La chasse aux millions

This has a worthwhile story idea, plus Cary Grant in one of his earlier starring roles, and it has some good scenes. There are a number of other, better movies made in the 1930s that were based on similar ideas, but this one is a solid feature. The main thing that keeps it from being better is that the story and script do not always make the best use of their opportunities. As a result, there are some sequences that take up screen time that could have been used for something better, while some potentially fine moments are under-emphasized.

Grant plays a wealthy young man who has become jaded and spoiled by the company of other well-to-do idlers, and who sets out on a challenge to learn how to work for a living. This setup lends itself to a lot of good material, and the best moments are Grant's interactions with other everyday persons who don't know who he is.

Within a very short time after this was filmed, Grant became one of the best actors around at handling this kind of material, and he was then able to make this kind of story work even when it wasn't particularly well-written. Here, there are a number of times when his developing flair shows through, but he wasn't quite experienced enough yet to carry the whole load, so there are some sequences that lack the spark that they needed in order to keep moving. It makes the movie somewhat uneven, still worth seeing if you like the era and genre, but otherwise unremarkable.

This inter-war comedy-drama is centred on Ernest Bliss; he is a millionaire but still isn't happy. A friend advises him to see Sir James Aldroyd, a Harley Street consultant. Sir James tells Bliss that the problem boredom; he has so much money he doesn't need to do anything. The two end up making a bet; Bliss must live for a year without touching his financial reserves; if he loses he must pat £50,000, if he wins he gets an apology. He leaves his expensive flat in the hands of his butler the catches a tube to the East End with only five pounds in his wallet.

He struggles to get a job but eventually gets one at a struggling business but after using some of his own money to help the company he moves on so he can't be seen as benefitting from his wealth. He later gets a job working as a chauffeur but keeps in touch with the secretary from his former job. They develop a relationship but will she settle down with a man she thinks is almost penniless?

The story is simple enough but works nicely. The protagonist may be rich but the message to viewers, few of whom could aspire to his wealth, is that money doesn't buy happiness; that it is better to be poor and happy then rich and bored... not too subtle but not as patronising as it could be. Gary Grant does a fine job as Bliss and Mary Brian is likeable as his romantic interest, Frances. There are a couple of entertaining if not entirely necessary subplots; one involving a pair of crooks who think Bliss is merely somebody who looks like him and try to recruit him to rob himself and second involving an employee who is trying to take advantage of Frances. Overall this isn't a classic but it is fun enough, especially if you are a fan of Cary Grant or 1930s British cinema.

These comments are based on watching the shortened version of the film; I must say it did feel a bit rushed at times so it would be interesting to compare it to the full length version.

The year 1936 marks the end of Cary Grant's long apprenticeship. Filmographies differ as to the precise order of the films he released in this period, so this film -- the only one he made in Britain in the '30's -- makes a convenient watershed. Of his films released that year, this one is probably the weakest.

Cary at this point has his mature mannerisms, but he still lacks the sparkle. Moviegoers would have to wait another year. He really comes into his own in 1937 with "The Toast of New York", "Topper", and "The Awful Truth" in particular.

This film's plot follows the conventional Depression formula of a man of affluence temporarily renouncing his wealth in order to become a man of the people, with predictable results.

Cary Grant had a tough young life in Bristol so maybe some of this films story reminded him. Pity the version I saw was not the full 80 minutes it would have been better to judge rather than this 61 minute version which seems a bit rushed at the end when regrettably Mary Brian forgot her English accent and it became a bit 'stagy' - a pity because the supporting actors did a good job I thought. Cary Grant was capable of good dramatic rolls though rarely got them and in this film he wasn't able to show his ability enough. I'm glad; however this film was made in England rather than America as it did add something to the authenticity of the few exteriors and general atmosphere of the story.

I love movies like this because they are as close to time travel as we'll ever come. I've just read Cary Grant: A Biography by Marc Eliot, and to be able to see this movie after reading about it and what was going on in his life at the time is just wonderful.

The movie itself--well, it's tough to judge objectively when movies have changed so much in the intervening years. No car chases, no explosions, no body count--there aren't even any sound effects in the big fist-fight scene, just quiet little thuds instead of the "crack" "pow" "bam" noises we're used to hearing as fist hits chin. A quiet movie. A simple Aesop's fable of human values and the importance of meaningful work, starring an astonishingly beautiful man. Definitely worth watching.