''Miss Tatlock's Millions'' is an American

screwball comedy Screwball comedy is a subgenre of the romantic comedy genre that became popular during the Great Depression, beginning in the early 1930s and thriving until the early 1940s, that satirizes the traditional love story. It has secondary characteristi ...

film directed by

Richard Haydn Richard Haydn (born George Richard Haydon, 10 March 1905 – 25 April 1985) was a British-American comedy actor. Some of his better known performances include his roles as Professor Oddley in '' Ball of Fire'' (1941), Roger in '' No Time for Lo ...

in 1948.

Plot

Movie stuntman Tim Burke is offered $1000 for a couple of days of work by Denno Noonan. Noonan was the "social secretary" for the mentally incompetent orphan Schuyler Tatlock. Schuyler's wealthy relations shipped him off to Hawaii to get him out of the way and paid Noonan very well to watch over him. However, Noonan got drunk two years ago, and when he returned home, he discovered that Schuyler had found some matches, started a fire and was burned to a crisp. Noonan has not bothered to notify his family, liking his big monthly paycheck. However, he has received a telegram telling him to bring Schuyler home for the reading of his grandparents' will. Noonan hires lookalike Tim to impersonate Schuyler. Tim dyes his hair and affects the voice and mannerisms of Schuyler the best he can. Everyone is fooled, including Schuyler's younger sister Nan, the only member of the family happy to see him. Practically the entire fortune, about $6 million, goes to Schuyler. Miles, Gifford and Cassie, his greedy uncles and aunt, scheme to be named his trustees. Miles and Gifford team up and offer Cassie a deal for her support: a $100,000 annual allowance for Nan, which Cassie will control. Cassie, worried about what would happen when Nan turns 21 or gets married, insists that Nan marry her son Nicky. Tim overhears the entire scheme. At his mother's urging, playboy Nicky starts romancing Nan, who is not immune to his charms. Tim becomes jealous and does his best to interfere, so Cassie has him locked in his room. Tim falls through a greenhouse roof after escaping out the window and is knocked unconscious. Groggy, he speaks rationally in the presence of Nan and Nicky. Nan, recalling that Schuyler's irrationality was caused by a childhood blow to the head, hopes that a second blow may have cured him. Dr. Mason allows that it is possible, so Tim decides to remain lucid. Tim falls in love with Nan, who gets more than she bargained for when she kisses him to show him the difference between brotherly and romantic love. Then Cassie discovers the truth. She insists that Tim keep up the impersonation, as the inheritance would otherwise go to a charity. After two years, Nan would come of age, and Schuyler could have a staged death. Cassie is confident that Nan would provide for her relations and agrees to drop the idea of Nan's marriage to her son. Noonan tells Nan that Schuyler had lucid periods before, but has always relapsed, and that Schuyler feels his rationality slipping away again. The two men head to Hawaii. Fortunately, Noonan produces the real Schuyler, who is very much alive and married to a native Hawaiian named Kamamamalua. The authorities finally caught up with him after a long string of

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wate ...

s. Nan and Tim are reunited.

Cast

* John Lund as Tim Burke *

Wanda Hendrix Dixie Wanda Hendrix (November 3, 1928 – February 1, 1981) was an American film and television actress. Early life Hendrix's father was a logging foreman, and she was born in Jacksonville, Florida. She was performing in a school play in Ja ...

as Nan Tatlock *

Barry Fitzgerald William Joseph Shields (10 March 1888 – 14 January 1961), known professionally as Barry Fitzgerald, was an Irish stage, film and television actor. In a career spanning almost forty years, he appeared in such notable films as '' Bringing Up B ...

as Denno Noonan *

Monty Woolley Edgar Montilion "Monty" Woolley (August 17, 1888May 6, 1963) was an American film and theater actor.Obituary ''Variety'', May 8, 1963, page 223. At the age of 50, he achieved a measure of stardom for his role in the 1939 stage play ''The Man Wh ...

as Miles Tatlock *

Robert Stack Robert Stack (born Charles Langford Modini Stack; January 13, 1919 – May 14, 2003) was an American actor. Known for his deep voice and commanding presence, he appeared in over forty feature films. He starred in the highly successful ABC tele ...

as Nicky Van Alen * Ilka Chase as Cassie Van Alen *

Dorothy Stickney Dorothy Stickney (June 21, 1896 – June 2, 1998) was an American film, stage and television actress, best known for appearing in the long running Broadway hit '' Life with Father''. Early years Stickney was born in Dickinson, North Dakota, bu ...

as Emily Tatlock * Elizabeth Patterson as Cora * Leif Erickson as Dr. Mason *

Dan Tobin Daniel Malloy Tobin (October 19, 1910 – November 26, 1982) was an American supporting actor on the stage, in films and on television. He generally played gentle, urbane, rather fussy, sometimes obsequious and shifty characters, often with a c ...

as Gifford Tatlock *

Hilo Hattie Hilo Hattie (born Clarissa Haili, October 28, 1901 – December 12, 1979) was a Hawaiian singer, hula dancer, actress and comedian of Native Hawaiian ancestry. Early life and career Hattie was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. She loved to dance the hu ...

as Kamamamalua *

as Fergel (as Richard Rancyd)

Production

Paramount bought film rights to the play prior to publication.

Reception

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

panned the movie, writing that "Lunacy in a family is not a particularly funny thing, nor does it seem fitting and tasteful as a matter to be treated as farce." Brog of ''Variety'' wrote that ''Miss Tatlock's Millions'' "adds up to okay entertainment with a load of chuckles spring up from the broad farcing style Richard Haydn has used for his first screen directing stint ..John Lund and Wanda Hendrix team brightly in the principal roles and film receives major assists from Barry Fitzgerald, Monty Woolley, Ilka Chase and others". A ''Boxoffice'' review called the film a "fast, furious, and frenzied farce designed to keep audiences in a constant uproar ..the comedy ranges from subtlety to slapstick and the dull moments are few and far between despite a somewhat lengthy running time"."Feature Reviews Exploitips: Miss Tatlock's Millions". ''Boxoffice''. Sep 18, 1948. P. A15. Via Proquest.

References

External links

* * {{tcmdb title, 83617 1948 films 1948 romantic comedy films American romantic comedy films American screwball comedy films Films scored by Victor Young Films based on works by Jacques Deval American films based on plays Films produced by Charles Brackett Paramount Pictures films Films with screenplays by Charles Brackett 1940s screwball comedy films American black-and-white films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films