Brewster's Millions

Monty Brewster (Dennis O'Keefe) arrives home from WWII, ready to marry his beautiful fiancée (Helen Walker), when he learns that he has inherited eight million dollars from an eccentric uncle. There's a catch in the will, however. Monty must spend one million dollars in two months, and have nothing to show for it, in order to inherit the rest of the money. He also can't tell anyone about the terms of the will and he must postpone his wedding until after he has completed his task. Naturally, this leads to all sorts of chaos and has Monty's fiancée and friends thinking he has lost his mind.

One of Dennis O'Keefe's best roles. It's a very funny and likable screwball comedy with a solid cast, including the always fun Eddie "Rochester" Anderson. The plot's about as contrived as it gets so I recommend you put your inner critic to bed before watching.

Hook these folks up to a generator and there's enough high energy to light up a city. It's the nutty premise, of course, that carries the movie. Brewster (O'Keefe) must squander a million in order to inherit seven. Trouble is that he can't seem to squander it fast enough— the money comes back faster than it goes out. What a predicament, as the audience wonders what they would do in his place.

It's the wacky idea of giving money a negative value that's so engaging. It's like the economic counterpart to disbelief in religion, and we see that in the astonished reactions to Brewster's unorthodox behavior. After all, in a monetary economy money amounts to something of a secular god. So, simply getting rid of it heedlessly looks not only like an act of disbelief, but also of rank insanity. The comedic set-ups flow from this central idea, as time grows short and Brewster grows increasingly frantic.

Too bad O'Keefe has been largely forgotten. Though not front-rank, he's quite good at working himself into a humorous lather. Those two uninhibited farces Getting Gertie's Garter (1945) and Up in Mabel's Room (1944) are also lots of fun thanks to both O'Keefe and director Dwan who has a real feel for the material. Hard to think of better wartime escape than this trio of films. Then there's the lovely, star-crossed Helen Walker whose "upside- down" eyes look like no other actress of the period. No wonder Brewster thinks she's worth a million.

The movie's been made a number of times, but never better than here. The fact that all three Dwan comedies were produced by the independent Ed Small Productions likely accounts for their relative obscurity. Too bad because each stands as a talent showcase for its lead star and comedy director, and is still a lot of fun. Especially the one here since last time I checked, we're still in a money economy and Brewster still looks amusingly loony.

Ever since 1902 when the novel was first written and a play debuting on Broadway in the same decade, Brewster's Millions has had an enduring popularity that will never change. Who would not want to be in Montgomery Brewster's shoes and be given a chance to inherit a fortune and all you have to do is spend a small fortune to make it happen.

In this case returning war veteran Dennis O'Keefe is given said opportunity with certain restrictions. After all it would be no fun to just write a check for a million dollars to charity. No, he has to invest some of it, spend some of it, hire people at extravagant salaries, stuff like that.

But in this case O'Keefe proves to have a Midas touch. Everything he touches including the biggest losers turns into money makers. His war buddies Joe Sawyer and Herbert Rudley along for the ride think he's flipped his lid. So do the women in his life Helen Walker and Gail Patrick, not to mention showgirl June Havoc whom he backs in a flop show, but still winds out on top. Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder should have learned that secret.

Whether he makes it or not is for you to watch the film for and which girl he winds up with. Mischa Auer is also around as a ham actor from Havoc's show and so is Eddie Anderson just transferring his Rochester character to a different employer than Jack Benny.

I'm sure most people are familiar with Richard Pryor's 1985 version, but O'Keefe's version stand on its own measure and it measures well.

Unfortunately, mention of the film title today always stops with Richard Pryor. While the Peoria comedian deserves mention, his 1985 film is not the definitive version. You have to go back to 1945 to pick up the Dennis O'Keefe rendition. It's wild and wacky, silly enough to amuse but also throws a spotlight on Hollywood's special ability to let one escape from the real world for an hour or two. Good luck finding it!

Home from service in World War II, business-minded Dennis O'Keefe (as Montague "Monty" Brewster) wants to marry curvy blonde sweetheart Helen Walker (as Peggy Gray) right away. The couple has clearly waited long enough. However, a lawyer arrives with news that postpones the nuptials and Mr. O'Keefe's longed-for honeymoon. He has inherited one million dollars from his anthropologist uncle - but there are stipulations. O'Keefe must spend the million in two months to obtain the real prize - seven million dollars. He must not reveal the will's million-dollar detail to anyone, including Ms. Walker. His deceased uncle believes O'Keefe should "learn to hate spending money." O'Keefe thinks spending the million will be a "cinch," but you know otherwise...

"Brewster's Millions" is a fun, fast-paced version of the classic story...

By speed-reading the lead performance, O'Keefe and director Allan Dwan help make it more believable; if you stopped to catch your breath, you would likely think of some better ways to spend the million. This also distracts from the fact that the self-described "poor" couple already look like millionaires - they are beautifully-dressed, live in what looks like a mansion and are waited on by loyal Eddie "Rochester" Anderson (as Jackson). By the way, Mr. Anderson infuses his role with more dignity than expected. Another obvious strength is Mr. Dwan giving the old stage play an almost three-dimensional quality. Observe, for example how Dwan introduces Anderson through a soapy window. And throughout the film, Dwan uses his sets, cameras and players exceptionally well.

******** Brewster's Millions (4/7/45) Allan Dwan ~ Dennis O'Keefe, Helen Walker, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, June Havoc