User Reviews

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.

Eddie Bracken (P. P. Porterhouse III), Priscilla Lane (Nancy Crane), Tom Conway (Van), Allen Jenkins (Joe Morgan), Arthur Treacher (B. O. Moffatt), Clarence Kolb (Quigley Quackenbush), Alma Kruger (Mrs Van Orsdale), Russell Hicks (John Biddle), Fritz Feld (Sergei Stronganoff), Richard Hageman (Mr Cowperwaithe), Lester Allen (stooge at lunch counter), Bill Kennedy (Bill Davis).

Director: ANDREW L. STONE. Screenplay: Andrew L. Stone. Photography: Paul Ivano. Film editor: Paul Weatherwax. Music arranged and conducted by Lucien Cailliet. Music director: Virginia Stone. Art director: Rudi Feld. Costumes: Maria O. Donovan. Production manager: Herman E. Webber. Assistant director: William A. Forsyth. Sound recording: Roy Meadows. Western Electric Sound System. Associate producer: Don McElwaine. Producer: Andrew L. Stone.

Copyright 14 March 1947 by Andrew Stone Enterprises, Inc. Released through United Artists. No New York opening. U.S. release: not recorded. U.K. release: 30 June 1947. Australian release: 11 December 1947. 8,722 feet. 97 minutes.

SYNOPSIS: A throwback to the screwball comedies of the 1930s when two down-and-outs try to pass themselves off as super-rich.

COMMENT: Another sure-fire Friday flick is one that hasn't opened in New York. No New York showing means only one of two things: — either the movie so lacked either snob or entertainment appeal, that no New York cinema would book it; or the movie was so bad, the distributor was afraid to let the Big Apple critics take pot-shots at it.

Some films though were probably just unlucky. Like this one, a bright, consistently amusing comedy, well played and very attractively mounted despite its independent pedigree. The photography is particularly appealing, the pace admirably fast, whilst Stone has directed with polish and finesse, making stylish use of some wonderfully fluid tracking shots. As for the players, from the principals down to the smallest bit people, they're perfect, absolutely perfect.

In short : "Fun on a Week-End" is exactly that! Fun!

OTHER VIEWS: A very agreeable cast enlivens this ingenious little comedy. It's a one-joke idea, but the script takes care not to spread it out too thinly — introducing the leg-eating dog and Fritz Feld's persecuted pianist was a masterstroke. The scene in which Bracken and Kolb discuss the relative merits of restaurants during Feld's recital provides the film with its funniest moment. It is impeccably timed and very smoothly edited. Added to this, the basic plot contains enough amusing twists to sustain the interest, though there are some dull patches which the players endeavor to overcome by acting with all stops out — not always with the greatest success. This is particularly the case with Allen Jenkins, though it must be admitted he had to be content with extremely weak material.

Even in this early effort, director Stone can be seen putting his penchant for location filming into practice with the scenes on the boardwalk, for example. In other respects, the direction is very competent, without being in any way distinguished. Production values are absolutely first-class, with lavish sets and plenty of extras milling about.

Priscilla Lane makes a delightfully attractive heroine and wears some stunning costumes with considerable finesse, and is lovingly photographed. - JHR writing as George Addison.