Gentle romantic comedy about a Secret Service Agent trying to catch a cold case counterfeiter and a United Nations translator.Gentle romantic comedy about a Secret Service Agent trying to catch a cold case counterfeiter and a United Nations translator.Gentle romantic comedy about a Secret Service Agent trying to catch a cold case counterfeiter and a United Nations translator.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 2 wins & 1 nomination total
George Adrian
- Carlos
- (uncredited)
Rico Alaniz
- Carlos - Spanish Interpreter
- (uncredited)
Polly Bailey
- Woman
- (uncredited)
Gilbert Barnett
- Boy
- (uncredited)
Edward Biby
- Man in Hallway
- (uncredited)
Robert Boon
- Dutchman
- (uncredited)
Paul Bradley
- Man
- (uncredited)
Howland Chamberlain
- Duff
- (uncredited)
Perdita Chandler
- Cashier
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaBased on the true story of Emerich Juettner, an elderly junk dealer who, like the character in the movie, only used to print counterfeit $1 bills to make ends meet. For 10 years, Juettner eluded the Secret Service's efforts to find him. He was finally caught in January, 1948, after a fire forced him to vacate his apartment on New York's Upper West Side, and move in with his daughter in Queens. The firemen who put out the fire left some of Juettner's belongings in a nearby alley. A few weeks later, a group of local boys found some of his $1 bills in the alley, realized they were fakes (the name "Washington" was misspelled as "Wahsington" on the bills), and turned them over to police. Juettner was arrested, but only sentenced to nine months in jail and a $1 fine. When 20th Century Fox bought the movie rights to his story, Juettner received more money than he had ever made as a counterfeiter.
- GoofsAnn returns to the art store outside of which a man had been annoying her, after which he was questioned by a policeman. The woman in the shop tells her that the man showed ID to the policeman that showed he was a Treasury agent. Although the scene between Ann and the agent indicated that the woman could not hear what people outside said, and she was certainly too far away to see the man's ID, the scene ended with the agent and the officer talking in the store's doorway, and the woman could easily have spoken with the officer afterward.
- Quotes
Ann Winslow: Someone once said that a task left undone creates a void that no amount of achievement can fill.
Steve Buchanan: Who's the imbecile who dreamed that one up?
Ann Winslow: I am.
- Crazy creditsOpening credits appear on dollar bills.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Making of 'the Day the Earth Stood Still' (2008)
Featured review
Burt Lancaster was always one who took firm control of his career. He got out of the studio system very early in Hollywood and was always the one who called his own shots. I'm guessing that he probably owed someone a favor which is why he did Mister 880.
It's not that Mister 880 is a bad film, but it's most definitely not a Burt Lancaster project. Burt and leading lady Dorothy McGuire play a definite second fiddle to Edmund Gwenn as the whimsical old neighborhood character who does some counterfeiting on the side when he runs short of money.
The title stems from the number on his file with the United States Secret Service. Mister 880 isn't even that good a counterfeiter, but his case has been put on the agency back burner for years while they assign top priority to organized gangs of counterfeiters. Gwenn does his work on cheap office supply paper with a hand press. He even spells Washington wrong on the one dollar bills he prints. And he's been getting away with it for years because of the small denominations.
McGuire comes to Lancaster's attention as she gets stuck with one of Gwenn's phonies. He's the agent who the New York office finally decided to assign to the 880 case. Of course the usual romantic complications get in the way of the case, but not forever.
Edmund Gwenn is one of those delightful character actors you cannot help but like. His charm is infectious, never more so than when he won that Oscar for Miracle on 34th Street. His character of the Skipper is in the same vein as Kris Kringle in Miracle on 34th Street.
Who could not like Edmund Gwenn and therefore who could not like Mister 880.
It's not that Mister 880 is a bad film, but it's most definitely not a Burt Lancaster project. Burt and leading lady Dorothy McGuire play a definite second fiddle to Edmund Gwenn as the whimsical old neighborhood character who does some counterfeiting on the side when he runs short of money.
The title stems from the number on his file with the United States Secret Service. Mister 880 isn't even that good a counterfeiter, but his case has been put on the agency back burner for years while they assign top priority to organized gangs of counterfeiters. Gwenn does his work on cheap office supply paper with a hand press. He even spells Washington wrong on the one dollar bills he prints. And he's been getting away with it for years because of the small denominations.
McGuire comes to Lancaster's attention as she gets stuck with one of Gwenn's phonies. He's the agent who the New York office finally decided to assign to the 880 case. Of course the usual romantic complications get in the way of the case, but not forever.
Edmund Gwenn is one of those delightful character actors you cannot help but like. His charm is infectious, never more so than when he won that Oscar for Miracle on 34th Street. His character of the Skipper is in the same vein as Kris Kringle in Miracle on 34th Street.
Who could not like Edmund Gwenn and therefore who could not like Mister 880.
- bkoganbing
- May 2, 2006
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- El caso 880
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 30 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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