Mister 880 (1950)

Directed by Edmund Goulding; produced by Julian Blaustein

A small-time counterfeiter (Edmund Gwenn) has been passing fake American one-dollar bills in New York City for ten years. He has eluded every effort by the United States Secret Service to catch him, despite the fact that the notes he produces are so amateurishly inept that ordinary citizens would recognise them as phonies - if they paid attention to them; the word ‘Washington’ on one side of the money is even spelled incorrectly. The authorities put a different investigator on the case every so often, and this time, Steve Buchanan (Burt Lancaster), is on the criminal’s trail - and interested in the translator (Dorothy McGuire) who was duped into taking some of the funny money.

Not amusing enough for a comedy and not romantic enough for a romance, Mister 880 rides gently along on the charm of its performers. Perhaps unexpectedly, the principal draw is not Lancaster, though he receives top billing. Indeed, his performance, though good, as his always are, does not seem to have involved much effort on his part. Then again, it probably didn’t require much.

The main star is really Gwenn, who plays the easy-going and thoroughly decent (except for his forgery) criminal. He immediately conveys the impression of someone everybody would like as a neighbour, an old man everybody would want to take care of, like an elderly uncle. McGuire is immensely appealing in her own right, and Millard Mitchell, as another Secret Service investigator, is always watchable.

The writing is acceptable, though it has nothing very interesting or clever to offer. A good example is Lancaster’s character. He’s tenacious and smart, but otherwise is not revealed in any great fashion. He spends a little time making up a limerick, though we don’t know why. Good-natured, he nonetheless is not depicted as particularly funny. McGuire’s character is shown as intelligent and quick - she swiftly perceives that she is, at first, the subject of the Secret Service’s investigation - and has a responsible job as a United Nations interpreter.

The romance between the two leads is credible but not involving. It is realistic in that the two develop feelings for each other during actual dates, rather than while working together or at odds over something, as is often the case for movie couples. Ordinary life, however, seldom makes for fascinating viewing.

The story-line is predictable, and maintains the viewer’s attention mostly through a desire to see Gwenn’s predicament to its conclusion, which is not exactly riveting. There is no tension or conflict, since the forger’s candour in most things defuses any potential for a troubling situation.

While there may seem to be little to recommend Mister 880 in this review, it can be said that it is a pleasant movie that will provide an evening’s gentle cinematic entertainment when one is surfeited with car-crashes and ridiculous dialogue. And that really isn’t bad at all.