Double Dynamite (1951)

Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Am I Missing Something?

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Johnny (Frank Sinatra) and Mibs (Jane Russell) are bank tellers who would like to marry, but money gets in the way. Quite by chance, Johnny saves a mysterious big-time gambler and is rewarded with $60,000. As luck would have it, at the exact same moment, a large bank outage is discovered. How can Johnny prove the money is really his and stay out of jail when he doesn't even know the name of the mane who gave it to him? I'd call Double Dynamite harmless enough with a couple of moments of comedy that rise to a level that makes the whole thing slightly above average. The comedy bits come from Groucho Marx. I've never really cared much for the post-Marx Bros' Grouch (and I'm including You Bet Your Life). Most of Groucho's later work is a shadow of what he did early in his career. But here, he has a few moments that are very nearly laugh-out-loud funny. The scenes where he poses as a millionaire and entertains the bank president are nicely written and staged. Other than Groucho, the rest of the movie is pretty routine. Sinatra is too milk-toast and Russell can't act. The musical numbers aren't overly memorable and are so infrequent they don't really fit with the rest of the film. Double Dynamite does feature a strong supporting cast including a favorite of mine, Nestor Paiva. The ending is reasonably entertaining. The discovery of the missing bank money is actually clever. Overall, a 6/10 from me.

Released by Howard Hughes three years after its filming, "Double Dynamite" is a pleasing comedy starring Jane Russell as Mibs Goodhue, Groucho Marx as Emile J. Keck, and Frank Sinatra as Johnny Dalton.The crux of the story is a coincidence--the disappearance of $60,000 from a bank and Dalton winning $60,000 at the track. He can't spend his winnings without alerting the suspicions of the authorities.The film features a couple of very enjoyable tunes by Jule Stine and Sammy Cahn that leave the viewer wanting more.Except for Russell's portrayal of her character being tipsy, she does a fine job. Groucho is his usual incorrigible self and Sinatra is charming. The three of them make the most of this small film.

Just watched this on a Netflix disc. It's the only teaming of Frank Sinatra, Jane Russell, and Groucho Marx. It's largely because of the last name that I had in interest in seeing this and I wasn't disappointed as he's as funny as you expect him to be with all those wisecracks that cracks me up the way he does them. Sinatra shows his vocal chops to good effect when he duets with both Marx and Ms. Russell on their numbers. The supporting cast is also good of which one of them, William Edmonds, is one of the players from my favorite movie, It's a Wonderful Life-he played Mr. Martini there. Here, he has a much bigger role of a restaurateur who's Groucho's boss as Groucho is a waiter here. The plot-about an embezzlement-gambling mixup-gets partially confusing but the way it's performed here, at least it wasn't boring, that's for sure! So on that note, I say Double Dynamite is worth a look.

I don't know why this kooky little film hasn't received better notices. As a huge fan of both Groucho Marx and The Voice, "Double Dynamite" was a dream come true. Groucho hasn't been this funny since "Duck Soup," and Ol' Blue Eyes plays off him beautifully. If there's a complaint here, it's that there aren't enough musical numbers. "It's Only Money" (a duet between Frank and Groucho) is a show-stopper.