Million Dollar Legs (1932)
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100% of users liked it
(83 ratings)
"Klopstokia: A Far-Away Country. Chief Exports: Goats and Nuts. Chief Imports: Goats and Nuts. Chief Inhabitants: Goats and Nuts." This introductory title ushers in Million Dollar Legs, one of the zaniest comedies ever to emerge from a major studio. W.C. Fields stars as the president of… More "Klopstokia: A Far-Away Country. Chief Exports: Goats and Nuts. Chief Imports: Goats and Nuts. Chief Inhabitants: Goats and Nuts." This introductory title ushers in Million Dollar Legs, one of the zaniest comedies ever to emerge from a major studio. W.C. Fields stars as the president of Klopstokia, who will hold on to his office so long as he can best the secretary of the treasury (Hugh Herbert) in their daily arm-wrestling contests. Like most of the Depression-era world, Klopstokia is broke, forcing the government to take drastic measures to raise money. Fortunately, everyone in the country is a super-athlete, inspiring visiting Fuller Brush salesman Migg Tweeney (Jack Oakie) to come up with a brilliant idea: Klopstokia will enter the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles. Alas, the subversive cabinet members, hoping to overthrow the president, plot to undermine the Klopstokian athletic team with the aid of sexy seductress Mata Machree (Lyda Roberti), "the woman no man can resist." Words can hardly describe the nonstop parade of gags and verbal insanity in Million Dollar Legs: Ben Turpin, playing a cloaked-and-caped spy, pops in and out with neither rhyme nor reason; the conspirators' outdoor hideout is incongruously equipped with hydraulic lifts and elevators; Mata Machree's butler informs the villains that "Madame can only be resisted from 2 to 4,"; and, when asked why all the Klopstokian men are named George and the women named Angela, the president's daughter (Susan Fleming, later the wife of Harpo Marx), replies "Why not?" then launches into the national anthem -- a double-talk version of "One Hour With You." Among the writers were Joseph L. Mankiewicz and Henry Myers, who were also responsible for the wacky Wheeler andWoolsey political satire Diplomaniacs. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Edward F. Cline
- Written By
- Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Henry Myers
- Genres
- Sports & Fitness, Classics, Comedy
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Jul 8, 1932 Wide
- Studio
- Paramount Pictures
Critic Reviews
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Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
One very off-the-wall movie that never for a moment bothers to make a great deal of sense.
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
It's loaded with sight gags, slapstick and physical humor.
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Cast
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Jack Oakie
as Migg Tweeny American brush salesman
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W.C. Fields
as President of Klopstokia
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Andy Clyde
as Major-Domo
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Lyda Roberti
as Mata Machree
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Susan Fleming
as Angela
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Ben Turpin
as Mysterious Man
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Hugh Herbert
as Secretary of the Treasury
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George Barbier
as Mr. Baldwin
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Dickie Moore
as Willie Angela's brother
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Ernie S. Adams
as Contestant
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Sam Adams
as Secretary of State
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Irving Bacon
as Secretary of the Navy
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Hobart Bosworth
as Olympics Official Starter
- Al Bridge
- Herman Brix
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Tyler Brooke
as Olympics Announcer
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Chick Collins
as Jumper
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Charles "Heinie" Conklin
as Spy in Cape
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Edgar Dearing
as Train Official
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Vernon Dent
as Secretary of Agriculture
- Bobby Dunn
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Eddie Dunn
as Coachman
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Billy Engle
as Klopstokian Athlete
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Herbert Evans
as Butler
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Billy Gilbert
as Secretary of the Interior
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Teddy Hart
as Secretary of War
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Lew Kelly
as Conductor
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Hank Mann
as Custom's Inspector
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Sid Saylor
as Starter at the Games
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Ben Taggart
as Ship's Captain
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Don Wilson
as Stationmaster
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John Sinclair
as Secretary of Labor
- Eddie Baker
- Charlie Hall
