Money from Home
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
George Marshall
Dean Martin
Jerry Lewis
Marjie Millar
Pat Crowley
Richard Haydn
Film Details
Technical Specs
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Synopsis
One day, in 1920s New York, unlucky racetrack gambler Honey Talk Nelson is hauled in to see gangster Jumbo Schneider, to whom he owes $3,450. Jumbo suggests that Honey clear his debt, and save his life, by going to Tarrytown, Maryland, and preventing My Sheba, the favorite in an upcoming $50,000 steeplechase race, against whom Jumbo is betting, from racing. To that end, Jumbo orders Honey to romance Phyllis Leigh, My Sheba's owner, and use "horse doctor" Virgil Yokum, Honey's cousin, to convince Phyllis to take My Sheba out of the race. The unsuspecting Virgil, who is an accident-prone veterinary intern, happily accepts his cousin's invitation to vacation in Maryland until Honey admits at the train station that he has no money for the tickets. Virgil is about to go home when Honey spots Seldom Seen Kid, Jumbo's thug, and panics. Honey exchanges Virgil's suitcases for a suitcase he finds among a rich Poojah's belongings and allows one of the Poojah's men to chase him into the bathroom. There, he steals the man's clothes, then forces Virgil to don a veiled outfit from the suitcase, which belongs to one of the Poojah's many wives. Later, on the train, Virgil, still dressed as a woman, dances for the amorous Poojah, who chases him around the compartment. Desperate, Virgil jumps out a window while hanging onto a curtain and is spotted by Honey, who is busy charming the Poojah's wives. Honey pulls Virgil inside just as the Poojah's man arrives with a policeman to arrest them. Honey and Virgil dive out the window and land in a field, then are picked up by motorist Bertie Searles, My Sheba's English jockey. The alcoholic Bertie allows Honey to drive his car to Tarrytown and passes out with drink before they arrive. As Virgil is carrying Bertie into his hotel, Phyllis notices them and introduces herself to Honey. After telling Phyllis that he is Bertie's agent, Honey convinces Virgil to impersonate Bertie, whom Phyllis has never met. That night at a ball honoring the Poojah, Virgil does his best to sound English, while Honey romances Phyllis, who is also being wooed by Marshall Preston, the suave jockey riding Jumbo's pick in the race. Tiring of his impersonation, the animal-loving Virgil goes upstairs to reclaim his suitcases, in which he had packed his ant farm. As soon as he reunites with his ants, Bertie arrives at the ball, drunk, and in the ensuing confusion, Virgil breaks the ant farm. Honey manages to quiet Bertie before he can expose Virgil, but afterward, the party guests are besieged by Virgil's ants. The next morning, Virgil sees a lost dog in the street and rushes to save it. Virgil takes the injured dog to the local veterinarian and is astounded to discover the doctor is a young woman named Autumn Claypool. Immediately smitten, Virgil asks Autumn, a fellow vegetarian, to dinner, then tells Honey and Phyllis that he sprained his wrist and cannot train on My Sheba that day. Later, in their hotel room, Virgil admits he is faking, and upset, Honey tells him the truth about Jumbo. Infuriated by Honey's confession,Virgil threatens to tell Phyllis everything, just as Seldom Seen, who has followed the boys, arrives and overhears their argument. Determined to keep Honey on track, Seldom Seen knocks Virgil out and gives Honey a warning. That night, Autumn shows Virgil the site where she hopes to build a new clinic and reveals that she made a large bet on My Sheba. After Autumn hints that she would like Virgil to become her partner, Virgil kisses her and determines to do what he can to help My Sheba win. Honey, meanwhile, is wooing Phyllis when she confides that she is in debt and desperately needs to win the race. Realizing that he is in love, Honey tells Virgil that he, too, wants My Sheba to win, and to prepare for the next day's race, the two drag the sleeping Bertie to Phyllis' barn. My Sheba, however, rejects Bertie, rearing every time he comes near. Phyllis and the visiting Preston hear the commotion in the barn and confront Honey and Virgil. After Honey admits all, Phyllis storms off, and Seldom Seen, with whom Preston is conspiring, again threatens the boys. Seldom Seen then reports to Jumbo, who decides to fly down immediately with his thugs. Meanwhile, Bertie, hoping to bond with My Sheba, gets the horse drunk, and the next morning, Honey