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Working class dad Riley (Lon Chaney jr) finds a five Dollar note
missing from the cream jar he has put it into, and after questioning his
wife Peg (Rosemary DeCamp) and daughter Barb (Barbara Logan), he somehow
comes to the hasty conclusion that his son Junior (Lanny Rees) must have
taken it, and wants to punish him without letting him even state his case.
But without giving away too much, things of course take a turn that makes
Riley look slightly stupid before the end ... Even if it
doesn't hold too many surprises and gives away things way too soon, this
is actually a fun early sitcom, thanks to decent writing and also to a
powerful central performance by Lon Chaney jr - given, at times he
overacts, but somehow that fits the role quite nicely, and overall he
comes across as a very likeable loser. Of course, when Life of Riley was
actually extended into a series, he was replaced by Jackie Gleason (and
Barbara Logan by Gloria Winters for that matter).
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