Petersen and then takes over the organization.

At first, I'm thinking that there are so many better ways to take advantage of the elderly. Then I realize that there are plenty of scams for fake charities and political drives even today. One may say that certain politicians are running scams just by running. That's the next level. The politicians are even bigger scammers.

Like the other shorts from the Crime Does Not Pay series, this one begins with a convincing introduction by a US government official. The problem is, like these other films, the official is a fake--just an actor posing as one!

"Soak the Old" begins with a well-meaning man (Ralph Morgan) campaigning for pension funds for workers. His appeal is quite convincing and tons of workers sign up for this plan. However, he and the workers don't realize that the pension fund is run by mobsters who have no intention of paying off on claims. In one particular case, an old man puts his money in and just a day later, they claim that he NEVER put his money into the plan--in effect, stealing it. Can these creeps be stopped? Although I am not sure of it, I wonder if this film actually was a poke at unions and their pension funds. While the word 'union' is never used, Louis B. Mayer's hatred of unions and labor organization would seem to lend some credence to this. Again, I am not sure--but it sure looks like it.

Overall, reasonably well made and enjoyable but a step or so below average for the series.

Soak the Old (1940)

*** (out of 4)

31st film in MGM's "Crime Does Not Pay" series takes a look at old people being fooled into joining a fake pension fund raiser, which is being ran by racketeers. This film isn't as good as some of the others that I've seen but it still remains highly entertaining with some nice performances (including Ralph Morgan) and a nice story.

This isn't available on DVD yet but you can catch this film and others in the series on Turner Classic Movies. Other episodes can be found on various Warner DVDs.