and Virgil find them both badly hung-over. While Virgil and Autumn concoct hangover medication for My Sheba, Honey tries to restore Bertie at the hotel. After Honey steps out to retrieve some coffee for the jockey, Jumbo and his men burst in and kidnap Bertie. Seldom Seen then nabs Virgil, who is locked in the same hotel room as Bertie. Having witnessed Virgil's abduction, Honey sneaks in and frees them, and all three dash to the racetrack. There, they are attacked and chased by Jumbo and his thugs, who are determined to keep My Sheba from racing. In the commotion, however, Virgil ends up on My Sheba, who bolts onto the track just as the race begins. During the race, Preston knocks Virgil off My Sheba and reveals he is conspiring with Jumbo. Egged on by Autumn, Virgil remounts and catches up to Preston. When Preston again tries to knock Virgil off, both men tumble to the ground, and Preston unwittingly remounts My Sheba. Virgil then jumps on the horse's back, and My Sheba wins the race with two jockeys. Later, after the judges determine that My Sheba's victory was legitimate, Preston and Jumbo are arrested and a forgiving Phyllis embraces Honey. Phyllis and Honey, and Virgil and Autumn contemplate marriage, and Virgil announces that My Sheba is expecting a foal in the spring.
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Director
![](https://prod-images.tcm.com/Master-Profile-Images/GeorgeMarshall.123063.jpg?imwidth=188&height=141)
George Marshall
Cast
![](https://prod-images.tcm.com/Master-Profile-Images/DeanMartin.jpg?imwidth=188&height=141)
Dean Martin
![](https://prod-images.tcm.com/Master-Profile-Images/JerryLewis.jpg?imwidth=188&height=141)
Jerry Lewis
Marjie Millar
![](https://prod-images.tcm.com/Master-Profile-Images/PatCrowley.jpg?imwidth=188&height=141)
Pat Crowley
![](https://prod-images.tcm.com/Master-Profile-Images/RichardHaydn.jpg?imwidth=188&height=141)
Richard Haydn
![](https://prod-images.tcm.com/Master-Profile-Images/ROBERTSTRAUSS.185830.jpg?imwidth=188&height=141)
Robert Strauss
Gerald Mohr
![](https://prod-images.tcm.com/Master-Profile-Images/SheldonLeonard.112147.jpg?imwidth=188&height=141)
Sheldon Leonard
Romo Vincent
![](https://prod-images.tcm.com/Master-Profile-Images/JackKruschen.105928.jpg?imwidth=188&height=141)
Jack Kruschen
Richard Reeves
James Davies
Charles Horvath
Frank Branda
Lou Lubin
Frank Richards
Harry Hayden
Henry Mclemore
Mortie Dutra
Wendell Niles
Joe Mcturk
Frank F. Mitchell
Sam Hogan
Phil Arnold
Louis Nicoletti
Edward Clark
Grace Hayle
Bobby Barber
Drew Cahill
Al Hill
Buck Young
Ben Astar
Arthur Gould-porter
Richard Gordon
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Mara Corday
Robin Hughes
Elizabeth Slifer
Sidney Marion
Mike Mahoney
Richard Kipling
Linda Wittman
Carolyn Phillips
Louise De Carlo
Susan Cooke
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Gertrude Astor
Fred Aldrich
Maidie Norman
Rex Lease
Jack Roberts
Crew
James Allardice
Jack Brooks
Henry Bumstead
Sam Comer
Ross Dowd
Al Dubin
Farciot Edouart
Daniel L. Fapp
John P. Fulton
Gene Garvin
Leigh Harline
Joseph H. Hazen
Edith Head
Cy Howard
Hal Kanter
Hal Kanter
Burton Lane
Paul K. Lerpae
Jerry Lewis
Joseph J. Lilley
Joseph J. Lilley
Harry Lindgren
Frank Loesser
Warren Low
James Miller
Michael D. Moore
Richard Mueller
Hal Pereira
Harry Warren
Wally Westmore
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Film Details
Technical Specs
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Articles
Money From Home - Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin in MONEY FROM HOME on DVD
Fortunately the final product was solid enough on its own terms to justify this window dressing, and even without Jerry Lewis and galloping horses pouncing out of the screen and into audiences' laps via the miracle of three-dimensional photography, their antics fare just as well on the small screen at home. The story begins with perpetual gambler "Honey Talk" Nelson (Martin) running afoul of loan sharks and other unseemly criminal elements, driving him to concoct a quick-rich scheme to talk his cousin Virgil (Lewis), a veterinary assistant in Maryland, into helping him fix a horse race involving a steed named My Sheba. However, comedic complications ensue when Nelson falls for the horse's pretty owner, Phyllis (Marjie Millar), and Virgil is distracted by animal lover Dr. Claypool (TV regular Pat Crowley). Romantic and criminal mayhem escalates even further when tough gangster Jumbo Schneider (character actor Sheldon Leonard) and his goons turn up gunning for Nelson.
