''Miss Brewster's Millions'' is a 1926 American silent

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

produced by

Famous Players–Lasky The Famous Players–Lasky Corporation was an American motion picture and distribution company formed on June 28, 1916, from the merger of Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Companyoriginally formed by Zukor as Famous Players in Famous Playsan ...

and distributed by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

Clarence G. Badger Clarence G. Badger (June 9, 1880 – June 17, 1964) was an American film director of feature films in the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s. His films include '' It'' and ''Red Hair'', more than a dozen features and shorts starring Will Rogers, and two feat ...

directed and the ever-popular

Bebe Daniels Phyllis Virginia "Bebe" () Daniels (January 14, 1901 – March 16, 1971) was an American actress, singer, dancer, writer, and producer. She began her career in Hollywood during the silent film era as a child actress, became a star in musicals s ...

starred. It was based on the 1902 novel by

George Barr McCutcheon George Barr McCutcheon (July 26, 1866 – October 23, 1928) was an American novelist and playwright. His best known works include a series of novels set in Graustark, a fictional East European country, and the novel ''Brewster's Millions'', w ...

and a 1906 play adaptation of the same name by

Winchell Smith Winchell Smith (5 April 1871 – 10 June 1933) was an American playwright, known for big hit works such as ''Brewster's Millions'' (1906) and '' Lightnin' '' (1918). Many of his plays were made into movies. He spent freely but left a large fortun ...

and Byron Ongley, which had been filmed before in 1921 with

Roscoe Arbuckle Roscoe Conkling "Fatty" Arbuckle (; March 24, 1887 – June 29, 1933) was an American silent film actor, director, and screenwriter. He started at the Selig Polyscope Company and eventually moved to Keystone Studios, where he worked with Mabel ...

Plot

Polly Brewster, a penniless Hollywood extra, inherits one million dollars from her recently deceased father. However, young lawyer Tom Hancock informs her that she cannot spend the money but must invest it. Her Uncle Ned Brewster arrives and in revenge for indignities his brother made him suffer, he offers Polly his entire fortune of $5 million on the condition that she spend the inherited million within 30 days or less. Polly gleefully sets about investing, gives a great ball and fashion show, and runs down a man with her car and has him sue for a large sum. When the deadline arrives, Uncle Ned proves to be penniless; there is no $5 million to be inherited. However, Polly finds that her investment in a motion picture company has yielded a handsome return, and she finds happiness with Tom.

Cast

as Polly Brewster *

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 Thomas B. Hancock Jr. *

Ford Sterling Ford Sterling (born George Stitch; November 3, 1883 – October 13, 1939) was an American comedian and actor best known for his work with Keystone Studios. One of the 'Big 4', he was the original chief of the Keystone Cops. Early years Sterli ...

as Ned Brewster *

André de Beranger George Beranger (27 March 1893 – 8 March 1973), was an Australian-born silent film actor, director and film writer in New York and Cinema of the United States, Hollywood.Naturalization Records of the U.S. District Court for the Southern Di ...

as Mr. Brent *Miss Beresford as Landlady

Preservation status

''Miss Brewster's Millions'' is now considered a

lost film A lost film is a feature film, feature or short film in which the original negative or copies are not known to exist in any studio archive, private collection, or public archive. Films can be wholly or partially lost for a number of reasons. ...

.The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

Retrieved November 18, 2022.

References

External links

*
Progressive Silent Film List: ''Miss Brewster's Millions''
at silentera.com
Lobby poster
American silent feature films Lost American comedy films Films directed by Clarence G. Badger American films based on plays Films based on American novels Films based on adaptations American black-and-white films Films based on Brewster's Millions Films based on multiple works 1926 comedy films 1926 lost films English-language comedy films Silent American comedy films 1920s American films 1920s English-language films {{1920s-US-silent-comedy-film-stub