Mister 880 (1950)

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

"Mister 880" is the code word for the secret service's search for a counterfeiter who has been passing along fake $1 bills, easy to find, that is if you really look. After all, in our United States of Confusion, who hasn't wanted to misspell Washington D.C.? Here, the only way these bills can be identified are through the obvious mistake, and it is up to secret service agent Burt Lancaster to find the person responsible, because all of his colleagues from before him (including veteran Millard Mitchell) have had no luck. "879" and "881" are all closed files, simply because they were passing the big bucks, but 880 has been getting away with it, passing $1 bills around the New York City area in a pattern. When the pretty United Nations translator Dorothy McGuire is discovered to have passed two of the fake bills, Lancaster is on her trail, and in one of the film's most amusing sequences, sets out to protect her from masher Mitchell. The scene is shown from inside an art gallery as the soundless activities from Mitchell is visualized from outside. Another sequence has McGuire looking down from her apartment where Lancaster is standing outside a police car just as she has realized who the culprit for the counterfeiting is.The audience learns really early on that the culprit is none other than the sweet "Santa Claus", Edmund Gwenn, and in this "Miracle at Washington Square", Gwenn is observed bringing McGuire a precious antique and leaving her $2 in counterfeit change in her purse. He means no harm, and in a sense, she is like a daughter to him. McGuire learns quickly that Lancaster is on her trail for reasons other than saving her from a masher and sets out to trap him in the most hysterical of ways. She utilizes old counterfeiting slang dating back to the creation of America's first currency which instantly trips him into realizing that he's been had. Then, there's his encounters with Gwenn to where he's totally fooled by this old rascal, even spending a day with him at Coney Island.Having assumed that this was a light comedy, I was surprised to find actually that it is a charming romantic drama where a sort of unlikely fairy godfather brings two people together who are then torn apart suddenly when the truth is revealed. This isn't a great film by any means, but the performances are all solid (especially the Oscar Nominated Gwenn) and the atmosphere of post World War II New York is brilliantly documented. Mitchell's hard-boiled secret service agent is a bit of a rascal of his own, willing to get his face slapped and being labeled a pervert in order to get his job done. Little details like that make this a nice little find which I have been searching for for many years.

A good, albeit slight movie starring Burt Lancaster as a secret service agent pursuing the elusive counterfeiter Mister 880 (named for his case number). It's old fashioned and a bit too "nice," but still entertaining. Lancaster has terrific chemistry with Dorothy McGuire (as a UN interpreter who may or may not know more than she's willing to share with Lancaster) and Edmund Gwenn is really perfect. A clever script makes for a fun game of cat and mouse (or mice). Howard St. John is also in it. Director Edmund Goulding manages to create a feel for NYC in 1950 despite being studio-bound. It is a bit like Hitchcock-lite, but still very worthy entertainment.

This film is shown so rarely as to be virtually unknown. Like a number of black and white films, it does not get seen anymore and when I have mentioned it to people they have NEVER heard of it. Twentieth Century Fox should release this on DVD, if they haven't already.I believe Turner Classic Movies may have shown it once.It is great fun and I think everyone will enjoy it.Lancaster plays a Secret Service agent is driven crazy as he tries to track down a counterfeiter who has eluded the government for years and Gwenn's performance is a delight. His rationale for counterfeiting makes perfect sense, but drives a judge and Lancaster crazy.The movie is dated with the passage of time, but it is fascinating to see how the Secret Service of the day tracked down counterfeiters and the New York of the early 50s.I also seem to recall this movie had an Oscar nomination too, but I could be wrong.george senda martinez, ca

When I first saw this in 1950 I just loved "the Skipper" and every time I watch it, as I did yesterday, I fall again. A very good actor who just melts your heart in his characterizations.Burt Lancaster as the Agent trying to solve an old case that has bugged the Secret Service for a decade; and Dorothy McGuire as the U.N. interpreter caught up in the investigation are fine. When they are in the restaurant purring at each other, while saying serious things about the case, it is a wonderful scene. Fine direction and acting.I watch it as the beginning of my holiday "classic" film month. Nothing to do with Christmas, Thanksgiving or New Years. But it does end with the music to Auld Lang Sang playing in the background and the spirit is that of a holiday movie. A treat and I give it 9/10.Jane