SimonJack Gene Raymond is one of the few actors in Hollywood history to have written, directed and starred in his own movie. And this is it – his only one. It's also the only film he directed. While "Million Dollar Weekend" didn't fare well at theaters, is has a good plot and screenplay. It was made by a small film company, Eagle-Lion films, which didn't provide it very wide distribution. Yet, it is a good and interesting story. It's a crime mystery with redemption, and it holds up very well. The very small cast of three main players focuses the plot well in just 72 minutes. . The credits list only Hawaii for shooting locations. The Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Honolulu was one setting. Raymond is very good as Nicholas Lawrence and John Nicholas. Osa Massen is very good as Cynthia Strong, and Francis Lederer is very good as Alan Marker. Raymond was a man of many talents. Besides acting, he sang, wrote stories and screenplays, and wrote songs. He was a sound and very good leading man, but he didn't land many major roles that shot him to stardom with the best known actors. He was equally adept at comedy, drama and musicals. Raymond was married to Jeanette MacDonald for 27 years, until her death in 1965. The couple had a sometimes stormy relationship. MacDonald's was one career in which the legendary Louis B. Mayer ruled with an iron hand and dictated much of her personal life. Raymond bore a striking resemblance to Nelson Eddy who co- starred with MacDonald in a number of musicals. Raymond served in the Army Air Forces of World War II and was decorated with later flying during the Vietnam War. He retired from the Air Force reserves as a colonel. He also had a controversial and colored past with some run-ins with the law. His bisexuality became known and created more personal and career problems.

boblipton It seems as if the late 1940s was a time when every aging Hollywood pretty-boy star from the 1930s was trying to revitalize his career by film noir. MILLION DOLLAR WEEKEND was Gene Raymond's attempt. He not only starred and co-produced, he directed it, and DP Paul Ivanov offers some noir touches almost immediately: when Raymond is confirming his airplane reservation, the desk clerk sits in a room well shadowed by Venetian blinds.Raymond leaves his brokerage office and takes that plane. First to Honolulu, for a brief stopover while waiting for his flight to Shanghai. On the way, however, he is waylaid by Osa Massen. She is being blackmailed by a smarmy Francis Lederer, who also steals Raymond's briefcase. This leads them back to San Francisco (where else for a film noir?) and revelations.Despite the film noir touches, for most of its length, it doesn't fit so neatly into the category. Mostly, it seems a tired retread, in which we are forced to guess what is going on, because everyone is keeping secrets. Then, just before the hour mark, Raymond and Massen tell each other what is going on, their hopes and failures, and it's clear that Mr. Raymond was not just another pretty face, but an actual actor.The movie didn't do well at the box office. It was released by Eagle-Lion, still working its way out of its PRC roots, and film noir was a drug on the market in 1948, even with topnotch talent at the height of its fame. Even so, it's a worthy addition to the genre, if only for that one scene, of two actors talking to each other about their human frailties.

XhcnoirX One evening company executive Gene Raymond decides to start a new life, with the company's money. He takes all the money & stock papers he can from his office safe and boards a plane to Honolulu, where he will switch to a plane to Shanghai. On the plane he meets recent widow Osa Massen (credited as Stephanie Paull), who is being stalked by family friend Francis Lederer who tries to blackmail her, as he claims he saw her kill her husband. Massen tries to use Raymond to get Lederer off her back, but it only leads to more trouble when Lederer steals Raymond's suitcase with the money & papers and heads to San Francisco, just as Raymond decides his boring life is exciting enough after all. Despite what IMDb thinks, this movie is pretty far removed from film noir. It has a few elements with the dissatisfied, stealing protagonist and the blackmailer, as well as a potentially murderous widow, but it doesn't amount to much to be honest. The movie is fairly bland, things stay predictable and straight-forward, and while it does entertain decently enough, the ending is as predictable as they get. Actor Gene Raymond went all out on this one, as he also co-wrote the story (with the producer) and directed it. He is pretty solid here, as are Massen and slimy Lederer. If only Raymond's writing and directing was more exciting. Heck, even veteran cinematographer Paul Ivano ('Black Angel', 'The Shanghai Gesture', 'The Suspect') doesn't excite here with only a few shadowy scenes. A missed opportunity, there was potential here. Enjoyable in parts (and Raymond and Massen work well together) but not noir enough to earn a recommendation. 6/10

Rob Cochran MILLION DOLLAR WEEKEND (1948) Stockbroker Gene Raymond embezzles $1 million from his company on a Friday and flees to Shanghai via plane. En route he encounters Frenchman Francis Lederer who is attempting to blackmail Patricia Shay, who has been accused of murdering her husband; the embezzler soon finds himself falling in love with her. Unfortunately, he's so preoccupied with her that he doesn't see the extortionist running off with his briefcase full of loot until it's too late. Following the crook back to San Francisco, he hopes to recover the cash before his boss discovers it missing come Monday morning. Produced and directed by lead actor Raymond (the mastermind head crook in PLUNDER ROAD) with a screenplay by Charles S. Belden (DOUBLE DEAL, THE STRANGE MR. GREGORY, BULLET SCARS, TEAR GAS SQUAD).