The Magnificent Dope (1942)
Dwight Dawson, who runs an unsuccessful success school, stages a contest to find the biggest failure in the USA, for publicity value when the "dope" takes his course. But winner Tad Page is contented with his idle, lazy life and threatens to convert Dawson's other students to his philosophy. Dawson captalizes on Tad's attraction to Claire Harris to win him over; but will Tad find out Claire is really engaged to Dawson?
- Walter Lang
- George Seaton
- Joseph Schrank
Rating: 7.2/10 by 10 users
Alternative Title:
Le nigaud magnifique - FR
Country:
United States of America
Language:
English
Runtime: 01 hour 23 minutes
Budget: $0
Revenue: $0
Plot Keyword: new york city, contest, trickery
Don Ameche ("Dawson") and Lynn Bari ("Claire") concoct a scheme to open a school to teach the naive and the gullible how to be successful. Their first mark turns out to be "Tad" (Henry Fonda) who enters their competition to win $50 and a free course. He's not so fussed about the course, but his two new friends set about trying to manipulate him to stick around, to attract new students and to help them keep the bank from defaulting on a big loan. Their problem is, the more "Tad" is introduced to their would-be clients, the more he convinces them that there is simply no need for their services and soon they are determined to be shot of him. Snag? Well, of course, "Claire" has started to fall for the charm and innocence of "Tad" and when "Dawson" tries to use that to his advantage, things start to get a bit messy. The three at the top of the bill gel well here, with Fonda comng across well as the not so imbecilic yokel. The script is often quite amusing and well delivered, and there are a few entertaining supporting contributions from George Barbier and Edward Everett-Horton to keep it all moving along well for just shy of eight minutes.
