Money Madness
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Sam Newfield
Screenplay by	Al Martin
Story by	Al Martin
Produced by	Sigmund Neufeld
Starring	Hugh Beaumont Frances Rafferty
Cinematography	Jack Greenhalgh
Edited by	Holbrook N. Todd
Music by	Leo Erdody
Production company	Sigmund Neufeld Productions
Distributed by	Film Classics
Release date	April 15, 1948 (1948-04-15) (United States)
Running time	73 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Money Madness is a 1948 film noir mystery film directed by Sam Newfield starring Hugh Beaumont and Frances Rafferty.^[1]

Plot

Steve Clark (Hugh Beaumont) is on a Los Angeles-bound bus and gets off in a small town en route. In his suitcase he has been carrying loot from a bank robbery; he stashes it in a safety deposit box. He becomes a taxi driver, which leads him to a chance encounter with Julie Saunders (Frances Rafferty), a local woman in her 20s. Julie lives with an elderly, bitter aunt who makes her life miserable. Clark, with his charm and original outlook on life, instantly becomes a ray of sunlight for her, and they quickly marry.

However, Clark soon admits to her that the marriage is part of a plan he has crafted, to help him launder his ill-gotten cash—but it also involves murder and will make Julie an accessory to it, against her will.

Cast

Hugh Beaumont as Steve Clark
Frances Rafferty as Julie
Harlan Warde as Donald
Cecil Weston as Cora
Ida Moore as Mrs. Ferguson
Danny Morton as Rogers
Joel Friedkin as Mr. Wagner
Lane Chandler as Policeman

Reception

Critical response

Film critic Dennis Schwartz, while giving the film a mixed review, liked the feature, writing, "A low-grade film noir that has its chilling moments. It opens with Julie Saunders (Frances Rafferty) sentenced to a prison term of ten years for being an accomplice to murder. A flashback is used to show how a sweet girl like Julie could have gotten into such deep trouble ... Beaumont went on to be Ward Cleaver in television's Leave It to Beaver, but here he's great to watch as a sleazeball and sicko killer. It's film where it takes a suspension of belief to get through all the problems built into the implausible plot, but nevertheless the film has a certain insanity kicking in that somehow works to give it an edge."^[2]

Production

Ben Winkler served as the sound engineer for the film.^[3]

