Je veux un millionnaire

Richard Carlson has been one of my favorites since my childhood, but I don't recall ever seeing him so loose, so allowed to shine and sparkle as he does in "A Millionaire for Christy."

Fred MacMurray and Eleanor Parker are terrific as a somewhat pompous radio performer and a somewhat dizzy attorney's assistant who is sent to tell the former he has inherited money.

Her friend and office mate, and romance encourager, is played, wonderfully (of course), by Una Merkel, who by herself makes a movie more than watchable.

As silly as the story's premise might seem, when one watches this movie, one realizes it's plausible enough. More important, there are lots of likable or at least watchable people to overcome any script flaws.

It's light entertainment, well directed, filled with good actors, including Lane Chandler, uncredited and with only one line (but he has a good and recognizable voice), but above all, it gives Richard Carlson a chance to break loose and show the world what a talent he was.

There does not seem to be much logic in A Millionaire for Christy. The main problem one has with Eleanor Parker's character Christobel is that only ten minutes into the film, she is already feigning all sorts of maladies to attract Fred MacMurray's character. Funny? Perhaps. Does it make sense? Not really.

If there had been better character development, maybe with a montage, where we had seen Eleanor Parker's character go through a series of disastrous dates-- then, we just might be able to buy into some of her predicament. But as it is, she gets to California and looks up MacMurray and then throws herself at him like a lunatic would.

The second half of the film is almost like a different movie. The setting has changed (from Los Angeles to La Jolla). It leaves the viewer feeling that A Millionaire for Christy is an uneven film that had a lot of potential.

After some highly dramatic items like The Detective Story and Caged, Eleanor Parker got to strut her comic self in A Millionaire For Christy. She certainly had the talent for comedy, but in that genre she's best in Many Rivers To Cross.

Parker plays a secretary in Douglass Dumbrille's law firm and she gets a cross country assignment. Travel from NY to LA and inform Fred MacMurray that he's inherited two million dollars. With a little advice from co-worker Una Merkel, Parker decides to set her cap for him if he's not a total beast.

MacMurray is considerably more than that. He sounds like the replacement for Clifton Webb as Waldo Lydecker from Laura before he got all enamored with the title character and paid dearly. He's got a radio program like Webb and he's called the sunshine man. Only problem is that he's getting married to Kay Buckley the same day.

After Parker breaks up the wedding quite hilariously things get wilder and crazier. Do I have to say what happens to both of them?

A Millionaire For Christy is a nice, but vain attempt to recapture the spirit of the screwball comedies of the Thirties. Public tastes had changed post World War II and the movie-going audience wanted some more serious fare. Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn were doing more serious type work, in the Thirties they owned this kind of film.

Richard Carlson plays MacMurray's best man and rival for Kay Buckley. He turns in a droll performance trying to turn MacMurray's situation to his best advantage. He's a psychiatrist, but with a few drinks in him he's crazier than whom he treats. I wish we saw a lot more of Una Merkel in the film as well.

A Millionaire For Christy is amusing, but a throwback from another era.

George Marshall's 1951 'A Millionaire For Christy' is an enjoyable, fast-paced 1930's style screwball comedy starring Fred MacMurray and Eleanor Parker.

Eleanor Parker is marvelous as a gold-digging secretary out to snag a rich husband. I'm so used to seeing her in demanding, heavy dramatic roles, so it's was a pleasure seeing her be light and funny and very appealing as the screwball heroine. And Fred MacMurray, always so underrated, is an old pro at comedy performances, having played this kind of role many times before opposite Carole Lombard, Claudette Colbert and others. His likeable masculinity is a perfect match for the beautiful and feminine Parker, and when the comedy slows down for their love scenes, they're very sexy and romantic together.

No classic, but an enjoyable comedy, especially for fans of the two underrated stars.

Sometimes going back for a fun-filled romp in one of those old situation-comedies, is just the tonic for an otherwise uneventful day. This film is one of those "feel-good" movies that used to abound back in the early Fifties. Fred MacMurray has always been adept at handling light comedy, and Eleanor Parker shows a humorous side that a lot of you will be impressed by. The plot is zany, but it's a "good" craziness that permeates this film. I found myself giggling aloud at some of the passages, and even tried to teach the couple how to speak Spanish. (You'll see what I mean when you watch the movie).

It's in black and white, but it's so entertaining, you won't miss the splash of color. It also introduces and old love standard, which is not featured, but playing in the background in a lot of the scenes. The song is, "I don't stand a ghost of a chance with you".

Get comfortable...click the remote, and travel back to when "real" people had "real" fun.....oh yes, there IS a love story here as well.