Million Dollar Mystery

Apr 2021

Yes not as good as the excellent Midnight Madness but still very likeable, theres only about half a dozen films in this little genre and i am fan of them all.

Eddie deezen is great as always and Kevin Pollak does some fabulous impressions which are the funniest parts of the film.

For some reason this is virtually impossible to get hold of on dvd, you have to pay really big money.

So all in all plenty to like here.

8 out of 10.

Richard Fleischer's "Million Dollar Mystery" has essentially the same plot as Stanley Kramer's "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World". Here a strange man (Tom Bosley of "Happy Days") dies in a diner and tells everyone in the vicinity that there's $4 million buried, and so they spend the rest of the movie experiencing a series of mishaps trying to find it. Obviously it's not even in the same league as "IaMMMMW" - and the product tie-in certainly weakens the movie - but it's good for a few silly laughs. As can be expected, Eddie Deezen is a riot. Equally funny is Kevin Pollak as a cop who's more into impersonations than crime-fighting. The movie's probably OK seeing once. I recommend the original version more.

This might not have the star power that Rat Race or It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World had, but it has quite a manic energy and some pretty entertaining characters. To me the funniest were the crazed 'vietnam vet' Buzzard ("It's pronounced Boo-zard") who clearly picked up his military jargon from Rambo movies, Eddie Deezen (better known as Mandark from Dexter's Lab) as a nerdy newly-wed, and the two hapless FBI agents with their hilarious banter. It's not an earth-shatteringly funny movie but a good afternoon of entertainment, and with some exciting car chases to boot. Probably the funniest moment in it was the rather short lived plane hijack scene where nobody is what they seem, and the short but funny gun exchange afterwards.

Recommended if you like such "chase for the money" movies.

In a small Arizona town, Sidney (Tom Bosley) drops into a diner for a bite. Asking what is good to eat, he learns the chili is very hot but tasty. Despite uttering words that it wouldn't matter if his stomach gets upset, Sid orders it. Not two minutes later, he is on the floor dying. But, before his final breath, he gives notice that he was a government worker, stole some money as revenge, and has hidden a cool million under four Arizona bridges. Whoa, that's incredible news! In the diner at this moment are the chef and his wife, an accountant with his wife and precocious son, a ladies man and his entourage, and a honeymoon couple. They all heard the news and start off on a wild chase for the money. Along the way, they pick up a crazed Nam vet, Slaughter (Rich Hall), a pair of law enforcement officers and two FBI agents in pursuit of Sidney. Only the smart kid seems to have a brain to figure things out, while the honeymooners have to stop often for a sly tryst. As they all locate the first million, the suitcase holding the dough opens and money blows in the wind. Aargh!. As they move onto the next bridge and the next, does this group of bumbling folks have any chance of becoming rich? In the tradition of Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, World and coming before Rat Race, the concept of ordinary folks making fools over themselves in an impossible run for the money is still very entertaining. Most of the cast is unknown, although nicely adept, while Bosley, Hall, and Kevin Pollack are big hoots. The clever script is a huge asset, while the Arizona highways and byways are a delight, too. Naturally, the direction keeps up a fast, fast pace. Folks, why buy cable or watch reruns when you can entertain the family with gems like this?

Nevermind that Gladbags sponsored this film, as one viewer has already pointed out in previous comments. Actually, a better indicator of quality here is the appearance (in a more minor role) of Eddie Deezen. Not for the brilliance of his performance or anything, but because if you've seen previous Deezen b-grade comedies that usually go unnoticed on the video shelf (such as the cult favorite, Surf II), then you've noticed that he sticks with a pretty stable selection of these comedies. That's not to say that Million Dollar Mystery was bad, because by any measure, I actually found it to be surprisingly funny (and you needn't take something so silly so seriously...never with movies like these). But, it is what I would at least consider Deenzen's typical choice in comedies. So, at least you know what kind of comedy you're in for (although minus the gratuitous nudity.

Million Dollar Mystery was originally a movie sponsored by Glad Bags and DeLaurentiis Entertainment. But, offering more than just a standard movie-viewing experience, the sponsors asked that its audience also participate in a real-life hunt for a secret stash of cash (see the trivia page).

Million Dollar Mystery borrows heavily for its plot from the 1960s comedy classic It's a Mad Mad Mad World and the 1980s Cannonball Run. Guests at a middle-of-nowhere restaurant (conveniently all at the same time) arrive just as a man (Tom Bosley, Glad Bag's old spokesman), wanted for stealing a large sum of money, drops dead of a heart attack. But, before he dies, he explains to his guests that there are four locations in which he has hidden one million dollars each. The details are scant and the guests hurry in their dash for the cash. So naturally, they first team up to track down the money before their greed gets the best of them, and they endure one misadventure after another trying to beat each other to their rich destinations. Although, it follows most of the standards of this dash-for-the-cash genre, with all the added slapsticky misadventure and running gags we'd expect, it is funny, nonetheless, and well worth a lazy 'noon viewing.