Red Lights Ahead

Poverty Row studio Chesterfield Productions went out of business after this film was released. And typically it was a remake of another film In The Money that was done three years earlier.

But these minor studios occasionally came up with some decent films and Red Lights Ahead was one of them. It has horrible production values, but the cast gave good performances led by Andy Clyde who made a lot of money in the junk business.

Turns out he's going to need it. He's got himself nothing but junk in the way of grandchildren. Ann Doran, Paula Stone, Ben Alexander, and Frank Coghlan are four prize packages who are four millstones around the neck of Clyde's daughter Lucille Gleason. Her husband Roger Imhof is a decent sort who works hard and his big pleasure is the Order of the Whales Lodge.

And Imhoff sees a golden opportunity in gold mine stock that the visiting Grand Harpoon of the lodge Sam Flint and his young associate future cowboy star Jack Randall are selling. Randall has been dating Stone and has been laying the ground work for Flint to come in and hook Imhoff.

The kids see a path to easy money to continue their wastrel lives and urge father to buy. It takes Clyde to straighten the whole mess out in the end.

A major studio probably could have done more with this film, but it still holds up well as good entertainment and is quite the advertisement for hard work and thrift.

And one something looks too good to be true, it probably isn't.