Despite its come-on title, this movie does not add up to one thrilling picture. The main problem lies in the very amateurish script by Joseph Hoffman who presumably dusted off something from his early attempts at screen writing before he left Fox in 1941 and ended up at Monogram in 1942. Anyway, whenever it was written is not the point. The sad fact is that it's packed with some of the most feeble wisecracks it has ever been my misfortune to come across. Director William Beaudine is no help either – except for one scene in a movie theater which is not even a quarter as bad as the rest of this movie-to-avoid! Producer A.W. Hackel's movies were so lacking in entertainment values that from 1934 through 1936, he often declined to take a credit. Re-issue title: Horace Takes Over.

I expect wartime audiences howled at this slice of WWII escapism, especially the wedding night innuendo. Happily, the 70-minutes is still fairly amusing madcap. Innocent newly-weds Horace (well-chosen name) and bride Millie can't seem to get a moment alone on their wedding night. Trouble is gangsters are after stolen loot that seems to be hidden in the couple's hotel room. So their room is like a revolving door between cops, gangsters and corpses. Good thing they're such sweet kids so we know nothing bad will really happen. Actors Beale and McKay may border at times on cutesy, but still manage to give the kids a winning turn.The premise may not be exactly new, yet it's a lively cast and an engaged director (Beaudine!). There's that gimmick always worth a few chuckles concerning bodies that disappear before the cops arrive. So, for the kids, it's a really frustrating night in more ways than one. Note presence of notorious Hollywood bad boy Tom Neal as Frankie, the head gangster. How ironic that Horace out-punches Frankie since Neal was a formidable college boxer, as actor Franchot Tone unfortunately found out. Sure, it's another cheap Monogram production, but the script, cast, and direction make the hijinks work better than the usual. And catch the movie's very last line—a good indication of the temperature of the time.

War draftee John Beal and his bride Wanda McKay check into a New York hotel for one quick night of marital bliss before he heads off to fight the Japanese but end up with so much more thanks to an alleged corpse Beal finds in their bed. This results in an adventure as they deal with kidnappers, idiotic house detectives (Warren Hymer once again) and a night in the Big Apple they'll never forget. Comedy, intrigue, action and brilliant character bits make this tons of fun, as put together by the quick filming William Beaudine, "King of the One Take".Among the amusing sequences are the couple's winning the big prize in a movie theater raffle while they are trying to remain hidden from the villains (very obviously present), Beal's come-on by their moll Barbara Pepper (the original "Mrs. Ziffel") and McKay's sudden heroic attack on the villains. You can see many future similar plots in this, particularly in the two higher budgeted plots of the "Fuller Brush" movies. Future film noir heavy Tom Neal ("Detour") is prominently featured as the main villain.

Monogram combined it's standard lowbrow crime/action with comedy for this film, which is a bit weak on the comedy side. It has it's moments, but you can't help but think the situation is ridiculous. A newlywed couple with only a day before the husband is shipped off to service in WWII chooses to travel instead of doing what a newlywed, presumably virgin couple with only a day would actually do. There is a subtext of lustful desire being thwarted, but it is obviously muted due to the era.Through no fault of their own they get mixed up with gangsters who have been in their hotel room trying to kill enemies. Mix-ups with a missing body, police ineptitude and misidentification of the groom as gangster kingpin keeps this running for most of the film. This might have worked better with a cast and director who could pull it off, but it falls a bit flat here, though not entirely.It has classic elements of 1930s screwball comedy, though a little late for Monogram in 1942 to begin cutting their chops. It's fun as a period piece, but far from great cinema.