''I'll Give a Million'' is a 1938 American romance film directed by

Walter Lang Walter Lang (August 10, 1896 – February 7, 1972) was an American film director. Early life Walter Lang was born in Tennessee. As a young man he went to New York City where he found clerical work at a film production company. The business piq ...

. It is a remake of the Italian film '' Darò un milione'' (1935).

Plot

In the south of France, wealthy American businessman Tony Newlander is fed up with life. It seems everyone is friendly with him only because of his money or influence, including his ex-wife Cecilia and his valet. While on his yacht, he spots Louie, a tramp drowning in the water. Unable to attract the crew's attention over the sound of the ship's whistle, Tony jumps in to rescue him. The yacht sails away, so Tony drags a strangely uncooperative Louie ashore. It turns out that Louie was trying to commit suicide. However, since he has been saved, he desists from trying again. Louie takes him to his shack on the beach. The next morning, the tramp discovers that Tony has taken Louie's clothes and left his tuxedo and money behind in exchange. Louie dresses up in his new finery and goes to a cafe for breakfast. The proprietor thinks he stole the money he flashes. Louie insists that an eccentric millionaire, dressed like a tramp, gave him a million francs and will do the same to anyone who is kind to him in his disguise. A reporter publishes his story, and soon everyone is being extra generous to anybody who looks down on his luck. Meanwhile, Tony encounters a mischievous chimpanzee named Darwin. Jean Hofmann, a performer at the Circus Primerose, enlists Tony to capture Darwin. The chimp indulges in a favorite pastime, setting off a fire alarm. Tony is blamed for the rash of phony alarms, taken into custody and sentenced to ten days in jail. However, after the judge reads the newspaper article, he lets Tony go. Tony flips a borrowed coin, which sends him to the circus. Jean gets Anatole Primerose, the proprietor, to give him a job as a relief night watchman. Meanwhile, tramps flood the region to take advantage of the situation. Soon there are complaints, and the newspaper editor is pressured to either produce the millionaire or retract the story. He in turn threatens to accuse Louie of murdering the millionaire and stealing his money and gives him one last chance to find the man. The police round up all the tramps in town for Louie to look over. Tony and Jean start falling in love, but to stop Max, the jealous son of the proprietor, from getting Tony fired, Jean lies (so she thinks) and tells him she is being friendly to Tony only because he is the millionaire. Unfortunately, Tony overhears her. To save himself from a possible charge of murder, Louie identifies a tramp at random as the millionaire: Kopelpeck. Disillusioned, Tony decides to end the charade and expose the imposter, but no one will believe him. In fact, he is thrown in jail for making a nuisance of himself. Jean bails him out. Then Tony discovers that Jean does not believe he is the millionaire. His identity is finally confirmed by the captain of his yacht and others. The public surrounds the police station, demanding to be compensated for their misguided efforts. To prevent a riot, Tony agrees to donate half a million to the poor and the same amount to the city, but only if Jean will marry him. She holds out for a while, but then gives in.

Cast

Warner Baxter Warner Leroy Baxter (March 29, 1889 – May 7, 1951) was an American film actor from the 1910s to the 1940s. Baxter is known for his role as the Cisco Kid in the 1928 film ''In Old Arizona'', for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor at ...

as Tony Newlander * Marjorie Weaver as Jean Hofmann *

Peter Lorre Peter Lorre (; born László Löwenstein, ; June 26, 1904 – March 23, 1964) was a Hungarian and American actor, first in Europe and later in the United States. He began his stage career in Vienna, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, before movin ...

as Louie 'The Dope' Monteau *

Jean Hersholt Jean Pierre Carl Buron (12 July 1886 – 2 June 1956), known professionally as Jean Hersholt, was a Danish-American actor. He is best known for starring on the radio series '' Dr. Christian'' (1937–1954) and in the film '' Heidi'' (1937).Obitu ...

as Victor *

John Carradine John Carradine ( ; born Richmond Reed Carradine; February 5, 1906 – November 27, 1988) was an American actor, considered one of the greatest character actors in American cinema. He was a member of Cecil B. DeMille's stock company and later ...

as Kopelpeck * J. Edward Bromberg as Editor *

Lynn Bari Lynn Bari (born Marjorie Schuyler Fisher, December 18, 1919 – November 20, 1989) was a film actress who specialized in playing sultry, statuesque man-killers in roughly 150 films for 20th Century Fox, from the early 1930s through the 1940s. ...

as Cecelia *

Fritz Feld Fritz Feld (October 15, 1900 – November 18, 1993) was a German-American film character actor who appeared in over 140 films in 72 years, both silent and sound. His trademark was to slap his mouth with the palm of his hand to create a "pop" s ...