Though no one will ever tag this film as a top-tier masterpiece, the comedy team's fans have long had affection for this film, and with good reason. Even those put off by Lewis' mannerisms during this period should be won over by his deft and oddly heart-rending musical adieu to his animal patients, while the DVD sleeve's endorsement of "their now classic take on Cyrano de Bergerac" (with Lewis pantomiming to Martin's "I Only Have Eyes for You," at least before a feisty dog and channel-switching radio get involved) is an inventive, bravura sequence worth watching at least twice. Aside from a fleeting bit of paddleball, director George Marshall (The Ghost Breakers) takes little advantage of the 3-D format, instead focusing on tried-and-true comic elements like Jerry in Arabic female drag and lots of cute, camera-friendly animals (including a monkey and a two show-stopping, street-crossing canines), and a truly odd climactic punchline that predates Some Like It Hot by several years.
Though Paramount released twelve of the Martin/Lewis films in a pair of recommended box sets in 2006, Money from Home was inexplicably left out, leaving collectors clutching their old VHS tapes from television broadcasts for comfort. When Paramount licensed out a slice of its catalog titles to Legend Films, this title was chosen as one of the first out of the gate along with a handful of other comedy titles like Papa's Delicate Condition and Rhubarb. The DVD release contains the main feature only (well, along with scene selections), but fortunately the new transfer should be enough of an incentive. The combination of classic Technicolor and 3-D yields odd results in a few medium shots (the third reel in particular shows a few registration problems), but the bulk of the film looks bright, colorful and detailed. The two-channel stereo soundtrack doesn't have quite the same panning effect as the theatrical prints, but considered how dead-center most of the sound mix is anyway (apart from Leigh Harline's jaunty score), that isn't much of a compromise. The disc also contains closed captions and is presented full frame, though as with many 1950s titles during the transition to 1.85:1 widescreen cinemas, it has lots of empty space at the top and bottom of the frame-perfect for those who like zooming film in on their widescreen TVs.
For more information about Money From Home, visit Legend Films. To order Money From Home, go to TCM Shopping
by Nathaniel Thompson
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Money From Home - Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin in MONEY FROM HOME on DVD
Quotes
Me and my big mouth. I'd get rid of it, except it's such a handy place to keep my teeth.- Virgil
They tell me when you ride you ride as if you were a part of the horse. Would that be a compliment, Sir?- Virgil
Every dog has his day, but the nights are mine.- Honey Talk
So do me something.- Virgil
Trivia
Reportedly one of only two 3-D films shot in three-strip Technicolor, the other being Flight to Tangier (1953).
Notes
Voice-over narration is heard at the beginning of the film, describing the New York setting and introducing some of the story's "colorful" characters. A June 1952 Los Angeles Examiner item announced that Robert Baker would be writing the film's screenplay with James Allardice, but only Allardice received onscreen credit. Baker's contribution to the final film, if any, has not been determined. According to an August 1953 Hollywood Reporter news item, producers Hal B. Wallis and Joseph H. Hazen made the film independently, before a distributor was in place. In late June 1953, Wallis and Hazen dissolved their company, Hal Wallis Productions, through which they had made many films for Paramount release. Hollywood Reporter news items add B. S. Pulley, William Fawcett, Juanita Bredt, Zona Fe, Ruth Gills, Kanza Omar, Suzanne Ridgeway, Jackie Shields and Anne Toth to the cast, but their appearance in the final film has not been confirmed.
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Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States Winter December 1953
3-D
Released in United States Winter December 1953