References

External links

Films directed by Sam Newfield

Films directed by Sam Newfield
1930s	The Important Witness (1933) Big Time or Bust (1933) Reform Girl (1933) Under Secret Orders (1933) Undercover Men (1934) Beggar's Holiday (1934) Marrying Widows (1934) Northern Frontier (1935) Code of the Mounted (1935) Branded a Coward (1935) Trails of the Wild (1935) Bulldog Courage (1935) Racing Luck (1935) Roarin' Guns (1936) Border Caballero (1936) The Lion's Den (1936) Federal Agent (1936) Lightnin' Bill Carson (1936) Ghost Patrol (1936) Burning Gold (1936) Aces and Eights (1936) Go-Get-'Em, Haines (1936) The Traitor (1936) Roarin' Lead (1936) Stormy Trails (1936) The Gambling Terror (1937) Lightnin' Crandall (1937) Trail of Vengeance (1937) Melody of the Plains (1937) Bar-Z Bad Men (1937) Guns in the Dark (1937) Gun Lords of Stirrup Basin (1937) A Lawman Is Born (1937) Doomed at Sundown (1937) Boothill Brigade (1937) Ridin' the Lone Trail (1937) The Fighting Deputy (1937) Arizona Gunfighter (1937) Moonlight on the Range (1937) The Fighting Deputy (1937) The Colorado Kid (1937) Harlem on the Prairie (1937) Paroled – To Die (1938) The Rangers' Round-Up (1938) Thunder in the Desert (1938) Code of the Rangers (1938) The Feud Maker (1938) Phantom Ranger (1938) Knight of the Plains (1938) Songs and Bullets (1938) Gunsmoke Trail (1938) Desert Patrol (1938) Durango Valley Raiders (1938) Frontier Scout (1938) Lightning Carson Rides Again (1938) Six-Gun Trail (1938) Six-Gun Rhythm (1938) Crashing Through Danger (1938) The Terror of Tiny Town (1938) Trigger Pals (1939) Code of the Cactus (1939) Texas Wildcats (1939) Outlaws' Paradise (1939) Straight Shooter (1939) The Fighting Renegade (1939) Hitler – Beast of Berlin (1939) Trigger Fingers (1939) Flaming Lead (1939) The Invisible Killer (1939) Fighting Mad (1939) Death Rides the Range (1939)
1940s	Texas Renegades (1940) The Sagebrush Family Trails West (1940) Marked Men (1940) I Take This Oath (1940) Gun Code (1940) Hold That Woman! (1940) Frontier Crusader (1940) Arizona Gang Busters (1940) Secrets of a Model (1940) Billy the Kid in Texas (1940) Riders of Black Mountain (1940) Billy the Kid Outlawed (1940) Billy the Kid's Gun Justice (1940) Outlaws of the Rio Grande (1941) The Lone Rider Rides On (1941) The Lone Rider Crosses the Rio (1941) The Lone Rider in Ghost Town (1941) The Lone Rider in Frontier Fury (1941) The Lone Rider Ambushed (1941) The Lone Rider Fights Back (1941) Billy the Kid's Fighting Pals (1941) Billy the Kid Wanted (1941) Billy the Kid in Santa Fe (1941) The Texas Marshal (1941) Billy the Kid's Range War (1941) Billy the Kid's Round-Up (1941) The Lone Rider and the Bandit (1942) Raiders of the West (1942) The Lone Rider in Cheyenne (1942) Billy the Kid's Smoking Guns (1942) The Lone Rider in Texas Justice (1942) Jungle Siren (1942) Law and Order (1942) Sheriff of Sage Valley (1942) Prairie Pals (1942) Border Roundup (1942) Outlaws of Boulder Pass (1942) Overland Stagecoach (1942) Billy the Kid Trapped (1942) Rolling Down the Great Divide (1942) The Mad Monster (1942) Along the Sundown Trail (1942) The Mysterious Rider (1942) Queen of Broadway (1942) Outlaws of Boulder Pass (1942) The Kid Rides Again (1943) Dead Men Walk (1943) Wild Horse Rustlers (1943) Fugitive of the Plains (1943) Death Rides the Plains (1943) Western Cyclone (1943) The Black Raven (1943) Wolves of the Range (1943) Cattle Stampede (1943) Law of the Saddle (1943) Raiders of Red Gap (1943) Danger! Women at Work (1943) Blazing Frontier (1943) Tiger Fangs (1943) Devil Riders (1943) Harvest Melody (1943) Nabonga (1944) Frontier Outlaws (1944) Thundering Gun Slingers (1944) The Monster Maker (1944) Valley of Vengeance (1944) The Contender (1944) The Drifter (1944) Fuzzy Settles Down (1944) I Accuse My Parents (1944) Swing Hostess (1944) Wild Horse Phantom (1944) Oath of Vengeance (1944) His Brother's Ghost (1945) The Kid Sister (1945) The Lady Confesses (1945) Gangster's Den (1945) Stagecoach Outlaws (1945) Apology for Murder (1945) White Pongo (1945) Border Badmen (1945) Fighting Bill Carson (1945) Prairie Rustlers (1945) Rustlers' Hideout (1945) Shadows of Death (1945) Lightning Raiders (1946) Outlaws of the Plains (1946) The Flying Serpent (1946) Murder Is My Business (1946) Gentlemen with Guns (1946) Terrors on Horseback (1946) Ghost of Hidden Valley (1946) Blonde for a Day (1946) Larceny in Her Heart (1946) Prairie Badmen (1946) Queen of Burlesque (1946) Overland Riders (1946) Gas House Kids (1946) Lady Chaser (1946) Three on a Ticket (1947) Adventure Island (1947) Jungle Flight (1947) Money Madness (1948) Lady at Midnight (1948) The Strange Mrs. Crane (1948) The Counterfeiters (1948) Miraculous Journey (1948) She Shoulda Said No! (1949) State Department: File 649 (1949)
1950s	Motor Patrol (1950) Hi-Jacked (1950) Radar Secret Service (1950) Western Pacific Agent (1950) Three Desperate Men (1951) Mask of the Dragon (1951) Skipalong Rosenbloom (1951) Lost Continent (1951) Leave It to the Marines (1951) Sky High (1951) Fingerprints Don't Lie (1951) Outlaw Women (1952) Lady in the Fog (1952) The Gambler and the Lady (1952) The Wild Dakotas (1956) Frontier Gambler (1956) The Three Outlaws (1956) Last of the Desperados (1956) Wolf Dog (1958) Flaming Frontier (1958)