Les millions de Brewster

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!

Dennis O'Keefe in a field day romp in Brewster's Millions.

He becomes an instant millionaire through inheritance but in order to get the full $8 million, he must spend $1 million by age 30, which is in 2 months.

He is not permitted to tell anyone why he is spending money as if there is no tomorrow. Naturally, his love-life will be adversely affected.

Of course, when this occurs, O'Keefe gets that Midas Touch. Everything and everyone he touches yields a gold-mine.

As his butler, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson has lots of fun here and you can see that he is enjoying himself..

The film co-stars Helen Walker as his befuddled girlfriend and there is a nice turn by June Havoc, as a flashy Broadway show-girl, caught up in this mayhem.

The picture succeeds because of the fine performance of O'Keefe who has the part of the suddenly wealthy ex-G.I. down to a science. We feel his emotions of joy, frustration and comic desires.

Hook these folks up to a generator and there's enough high energy to light up a city. It's the nutty premise, of course, that carries the movie. Brewster (O'Keefe) must squander a million in order to inherit seven. Trouble is that he can't seem to squander it fast enough— the money comes back faster than it goes out. What a predicament, as the audience wonders what they would do in his place.

It's the wacky idea of giving money a negative value that's so engaging. It's like the economic counterpart to disbelief in religion, and we see that in the astonished reactions to Brewster's unorthodox behavior. After all, in a monetary economy money amounts to something of a secular god. So, simply getting rid of it heedlessly looks not only like an act of disbelief, but also of rank insanity. The comedic set-ups flow from this central idea, as time grows short and Brewster grows increasingly frantic.

Too bad O'Keefe has been largely forgotten. Though not front-rank, he's quite good at working himself into a humorous lather. Those two uninhibited farces Getting Gertie's Garter (1945) and Up in Mabel's Room (1944) are also lots of fun thanks to both O'Keefe and director Dwan who has a real feel for the material. Hard to think of better wartime escape than this trio of films. Then there's the lovely, star-crossed Helen Walker whose "upside- down" eyes look like no other actress of the period. No wonder Brewster thinks she's worth a million.

The movie's been made a number of times, but never better than here. The fact that all three Dwan comedies were produced by the independent Ed Small Productions likely accounts for their relative obscurity. Too bad because each stands as a talent showcase for its lead star and comedy director, and is still a lot of fun. Especially the one here since last time I checked, we're still in a money economy and Brewster still looks amusingly loony.

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.

Home from service in World War II, business-minded Dennis O'Keefe (as Montague "Monty" Brewster) wants to marry curvy blonde sweetheart Helen Walker (as Peggy Gray) right away. The couple has clearly waited long enough. However, a lawyer arrives with news that postpones the nuptials and Mr. O'Keefe's longed-for honeymoon. He has inherited one million dollars from his anthropologist uncle - but there are stipulations. O'Keefe must spend the million in two months to obtain the real prize - seven million dollars. He must not reveal the will's million-dollar detail to anyone, including Ms. Walker. His deceased uncle believes O'Keefe should "learn to hate spending money." O'Keefe thinks spending the million will be a "cinch," but you know otherwise...

"Brewster's Millions" is a fun, fast-paced version of the classic story...

By speed-reading the lead performance, O'Keefe and director Allan Dwan help make it more believable; if you stopped to catch your breath, you would likely think of some better ways to spend the million. This also distracts from the fact that the self-described "poor" couple already look like millionaires - they are beautifully-dressed, live in what looks like a mansion and are waited on by loyal Eddie "Rochester" Anderson (as Jackson). By the way, Mr. Anderson infuses his role with more dignity than expected. Another obvious strength is Mr. Dwan giving the old stage play an almost three-dimensional quality. Observe, for example how Dwan introduces Anderson through a soapy window. And throughout the film, Dwan uses his sets, cameras and players exceptionally well.

******** Brewster's Millions (4/7/45) Allan Dwan ~ Dennis O'Keefe, Helen Walker, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, June Havoc