Smashing the Money Ring

When Charles D. Brown suspects he's in danger, he deliberately punches a policeman with hopes of getting thirty days protection: in jail. The trouble is, he gets a far longer sentence than he thought! In the same jail is head bad guy, Joe Downing, who's responsible for a counterfeit money scam. If you think that's a coincidence, you won't believe that another guy deliberately sends himself to the same jail. This time, it's a Secret Service agent, Ronald Reagan, and he wants to get close to Joe and then catch him committing a federal felony.

A couple of the prison scenes are interesting, and Ronnie looks really handsome, but the overall movie isn't exactly A-tier. Especially when you consider that it was released the same year as the excellent prison drama, Each Dawn I Die. You can watch it if you've got a crush on young Reagan, like yours truly, but try not to compare it against the James Cagney classic.

Ronald Reagan's third film as Secret Service Agent Brass Bancroft finds him going undercover into prison to ferret out a gang of counterfeiters. The original assignment just had him trying to get close to the distributor of the bogus dough to find out where the plates are. Little does he dream that the stuff is being printed in the prison print shop along with the prison newspaper.

This is kind of like White Heat where Edmond O'Brien goes to prison to get close to James Cagney to get information on some real crimes Cagney and his gang were pulling. But believe me, Smashing the Money Ring will never be confused with White Heat. Reagan's going undercover, but they don't even bother to give him a phony name.

It was an interesting if far-fetched idea for a story, but this was a B film that got that kind of treatment. Part of the plot called for Reagan to be shot after a prison break by the big boss. It was at fairly close range, but it turns out Ron was only wounded and after being dumped into a lake with the getaway car, he swims away and the next minute you see him without a scratch.

I have to wonder if Reagan's mind didn't hearken back to those days at Warner Brothers when in 1981 he was really shot. Doctors instead of scriptwriters saved the life of the 40th President of the United States.

Ron was ably assisted by a cast that included Margot Stevenson, Eddie Foy, Jr., and Joe Downing as the crook Reagan was supposed to get cozy with. Interestingly enough Eddie Foy, Jr. as the sidekick got to romance Margot Stevenson. With Ron it was strictly business in this film. Maybe that had something to do with Eddie's brother Bryan Foy being in charge of Warner Brothers B picture unit.

Counterfeiting while in stir, who'd a thunk it, the brothers Warner that's who.

Although most of the people associated with this third entry in the Brass Bancroft series are generally unknown today, they had a lot of talent and deserve recognition.

The female lead, for example, Margot Stevenson, is the cutest of all, with the most personality, at least of the first three, and she spent more than three decades on Broadway, as well as keeping sort of busy in TV and movies. She should be better known.

The script is rather involved, moving from the offices of the Secret Service to California, including an off-shore gambling ship and a prison.

The premise, what the bad guys are doing that brings Bancroft onto their trail, is not only clever but entirely plausible.

The boss bad guy, whom I identified fairly early, but unhappily -- he is a likable character and I hated it that he was actually pretty nasty -- is also a good actor, but I won't say who it is.

Actually, the entire cast is good, and combined with a good script and good direction from someone of whom I know nothing, they make "Smashing the Money Ring" into a thoroughly watchable film.

Reagan got better and better and I think it was the next one in this series that showed the producers he was ready for the big time.

Smashing the Money Ring (1939)

*** (out of 4)

Third film in Warner's Brass Bancroft series once again features Ronald Reagan going up against counterfeiters. This time out he puts himself in prison to keep his eye on a suspect who might not only be passing fake money but also calling shots on people. This third film in the series manages to be the best that I've seen so far and it's fast pace makes for a very entertaining 57-minutes. If you're a fan of Warner prison movies then you'll want to check this out even though it's certainly not the best that the genre has to offer up. The movie has plenty of nice laughs, great fights and it never slows down to take a breathe. Fans of "B" movies will also find this one entertaining even though nothing too original happens. What I enjoyed most was that the movie never slowed down as it starts off dealing with counterfeits and then jumps into racketeers and then it turns into a semi-horror film with a couple murders in the prison done by a man in shadows. All of this adds up to a fun time if you have a hour to kill. Reagan is pretty good in his role, although he's not too believable as a tough guy. His Cagney impression is at times laughable but there is a certain charm to it. Margot Stevenson, Eddie Foy, Jr. and Joe Downing round out the fun supporting cast. George Reeves, the future Superman, can be seen in the courtroom scene if you look closely. The idea of running a counterfeiting ring inside a prison is laughable but that too just adds to the "B" charm of the film.