Beg, Borrow or Steal

Frank Morgan, American expatriate, writes home to his estranged wife and daughter that he is a Riviera millionaire. In fact, he's a sort of wily tourist guide who is not above assisting certain associates in shady art deals that help him pay the rent.

So imagine Morgan's surprise and chagrin when his engaged daughter's prospective in-laws accept his invitation to hold the wedding at his château! Always the con man, he quickly borrows a château from a wealthy friend, figuring the wedding party will surely come and go home before anyone catches on. –Yes, it's a classic case of What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

The first third of this picture is amusing but a bit slow—it's a long setup, and we get the feeling that we have a pretty good idea exactly where the story is going. It gets livelier, however, and less predictable too—the plot does contain surprises, and it all develops into a very sweet movie featuring not only Morgan but a wild range of supporting characters, all of them nutty and all delightfully acted.

John Beal and Florence Rice are charming and beautiful as the romantic leads. Beal is the actual château owner posing as the caretaker as a favor to his friend Morgan; Rice is the American daughter who may be marrying the wrong man. Herman Bing, Reginald Denny and Vladimir Sokoloff are among the large and varied cast of Morgan's buddies posing as nobility. E.E. Clive steals scenes as a genuine nobleman presumed to be another impostor.

A plot that squeezes in some surprises, plenty of amusing dialog, and lots and lots of great character actors….After this picture picks up steam toward the midpoint, it's both cute and funny.

Con-artist Ingraham Steward (Frank Morgan) invites his estranged daughter to Europe to be married in his non-existent chateau on the French Rivera. Much to his chagrin, she accepts. As 'false identity' comedies go, this one is pretty good. Morgan is excellent as the father trying to make good on his offer and an early 'reveal' makes the whole farce a little less implausible. The funniest characters in the film are Ingraham's clique of 'international' conmen (posing as various Counts, Lords, etc) and the scene where they solemnly enter the chateau accompanied by 'culturally appropriate' music is hilarious. Other highlights are the scenes in which a real Lord (E.E. Clive) arrives at the chateau, only to be mistaken for another grifter and given instructions on how to behave in a Lordly fashion. As betrothed daughter Joyce, Florence Rice is fine and as soon as we meet her stiff, bland fiancée Horace (Tom Rutherford) we know that true love must await in France. The last-minute resolution to her romantic dilemma is deftly handled and the film ends exactly as expected - happily. Good fun from another era.

Pre -world war II film (for the U.S., anyway). Frank Morgan made a bunch of fun, light, caper films in the 1930s and 1940s; this one was just a couple years before The Wizard! When a young couple gets married, they end up taking up her dad's offer to hold the wedding at his fancy chateau in europe. the only trouble is, dad doesn't HAVE a chateau. and is quite the fraud. with the guests on the way, he needs to find a chateau pronto! it turns out Dad is only lying when his mouth is open. the more he talks, the deeper the trouble. the kids' marriage itself is secondary to Dad's antics. a typical Frank Morgan adventure. perfect training for playing the Wizard of Oz! come along for the wild ride. he gets everyone into trouble... can he get them back out? Directed by Bill Thiele. had started in germany but had to leave with hitler coming to power. in the US, he was a proponent of Dorothy Lamour, who was a huge hit, and she made a bunch of films with Bob and Bing! good silly fun, if you go along for the ride.

Frank Morgan is a charming rogue living in France. To "get by," he and his pals - the nicest rogues' gallery ever assembled - gamble (and cheat), scam a bit (at anything they can) and sell forged art (that they make).

It has a Tarantino feel without the menace as Morgan and his crew discuss their "business" and life problems as if being low-level crooks was just like any other line of work. Even amongst themselves, they lightly try to scam each other as, despite being true friends, it's just what they do. Their odd camaraderie is one of the most enjoyable parts of the movie.

When Morgan learns his daughter in America, Florence Rice (who looks a lot like 1990s star Bridget Fonda),is getting married, he boastfully offers up his non-existent chateau for her wedding assuming she'd never take him up on it. She does and it's all romcom hijinx, contretemps and cover-ups from there. Morgan scams the use of a chateau for a week and the wedding party is on.

The fun in this one is Morgan as a bubbling grifter with a kind heart who steals a bit to get by sans avarice and malice. Heck, you know he'd give, without hesitation, the proceeds from a forged-art sale, or his last dollar, to a buddy in need.

When he sees his daughter is engaged to a passionless man she respects but doesn't love, he quietly promotes her budding romance with the chateau's true owner who is a genuinely nice guy. You can guess the outcome from there.

Beg, Borrow or Steal is cute and silly with enough good scenes and lines to keep you entertained for its seventy-minute runtime, just like a good old-style TV show.

Who doesn't love the classic story of Apple Annie, the poor woman who tries to be a high-class lady so she doesn't embarrass her daughter? That story keeps getting remade, but if you're in the mood for a twist, check out Beg, Borrow or Steal. In this one, the Apple Annie is Apple Andy: a man who has to pretend he's wealthy to impress his daughter and her fiancé. Frank Morgan stars as the bumbling, irresponsible pauper, who makes his meager living gambling and writes home to his daughter that he's rich and lives in a castle. His daughter, Florence Rice, gets the idea of getting married at her father's palace, so he has to scrounge around and figure out how to continue to fool her.

This is a really cute movie, so if you're a Frank Morgan fan, you've got to check it out. He's his usual adorable, bumbling self who means well but constantly messes things up. If you like cute comedies about people trying to keep a secret, you'll probably like this one. I thought it was very funny, since it's not as silly as a screwball comedy but is still light and fluffy.