Brewster's Millions
Encyclopedia
Brewster's Millions is a novel
written by George Barr McCutcheon
in 1902, originally under the pseudonym of Richard Greaves. It was adapted into a play in 1906, which opened at the New Amsterdam Theatre
, and the novel or play has been made into a film
nine times (including twice in India).
one million dollars from his rich grandfather. Shortly after, a rich and eccentric uncle who hated his grandfather also passes away. The uncle will leave Brewster with seven million dollars, but only under the condition that he keeps none of the grandfather's money. (The reason for this hatred was that Montgomery's grandfather didn't approve the marriage of Monty's parents and harshly defamed the Sedgwick family (the one Monty's mother came from), something Monty's uncle never forgave) To inherit the seven million dollars, Brewster is required to spend every penny of his grandfather's million within one year, and end up with no assets or goods gained by his grandfather's wealth at that time. Should he make the deadline, he will earn the full seven million; should he fail, he remains penniless.
Brewster's challenge is compounded by the fact that his attempts to lose money through stock speculation and roulette prove to increase his funds rather than decrease them. Lampooned by the press as a spendthrift, he throws large parties and balls and charters a cruise lasting several months to Europe and Egypt for his large circle of friends and employees. Nonetheless, despite his loose pursestrings, Monty repeatedly demonstrates a strong moral character. At one point, he uses his funds to bail out a bank to save his landlady's account, despite risking his eligibility for the will. At another, he jumps overboard to save a drowning sailor from his cruise even as his rich friends choose not to.
Monty's would-be wife Barbara Drew turns down his marriage proposal early in the year, believing him to be financially irresponsible and bound to a life of poverty, and his attempts to win her back repeatedly fail as Monty's attention is entirely absorbed by the requirement to spend so much money. At the conclusion of the year, Monty succeeds in spending the last of his funds, which he has meticulously documented, and confesses his love to another woman, Peggy Gray, who has been sympathetic to his lifestyle despite knowing nothing about his challenge. Tragedy strikes the night before Monty's deadline, as his lawyers inform him that the executor of his uncle's will has vanished after liquidating all of the assets. Monty convinces himself that he is doomed to poverty, but marries Peggy Gray, who accepts him despite the lack of wealth. Shortly after the wedding, the executor of his uncle's will arrives to inform him that he has successfully met the challenge and that he had simply come to deliver the money to Monty in person.
December 31, 1906. The play was later adapted into a musical, Zip Goes a Million
.
episode "Punky's Millions", Punky Brewster
(the surname is likely to be a coincidence since the character not only predates the episode but predates the whole series as well) is on a TV show trying to win money for charity. In order to win the forty-million-dollar prize, she must spend one million dollars. To make sure the money wouldn't be quickly spent on something expensive enough (For example, a villa like one of Punky's friends suggested), there's a rule stating the money can't be used to buy anything for more than ten thousand dollars. When the deadline ended, Punky and her friends lost because one of her friends, Allen, forgot to spend the ninety-eight cents he got as change when he bought chocolate. Fortunately, one of the dollars was spent on a lottery ticket and our heroes won one hundred thousand dollars, thus saving the orphanage.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
written by George Barr McCutcheon
George Barr McCutcheon
George Barr McCutcheon was an American popular novelist and playwright. His best known works include the series of novels set in Graustark, a fictional East European country, Brewster's Millions, a play and several films....
in 1902, originally under the pseudonym of Richard Greaves. It was adapted into a play in 1906, which opened at the New Amsterdam Theatre
New Amsterdam Theatre
The New Amsterdam Theatre is a Broadway theater located at 214 West 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in the Theatre District of Manhattan, New York City, off of Times Square...
, and the novel or play has been made into a film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
nine times (including twice in India).
Plot introduction
The novel's story revolves around Montgomery Brewster, a young man who inheritsInheritance
Inheritance is the practice of passing on property, titles, debts, rights and obligations upon the death of an individual. It has long played an important role in human societies...
one million dollars from his rich grandfather. Shortly after, a rich and eccentric uncle who hated his grandfather also passes away. The uncle will leave Brewster with seven million dollars, but only under the condition that he keeps none of the grandfather's money. (The reason for this hatred was that Montgomery's grandfather didn't approve the marriage of Monty's parents and harshly defamed the Sedgwick family (the one Monty's mother came from), something Monty's uncle never forgave) To inherit the seven million dollars, Brewster is required to spend every penny of his grandfather's million within one year, and end up with no assets or goods gained by his grandfather's wealth at that time. Should he make the deadline, he will earn the full seven million; should he fail, he remains penniless.
