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With: Gary Cooper, Charles Laughton, George Raft, Jack Oakie, Richard Bennett, Charles Ruggles, Alison Skipworth, W.C. Fields, Mary Boland, Roscoe Karns, May Robson
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Written by: Claude Binyon, Whitney Bolton, Malcolm Stuart Boylan, John Bright, Sidney Buchman, Lester Cole, Isabel Dawn, Boyce DeGaw, Oliver H.P. Garrett, Harvey Gates, Ernst Lubitsch, Lawton Mackall, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, William Slavens McNutt, Robert Sparks, based on a story by Robert D. Andrews
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Directed by: Ernst Lubitsch, Norman Taurog, Stephen Roberts, Norman Z. McLeod, James Cruze, William A. Seiter, H. Bruce Humberstone
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MPAA Rating: NR
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Running Time: 88
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Date: 12/02/1932
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If I Had a Million (1932)
Bucks in a Row
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
This pre-code anthology movie is way more interesting than it sounded, offering a poignant mix of O. Henry-type stories that are, by turns, funny, devastating, and poignant. Even the masterful Ernst Lubitsch is here with a very short, almost wordless segment starring Charles Laughton. Dying millionaire John Glidden (a hilarious Richard Bennett) decides he doesn't want to leave his money to either his workers or his family ("relatives," he scoffs... "Did you see 'em, roostin' down there like a lot of vultures?"). So he decides to choose random names from the phone book and leave each of them one million dollars.
This leads to goofy situations, such as the man who works in a china shop whose pay is continually docked for breaking things, being able to take his revenge. And there are tragic situations, such as the man who is on Death Row thinking the money will buy him freedom, or the forger who finds himself unable to even cash the valuable check. W.C. Fields stars in another great segment, involving automobiles and "road hogs" and (again) revenge. Gary Cooper plays one of three Marines, who squabble over which one of them gets to take a local girl on a date, not knowing that the check (it's April Fool's Day) is actually real. The last segment, about an old folks' home, starring May Robson, is the poignant one, leaving things off with a feel-good heart.
The fine 2023 Blu-ray release by Kino Lorber includes a commentary track by filmmaker Allan Arkush and film historian Daniel Kremer, plus a batch of trailers.
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