And they all reside on the beach-side ready to be fleeced by wide-eyed "innocents" Eddie Bracken and Priscilla Lane. Waking up near each other one morning after unknowingly having spent the night together on the seashore, Bracken and Lane scheme together to pose as a wealthy couple eagerly ready to make investments in the local town and purchase property (presumably somewhere on Long Island). Everybody, from a local real estate agent to local businessmen to even an initially suspicious hotel manager, fall for their scheme. Yes, it's outlandish and preposterous, but it's all played out in such a fun manner, fast-moving and ingeniously written in spite of its lack of reality. From the pen of Andrew Stone who wrote and directed two other amusing forgotten comedies ("Hi Diddle Diddle" and "Bachelor's Daughters"), "Fun on a Weekend" is a delightfully obscure surprise to discover and is amusing from start to finish.
Bracken and Lane initially seem mismatched, but actually make an interesting team. Bracken, reminding me of Matthew Broderick in his early comic roles, is as good here as he was in his two 1944 classics, "Hail the Conquering Hero" and "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek". His seeming innocence makes it feasible that people might fall for his scheme, while Lane is as delightful as she was in "Arsenic and Old Lace", but playing a much more aggressive character. The supporting cast includes 30's Warner Brothers perennial Allen Jenkins as a cynical greasy spoon operator and "The Falcon's" Tom Conway as a suave playboy after Lane. They are also surrounded by a delightful huge canine that appears to be part woodchuck. Thanks to a witty script and charming performances, this film shows that not all far-fetched stories are bad films.
Bracken and Lane initially seem mismatched, but actually make an interesting team. Bracken, reminding me of Matthew Broderick in his early comic roles, is as good here as he was in his two 1944 classics, "Hail the Conquering Hero" and "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek". His seeming innocence makes it feasible that people might fall for his scheme, while Lane is as delightful as she was in "Arsenic and Old Lace", but playing a much more aggressive character. The supporting cast includes 30's Warner Brothers perennial Allen Jenkins as a cynical greasy spoon operator and "The Falcon's" Tom Conway as a suave playboy after Lane. They are also surrounded by a delightful huge canine that appears to be part woodchuck. Thanks to a witty script and charming performances, this film shows that not all far-fetched stories are bad films.