Main Cast: Fred Allen, Jack Benny, William Bendix, Binnie Barnes, Robert Benchley
Release Year: 1945
Country: US
Run Time: 90 minutes
Plot
Based on the popular Russian novel The Twelve Chairs, this stars Fred Allen as flea-circus impresario Fred Floogle. Learning that he's inherited $12 million from his uncle, Fred also discovers that the money has been stuffed in one of thirteen chairs that he's sold at auction. The rest of the film goes off on any number of hilarious tangents, each tied-in ever so tenuously to the plot. Included is an episode at the movies (Fred and his wife Binnie Barnes are continually escorted up several balcony steps and out several alleyway doors), a visit to Floogle's radio cohort Mrs. Nussbaum (Minerva Pious), a brief misadventure with Jack Benny (this time Benny has a hat-check girl in his hall closet, so that he can collect tips from visitors), an impromptu barbershop quartet session with Fred, Rudy Vallee, Don Ameche and Victor Moore, and a confrontation with the dreaded William Bendix mob (Bendix isn't really a gangster; he simply inherited the mob from his mother). Also weaving in and out of the proceedings are John Carradine as a crooked attorney, Robert Benchley as Fred's pompous in-law-to-be, Sidney Toler as a popcorn-munching detective, and Jerry Colonna as Fred's live-in psychiatrist. Two versions of this film exists, one without Fred Allen's ongoing voice over narration. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Devotees of the Russian novel that is its basis (The Twelve Chairs) may shake their heads, but those in the mood for a terribly silly romp should get a fair amount of entertainment from It's in the Bag. Dispensing with everything except the premise of the novel, Bag exists solely to give radio star Fred Allen a rare opportunity to guide a motion picture vehicle all on his own star power. Modern audiences inevitably won't get as much out of it as those in 1945 did, for Allen's persona is virtually unknown to most of today's viewers. Having a grounding in Allen-ania definitely helps to enjoy the piece, but even the uninitiated should find enough to make them chuckle and keep them watching. The laughs should start with the credits, which find Allen breaking the fourth wall to drily comment upon the names as they come and go. It would seem almost surreal, if Allen didn't somehow make it seem down-to-earth instead. There's a delightful Jack Benny section that plays upon the supposed rivalry between Benny and Allen, and Mrs. Nussbaum from Allen's radio show provides some welcome laughs as well. There also are a few spots that don't pan out, and it must be said that the screenplay is really nothing more than gags strung together. But Allen and company make it work; not a classic, but a very fun trip to another era. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
It's in the Bag! is a 1945 comedy featuring Fred Allen in his only starring film role. The film was released by United Artists at a time when Allen was at the peak of his fame as one of the highest-rated comedians on radio.
Characters and story
A flea circus ringmaster (Allen) has strange encounters as he searches for his inheritance, hidden in one of five chairs.
