Cubussoli Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

Tymon Sutton The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

JoeytheBrit Despite the toothsome grin and shock of wavy hair, the youthful Burt Lancaster is badly miscast in this gentle comedy which provides no real laughs as such, but does possess a light-hearted tone and a terrific performance from Edmund Gwenn.Gwenn plays Skipper Miller, a kindly old man beloved by all his neighbours who, whenever money gets tight, prints off a few (misspelled) one dollar bills on an old hand press to make ends meet. He's been doing it for over a decade, but the treasury department has always been too busy chasing organised counterfeit rings to go after small fish like Mister 880. That is, until they draft in hot-shot agent Steve Buchanan (Lancaster) in the vague hope that he might be able to track the elusive counterfeiter down. It's difficult to see why Lancaster would have chosen to play such a role as he does here. He doesn't really have that much to do other than woo a young female friend of Skipper's (Dorothy Maguire) who was briefly in possession of one of the old man's dud notes. Lancaster had the type of frame and character that demanded roles with some action and vitality, but here he's bound within the confines of a collar and tie and he rarely looks comfortable.With Hollywood still under the thumb of the Hays Code, there's never any doubt that the whimsical Skipper will one day have to face the music, and it's a surprise that the film's finale follows pretty closely the punishment meted out to the real counterfeiter upon whose story this film is based. It seems it's OK if a sweet old guy only steals from you one dollar at a time.The film is OK, but it's nothing memorable, and it will fade pretty quickly from your memory.

Falkenberg2006 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

bkoganbing Burt Lancaster was always one who took firm control of his career. He got out of the studio system very early in Hollywood and was always the one who called his own shots. I'm guessing that he probably owed someone a favor which is why he did Mister 880.It's not that Mister 880 is a bad film, but it's most definitely not a Burt Lancaster project. Burt and leading lady Dorothy McGuire play a definite second fiddle to Edmund Gwenn as the whimsical old neighborhood character who does some counterfeiting on the side when he runs short of money.The title stems from the number on his file with the United States Secret Service. Mister 880 isn't even that good a counterfeiter, but his case has been put on the agency back burner for years while they assign top priority to organized gangs of counterfeiters. Gwenn does his work on cheap office supply paper with a hand press. He even spells Washington wrong on the one dollar bills he prints. And he's been getting away with it for years because of the small denominations.McGuire comes to Lancaster's attention as she gets stuck with one of Gwenn's phonies. He's the agent who the New York office finally decided to assign to the 880 case. Of course the usual romantic complications get in the way of the case, but not forever.Edmund Gwenn is one of those delightful character actors you cannot help but like. His charm is infectious, never more so than when he won that Oscar for Miracle on 34th Street. His character of the Skipper is in the same vein as Kris Kringle in Miracle on 34th Street. Who could not like Edmund Gwenn and therefore who could not like Mister 880.

Ishallwearpurple 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