Doubtful Dollars (film #455 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Public Service]

In this 40s government film, the head of a ring of counterfitters, who has an outrageously stereotyped gangster voice, passes a gives a bunch of phony money to his minions, who are only shown from the waist down. Then those same minions are shown from the waist up, blandly passing the fake dough in stores and other businesses, usually by buying something really cheap and paying for it with a big (and fake) bill. You keep expecting one of the store clerks to get wise, but they never do. Then a guy from the Secret Service tells us how to spot fake money, and we get to see a bit of interesting factory tour footage of dollar bills being made at the mint. Unfortunately, the film is incomplete. This film is quite campy and fun for the most part, though the part about spotting errors in fake money drags a bit.

Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.