Hilfe, ich bin Millionär

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!

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.

Dennis O'Keefe never became a top-tier star and today is mostly forgotten. It's a shame, as although he may not have had 'the look', he was quite enjoyable in gangster and light comedy films. Here, he and decent dialog manage to take a silly plot and make it worth watching.

The film begins with Monty Brewster (O'Keefe) coming back home after the war. He plans on marrying his sweetie, Peggy (Helen Walker) and settling down to a happy life. However, he soon is contacted by a lawyer. Apparently a VERY eccentric distant uncle has died and left his $8,000,000 to Monty...IF he manages to spend a million of it in two months. Supposedly it's to make him appreciate the value of money and make him sick of spending--though this makes no sense. He also cannot give much of the money to charity. In the process, a funny thing happens...the more he invests in stupid schemes, the more money he seems to make!! And, Peggy is getting sick of him because Monty is NOT allowed to divulge the crazy conditions of the will.

While the film goes a bit overboard when Monty starts acting crazy when he can't get rid of his money, it's a fun and frenetic film. Not deep or sophisticated--just funny. So, provided you can just turn off your brain and enjoy, you'll like this film very much.

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.

An archetypal fast and furious, beat-the-clock screwball comedy based on a typically offbeat idea of a returning soldier standing to inherit millions if he can spend a million dollars in two months, but not tell anyone in the process. Cue a procession of hair-brained supposedly dead-duck schemes and investments which naturally come good to thwart our hero's plans until things right themselves by the end.

The basic idea is a good one and you suspect in the hands of a Frank Capra or Preston Sturges could have been wrung for more laughs and one suspects a bit deeper social comment, this failing exposed none more so than when Brewster's overnight largess to his black servant is to offer him a lackey's job for life, just after he's thrown tens of thousands of dollars at the rest of his nearest and dearest.

For me the pacing was just too frenetic and while likable enough the lead actors lacked the personality and timing of the recognised A-list acting talent of the day. Plus, I have to say the crudely deferential treatment of said black man-servant, all loud wise-cracks and "Yass boss, no boss" dates the film horribly.

But putting that to one side, this is a rollicking, occasionally humorous and engaging Golden Age comedy, worth diverting 75 minutes of your time for.