Plot summary
Monty Brewster finds that spending so much money within the course of a year is incredibly difficult, especially with the strict conditions imposed by the executor of his uncle's will. Brewster is required to demonstrate business sense by obtaining good value for the money he spends, limiting his donations to charity, his losses to gambling, and the value of his tips to waiters and cab drivers. Moreover, Brewster is sworn to secrecy, and cannot tell anyone why he is living to excess. Working against him are his well-meaning friends, who try repeatedly to limit his losses and extravagance even as they share in his luxurious lifestyle.Brewster's challenge is compounded by the fact that his attempts to lose money through stock speculation and roulette prove to increase his funds rather than decrease them. Lampooned by the press as a spendthrift, he throws large parties and balls and charters a cruise lasting several months to Europe and Egypt for his large circle of friends and employees. Nonetheless, despite his loose pursestrings, Monty repeatedly demonstrates a strong moral character. At one point, he uses his funds to bail out a bank to save his landlady's account, despite risking his eligibility for the will. At another, he jumps overboard to save a drowning sailor from his cruise even as his rich friends choose not to.
Monty's would-be wife Barbara Drew turns down his marriage proposal early in the year, believing him to be financially irresponsible and bound to a life of poverty, and his attempts to win her back repeatedly fail as Monty's attention is entirely absorbed by the requirement to spend so much money. At the conclusion of the year, Monty succeeds in spending the last of his funds, which he has meticulously documented, and confesses his love to another woman, Peggy Gray, who has been sympathetic to his lifestyle despite knowing nothing about his challenge. Tragedy strikes the night before Monty's deadline, as his lawyers inform him that the executor of his uncle's will has vanished after liquidating all of the assets. Monty convinces himself that he is doomed to poverty, but marries Peggy Gray, who accepts him despite the lack of wealth. Shortly after the wedding, the executor of his uncle's will arrives to inform him that he has successfully met the challenge and that he had simply come to deliver the money to Monty in person.
Play adaptation
The novel was adapted into a Broadway play by Winchell Smith and Byron Ongley. The play débuted at the New Amsterdam TheatreNew Amsterdam Theatre
The New Amsterdam Theatre is a Broadway theater located at 214 West 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in the Theatre District of Manhattan, New York City, off of Times Square...
December 31, 1906. The play was later adapted into a musical, Zip Goes a Million
Zip Goes a Million
Zip Goes a Million is a musical with a book and lyrics by Eric Maschwitz and music by George Posford, based on the 1902 novel Brewster's Millions. It premiered in London in 1951, starring George Formby, and ran for 544 performances.-Synopsis:Act I...
.
Film versions
The novel Brewster's Millions has been adapted into many films:| Title | Year | Director | Brewster | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brewster's Millions Brewster's Millions (1914 film) Brewster's Millions is a 1914 comedy film directed by Oscar Apfel and Cecil B. DeMille. It's an adaptation of the novel written by George Barr McCutcheon. The novel had also been turned into a successful 1906 Broadway play that also starred Edward Abeles... |
1914 | Cecil B. DeMille Cecil B. DeMille Cecil Blount DeMille was an American film director and Academy Award-winning film producer in both silent and sound films. He was renowned for the flamboyance and showmanship of his movies... and Oscar Apfel Oscar Apfel Oscar C. Apfel was an American film actor, director, screenwriter and producer. He appeared in 167 films between 1913 and 1939, and also directed 94 films between 1911 and 1927.-Biography:... |
Edward Abeles Edward Abeles Edward Abeles was an American actor. He appeared in 8 films between 1914 and 1918. Prior to joining Famous Players-Lasky, he was actually one of the founding members, he had a lengthy stage career behind him.He was born in St... |
Based on the play. Considered a lost film Lost film A lost film is a feature film or short film that is no longer known to exist in studio archives, private collections or public archives such as the Library of Congress, where at least one copy of all American films are deposited and catalogued for copyright reasons... . |
| Brewster's Millions Brewster's Millions (1921 film) Brewster's Millions is a 1921 comedy film starring Fatty Arbuckle. It is an adaptation of the novel written by George Barr McCutcheon.-Cast:* Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle - Monte Brewster* Betty Ross Clarke - Peggy* Fred Huntley - Mr. Brewster... |
1921 | Joseph Henabery Joseph Henabery Joseph Henabery Omaha, Nebraska, was a US film actor, screenplay writer, and director.-Career:Henabery's acting career began in The Joke on Yellentown . Henabery appeared in the D. W. Griffith silent film Birth of a Nation as Abraham Lincoln... |
