Managed Money – Kid shenanigans with a surprisingly sharp edge

So, Managed Money from 1934 isn’t the kind of movie you just stumble over at ICA when buying mjölk, believe me. It’s like this weird little gem packed into barely 20 minutes. Just slap on your nostalgic goggles and go! Here you’ve got a young Jackie Cooper, proper golden boy vibes all over, and the one and only William Shea, with that face that always makes me think of the old Swedish folkparks. Directed by Charles Lamont – yeah the guy who did a million comedies for Universal. Cheap and cheerful, you could say, but with a slice of bite.

It’s a funny thing. I first saw this with my morfar at a sommarstuga in Småland, rainy evening, nothing but surströmming smell and static from the old TV. Full disclosure, I don’t think I got half the jokes back then, but Jackie’s face when he’s wading in to catch that “financial break” – total classic! You get smacked with all that goofy kid logic, all eager to make bank for their little orphan school. Reminds me strongly of when we’d try to scrape ihop coins for godis, only to spend half on Speldosor at Konsum.

The acting’s pretty janky sometimes, very much “say your line, stare at the camera,” but it’s got heart, right? I mean, the plot’s thin as a tunnbröd, but those daft plans the kids cook up really punch above their weight. And did you ever notice the weird way Lamont uses shadows? For a silly slapstick short, it sometimes feels almost noir-dark. I don’t know if they meant it or just ran out of lamps.

Anyway. Not for everyone, and sure, some gags land like overcooked köttbullar, but it’s got a quirk that’s missing from most films nowadays. Worth a watch, preferably with rain pattering on the roof and something stronger than läsk in your glass.

watch the full movie on Mavshack Movies on YouTube

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