as Max Primerose *

Sig Ruman Siegfried Carl Alban Rumann (October 11, 1884 – February 14, 1967), billed as Sig Ruman and Sig Rumann, was a German-American character actor known for his portrayals of pompous and often stereotypically Teutonic officials or villains i ...

as Anatole Primerose *

Christian Rub Christian Rub (pronounced ''Rhoob''; April 13, 1886 – April 14, 1956) was an Austrian-born American character actor. He was known for his work in films of the late 1910s to the early 1950s, and was featured in more than 100 films. Biography ...

as Commissionaire *

Paul Harvey Paul Harvey Aurandt (September 4, 1918 – February 28, 2009) was an American radio broadcaster for ABC News Radio. He broadcast ''News and Comment'' on mornings and mid-days on weekdays and at noon on Saturdays and also his famous '' The Rest ...

as Corcoran *

Charles Halton Charles Halton (March 16, 1876 – April 16, 1959) was an American character actor who appeared in over 180 films. Life and career Halton trained at the New York Academy of Dramatic Arts. He made his Broadway debut in 1901, after which he ...

as Mayor *

Frank Reicher Frank Reicher (born Franz Reicher; December 2, 1875 – January 19, 1965) was a German-born American actor, director and producer. He is best known for playing Captain Englehorn in the 1933 film ''King Kong''. Early life Reicher was born in Mu ...

as Prefect of Police * Frank Dawson as Albert *

Harry Hayden Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

as Gilman *

Stanley Andrews Stanley Andrews (born Stanley Martin Andrzejewski; August 28, 1891 – June 23, 1969) was an American actor perhaps best known as the voice of Daddy Warbucks on the radio program ''Little Orphan Annie'' and later as "The Old Ranger", the first ...

as Captain *

Lillian Porter Lillian Porter (February 24, 1917, Alameda County, California – February 1, 1997, San Bernardino, California) was an American film and television actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The act ...

as Flower Girl *

Luis Alberni Luis Alberni (October 4, 1886 – December 23, 1962) was a Spanish-born American character actor of stage and films. Early years Alberni was born in Barcelona, Spain, on October 4, 1886. He acted in stock theater for four years in Marseille ...

as Reporter *

Rafaela Ottiano Rafaela Ottiano (4 March 1888 – 15 August 1942) was an Italian-American stage and film actress. Early life Rafaela Ottiano was born in Venice, Italy. She immigrated to the United States with her parents and was processed at Ellis Island in 1 ...

as Proprietress *

Georges Renavent Georges Renavent (born Georges DeChaux, April 23, 1892 – January 2, 1969) was a French-American actor in film, Broadway plays and operator of American Grand Guignol. He was born in Paris, France. In 1914, he immigrated to the United Stat ...

as Gendarme *

Rolfe Sedan Rolfe Sedan (born Edward Sedan; January 20, 1896 – September 15, 1982) was an American character actor, best known for appearing in bit parts, often uncredited, usually portraying clerks, train conductors, postmen, cooks, waiters, etc. Ea ...

as Telegraph Clerk * Eddie Conrad as Proprietor of Pastry Shop *

Egon Brecher Egon Brecher (18 February 1880 – 12 August 1946) was an Austria-Hungary-born actor and director, who also served as the chief director of Vienna's Stadttheater, before entering the motion picture industry. Early years The son of a professor, ...

as Citizen *

Frank Puglia Francesco Giuseppe "Frank" Puglia (9 March 1892 – 25 October 1975) was an Italian-American film actor. He had small, but memorable roles in films including ''Casablanca'' (a Moroccan rug merchant), ''Now, Voyager'' and ''The Jungle Book''. ...

as Citizen *

Michael Visaroff Michael Simeon Visaroff (December 18, 1889 – February 27, 1951) was a Russian American film character actor. Biography Visaroff was born Mikhail Semenonovich Vizarov ( Russian: Михаил Семёнович Визаров) in Moscow, ...

as Citizen * Alex Novinsky as Citizen *

Armand Kaliz Armand Kali(s)z (October 23, 1882 or 1883 – February 1, 1941) was an American stage and film actor of the silent film and early sound period of the 1930s. Prior to that, he was an actor in vaudeville and on the legitimate stage. Career B ...

as Hotel Manager

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:I'll Give A Million 1938 films 1930s romance films American black-and-white films American remakes of Italian films American romance films Circus films Films directed by Walter Lang Films scored by Cyril J. Mockridge Films set on the French Riviera 20th Century Fox films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films Films based on works by Cesare Zavattini