If I Had a Million (1932)
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79% of users liked it
(46 ratings)
Based on a story by Robert Andrews, If I Had a Million is a multipart comedy-drama employing Paramount's top directorial and acting talents. Refusing to leave his fortune to his grasping relatives, dying millionaire Richard Bennett selects several people at random from the phone book and bestows… More Based on a story by Robert Andrews, If I Had a Million is a multipart comedy-drama employing Paramount's top directorial and acting talents. Refusing to leave his fortune to his grasping relatives, dying millionaire Richard Bennett selects several people at random from the phone book and bestows upon each of them a check for one million dollars. The first recipient is henpecked husband Charlie Ruggles, who cheerily enters his former place of employment, a china shop, and smashes every bit of crockery in the place. Prostitute Wynne Gibson uses her money to escape from her sordid lifestyle and finally sleep in a bed all by herself. Forger George Raft finds that he can't convince anyone that his check is genuine, and ends up handing the check to a flophouse manager--who promptly burns it. Husband and wife W.C. Fields and Alison Skipworth, dismayed that their new car has been destroyed by a "road hog," utilize part of their million dollars to purchase a fleet of cars and then smash up every road hog in sight! Convicted murderer Gene Raymond hopes that his million will help finance a new trial, but the execution is carried out on schedule. Newly rich clerk Charles Laughton calmly makes his way through a series of offices, reaches his boss' desk, and delivers a loud Bronx cheer. Gary Cooper, Roscoe Karns and Jack Oakie play three brawling marines who think the check's a joke and sign it over to an illiterate lunch-counter owner. The last million-dollar recipient is May Robson, an elderly woman confined to a dismal nursing home. She spends her money to turn the home into a joyful resort for old people, forcing the formerly repressive nursing-home staffers to earn their paychecks by sitting all day in rocking chairs. The millionaire who started the plot rolling is given a new lease on life by May Robson's example, and he recovers from his "fatal" illness. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- James Cruze, H. Bruce Humberstone
- Genres
- Drama, Comedy
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Jan 1, 1932 Wide
Critic Reviews
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Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
With eight directors and 17 credited writers, the results aren't exactly uniform, but they work more often than not.
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Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena
Como a maioria das antologias, o filme é irregular, merecendo destaque as histórias protagonizadas por Fields, Raft e Robson.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
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Cast
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Gary Cooper
as Steven Gallagher
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Charles Laughton
as The Clerk
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W.C. Fields
as Rollo La Rue
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Charlie Ruggles
as Henry Peabody
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George Raft
as Eddie Jackson
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Jack Oakie
as Mulligan
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Frances Dee
as Mary Wallace
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Alison Skipworth
as Emily (Katerina) La Rue
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Mary Boland
as Mrs. Peabody
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Roscoe Karns
as O'Brien
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May Robson
as Mrs. Mary Walker
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Gene Raymond
as John Wallace
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Lucien Littlefield
as Zeb
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Richard Bennett
as John Glidden
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Hooper Atchley
as Hotel Desk Clerk
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Irving Bacon
as Chinaware Salesman
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Reginald Barlow
as Glidden Employee
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Harry C. Bradley
as Bank Guard
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James P. Burtis
as Jailer
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James Bush
as Teller
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Berton Churchill
as Warden
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Wallis Clark
as Mr. Monroe
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Joyce Compton
as Marie
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Cecil Cunningham
as Agnes
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Lester Dorr
as Pedestrian
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Bess Flowers
as Customer
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Blanche Frederici
as Head Nurse at Old Ladies' Home
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Wynne Gibson
as Violet Smith
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Frank S. Hagney
as Mike Carnival Tough
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Samuel S. Hinds
as Attorney
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Robert E. Homans
as Detective
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Lew Kelly
as Prison Attendant
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Fred Kelsey
as Doctor
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Lydia Knott
as Idylwood Resident
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Margaret Mann
as Idylwood Resident
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Charles McMurphy
as Mike Bank Guard
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Grant Mitchell
as Prison Priest
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William V. Mong
as Harry the Fence
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Clarence Muse
as Prisoner
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Gail Patrick
as Secretary
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Walter Percival
as Carnival Attendant
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Russell Powell
as Bartender
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Tom Ricketts
as Elderly Man
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Willard Robertson
as Doctor
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Dewey Robinson
as Cook at Old Ladies' Home
- John St. Polis
- Fred Santley
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Sid Saylor
as Driver
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Rolfe Sedan
as Salesman
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Margaret Seddon
as Mrs. Small
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Edwin Stanley
as Mr. Galloway
- Larry Steers
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Kent Taylor
as Bank Clerk
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Ernest Truex
as Mr. Brown
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Morgan Wallace
as Mike a Mobster
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Fred Holmes
as Store Clerk
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Marc Lawrence I
as Hoodlum
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Jack Pennick
as Sailor
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Herbert Moulton
as Glidden Employee
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Eddie Baker
as Desk Clerk
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Robert Burns
as Marine Sergeant
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Emma Tansey
as Idylwood Resident
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Tom Kennedy
as Officer
