I originally saw this film when it first came to television in the 1960s... I was a 9 year old kid at the time, and I thought it was the funniest thing I had ever seen--which was probably quite right, considering everything else that passed for TV comedy in the 1960s was a reworked hodgepodge of stale vaudeville routines. Since then, to my knowledge, "Miss Tatlock's Millions" has not reappeared on broadcast TV, not on cable, not on satellite.
For all practical purposes, this movie had been entombed in some chilly crypt, far from the reach of mainstream entertainment. In fact, if my mother (now in her 70s) had not recently mentioned the name "Schuyler Tatlock"--referring to an idiotic person--I myself may have completely forgotten the movie, as well.
Schuyler (pronounced Skyler), you see, is the gravitational center of this 1948 black & white offbeat comedy... Which is pretty odd, when you know the whole story, because the character of Schuyler Tatlock dies 2 years before the film even begins.
Suffice to say that Schuyler Tatlock is IMPERSONATED by a reluctant impostor for the duration of the film--and you can understand his reluctance when you understand that the late Schuyler Tatlock was a brain-damaged, gibbering lunatic with a penchant for arson. When the straight-laced impostor asks for pointers, he's instructed: "You'll be impersonating a man who once broke up a Thanksgiving dinner because he thought HE was the turkey. Gobble-gobble."
That should be a clue as to where the story is headed.
The film moves at an alarming pace, with twists and turns, action, some great dialogue and comic bits that grab your attention every few seconds. AND, above all, there is a really WEIRD sexual tension: The Schuyler impostor falls in love with Schuyler's younger sister (who is also being seduced by her cousin), and SHE falls in love with the impostor even as he is impersonating her brother!
I know, it sounds incredibly convoluted--and it is--but the charming thing about this film is how its many complexities are cleverly remedied to the viewer's complete satisfaction. The seemingly incestuous love triangle MAY be the reason that "Miss Tatlock's Millions" has been locked away for so many decades, even though there is no actual incest in the story... I think... In any event, this is a sweet, sexy, smart and very, very entertaining comedy that is entirely TOO HARD to find.
There is at least one VHS dealer online who carries a really awful recording of the movie for less than $20; but, trust me, you're not going to find a better copy (or even ANOTHER copy) of this film ANYWHERE. Believe me, I know. Even with terrible video tracking, "Miss Tatlock's Millions" is worth the purchase.
For all practical purposes, this movie had been entombed in some chilly crypt, far from the reach of mainstream entertainment. In fact, if my mother (now in her 70s) had not recently mentioned the name "Schuyler Tatlock"--referring to an idiotic person--I myself may have completely forgotten the movie, as well.
Schuyler (pronounced Skyler), you see, is the gravitational center of this 1948 black & white offbeat comedy... Which is pretty odd, when you know the whole story, because the character of Schuyler Tatlock dies 2 years before the film even begins.
Suffice to say that Schuyler Tatlock is IMPERSONATED by a reluctant impostor for the duration of the film--and you can understand his reluctance when you understand that the late Schuyler Tatlock was a brain-damaged, gibbering lunatic with a penchant for arson. When the straight-laced impostor asks for pointers, he's instructed: "You'll be impersonating a man who once broke up a Thanksgiving dinner because he thought HE was the turkey. Gobble-gobble."
That should be a clue as to where the story is headed.
The film moves at an alarming pace, with twists and turns, action, some great dialogue and comic bits that grab your attention every few seconds. AND, above all, there is a really WEIRD sexual tension: The Schuyler impostor falls in love with Schuyler's younger sister (who is also being seduced by her cousin), and SHE falls in love with the impostor even as he is impersonating her brother!
I know, it sounds incredibly convoluted--and it is--but the charming thing about this film is how its many complexities are cleverly remedied to the viewer's complete satisfaction. The seemingly incestuous love triangle MAY be the reason that "Miss Tatlock's Millions" has been locked away for so many decades, even though there is no actual incest in the story... I think... In any event, this is a sweet, sexy, smart and very, very entertaining comedy that is entirely TOO HARD to find.
There is at least one VHS dealer online who carries a really awful recording of the movie for less than $20; but, trust me, you're not going to find a better copy (or even ANOTHER copy) of this film ANYWHERE. Believe me, I know. Even with terrible video tracking, "Miss Tatlock's Millions" is worth the purchase.