Irish Luck (1939)

Frankie Darro and Mantan Moreland made a great team and both were great actors. They were very well directed here by Howard Bretherton in a good story, although there were times the dialogue was a bit over the top and rather too breathlessly delivered.Still this is fun, and one to watch again.I saw an excellent version at bnwmovies.com and I highly recommend that site.

I'm not sure if being lucky and being Irish go hand in hand, but that proposition is certainly tested in this Monogram Picture with hotel employees Frankie Darro bellhop and Mantan Moreland janitor solve a couple of murders and break up a bond theft ring.This hotel that employs Darro and Moreland is being used as the drop and pickup spot for stolen bonds. Being set up as those taking the fall are brother and sister Dennis Moore and Sheila Darcy. As their name is Monahan they can't possibly be guilty according to Darro as Buzzy O'Brien and his sainted Irish mother Lillian Elliott. Darro is the son of a police detective and can't wait to get on the force, so much so he's finding mysteries to solve where he works. It's all to the distraction of his father's friend on the force Dick Purcell who has a relationship to Darro similar to Chief Clifford and Sam McCloud. Irish Luck hasn't worn well over the years and Mantan Moreland's eye rolling janitor is especially not wearing well. He seems to be warming up for playing Birmingham Brown on the Charlie Chan series.I doubt we'll see this one restored any time soon.

From this film in 1939 through "Going Collegiate" in 1941, Frankie Darro and Mantan Moreland made seven film together for Monogram Pictures. In each, they play essentially the same characters with the same sort of plots--yet the character names and settings are different. In each, Darro plays an over-eager amateur detective and Moreland is his friend and sidekick. Oddly, even the woman who plays Darro's mother is the same in several films--even though, as I said, the characters are not the same in each film! They have a certain sameness about them--and if you've seen one, you've pretty much a good idea what the others are like.This one finds Darro and Moreland bellboys at a local hotel. Naturally, a murder occurs and instead of Darro going to the police with what he knows (like any SANE person), he decides to take matters into his own hand--nearly getting himself locked up in the process. And, while he's at it, Darro comes to the aid of a woman who at least appears to be a likely suspect! And, not surprisingly, by the end of the film the real culprits are captured and Darro saves the day. Only in films could such a plot work! Like the other films in the series, it is inconsequential and even a bit stupid--yet, somehow, it made enough of an impression on audiences that there were six more films! I don't get it, though if you do choose to watch this one, at least it's probably a bit better than the average film in the series.

Frankie Darro is a bellhop at a hotel where he hones his detective skills. After recovering some stolen bonds,much to the chagrin of the police, he finds himself mixed up in a murder, that may have been committed by a nervous young lady he has befriended. One of the first pairings of Mantan Moreland and Frankie Darro is one of the best. Here we have a real mystery story that keeps you interested from the very start. Its nice to have a programmer that seems to be more than just one set refurnished over and over again. There are some really clever bits, how Mantan flags down the police is priceless and some witty remarks, coming mostly from Mantan or cop Dick Purcell are amusing. If there is any real disappointment in this film its that Moreland and Darro aren't as chummy as they were in later entries. Indeed, where the pair spends most of their on screen time together here there are whole sections where Frankie is front and center with Moreland no where to be found or reduced to simply acting frightened or explaining things to the police, he's good but he's not what he would become in the later films. recommended to anyone looking for a a good mystery.