Roscoe Arbuckle | Screenplay by Walter Woods Walter Woods Walter Woods was an American screenwriter of the silent era. He wrote for 76 films between 1915 and 1938... , based on the play. |
| Miss Brewster's Millions | 1926 | Clarence G. Badger Clarence G. Badger Clarence G. Badger was an American film director of feature films in the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s. His most noteworthy films include It, starring Clara Bow, more than a dozen features and shorts starring Will Rogers, and two features starring Raymond Griffith, Paths to Paradise and Hands... |
Bebe Daniels Bebe Daniels Bebe Daniels was an American actress, singer, dancer, writer and producer. She began her career in Hollywood during the silent movie era as a child actress, became a star in musicals like 42nd Street, and later gained further fame on radio and television in Britain... |
Screenplay by Monte Brice, Lloyd Corrigan Lloyd Corrigan Lloyd Corrigan was an American film actor, producer, screenwriter and director who began working in films in the 1920s... and Harold Shumate Harold Shumate Harold Shumate was an American screenwriter. He wrote for 100 films between 1917 and 1954.He was born in Austin, Texas and died in Ventura County, California.-Selected filmography:* Hitchin' Posts... , based on the play. |
| Brewster's Millions Brewster's Millions (1935 film) Brewster's Millions is a 1935 British musical comedy film directed by Thornton Freeland and starring Jack Buchanan, Lili Damita and Nancy O'Neil... |
1935 | Thornton Freeland Thornton Freeland Thornton Freeland was an American film director who directed 26 British and American films in a career that lasted from 1924 to 1949. He was born in Hope, North Dakota in 1898 and originally worked as an assistant director. In 1929 he directed his first film Three Live Ghosts. He was married to... |
Jack Buchanan Jack Buchanan Walter John "Jack" Buchanan was a British theatre and film actor, singer, producer and director. He was known for three decades as the embodiment of the debonair man-about-town in the tradition of George Grossmith Jr., and was described by The Times as "the last of the knuts." He is best known in... |
Screenplay by Douglas Furber Douglas Furber Douglas Furber was a British lyricist and playwright.Furber is best known for the lyrics to the 1937 song The Lambeth Walk and the libretto to the musical Me and My Girl, composed by Noel Gay, from which it came. This show made broadcasting history when in 1939 it became the first full length... and Paul Gangelin. UK version where Brewster has to spend 500,000 pound sterling Pound sterling The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence... in 60 days to inherit £6 million. |
| Brewster's Millions Brewster's Millions (1945 film) Brewster's Millions is one of a number of adaptations of the novel of the same name by George Barr McCutcheon. An ex-serviceman, played by Dennis O'Keefe, receives an unusual inheritance.... |
1945 | Allan Dwan Allan Dwan Allan Dwan was a pioneering Canadian-born American motion picture director, producer and screenwriter.-Early life:... |
Dennis O'Keefe Dennis O'Keefe Dennis O'Keefe was an American actor. Born as Edward Vance Flanagan he was the son of Irish vaudevillians working in the United States... |
Screenplay by Sig Herzig Sig Herzig Sig Herzig was an American screenwriter and playwright.Born Siegfried Maurice Herzig in New York City, Herzig began his career as the director of the comedy short Husband and Strife , but he switched gears to create plot lines for more than three dozen silent films... and Wilkie C. Mahoney. Brewster has to spend one million dollars in 60 days or less to inherit $7 million. |
| Vaddante Dabbu | 1954 | H.M. Reddy | Taraka Rama Rao Nandamuri | This is a Telugu Telugu language Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu... movie. |
| Three on a Spree Three on a Spree Three on a Spree is a 1961 British comedy film directed by Sidney J. Furie.-Cast:* Jack Watling as Michael Brewster* Carole Lesley as Susan* Renee Houston as Mrs. Gray* John Slater as Sid Johnson* Colin Gordon as Mitchell* John Salew as Mr... |
1961 | Sidney J. Furie Sidney J. Furie Sidney J. Furie is a Canadian film director. Furie is perhaps best known for directing American Soldiers, The IPCRESS File, The Entity, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, Lady Sings the Blues, The Boys, Gable and Lombard, Sheila Levine Is Dead and Living in New York and the Iron Eagle films.Also... |
Jack Watling Jack Watling Jack Watling was a British actor.-Early life:Watling trained at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts as a child and made his stage debut in Where the Rainbow Ends at the Holborn Empire in 1936... |
Screenplay by Sig Herzig and James Kelley James Kelley James R. Kelly is a judge of the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court. He was a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate from 1973 to 1988.He attended St. Vincent College and the Columbus School of Law at Catholic University of America. He was a County Commissioner in Westmoreland County from 1968 to... |
| Brewster's Millions Brewster's Millions (1985 film) Brewster's Millions is a 1985 comedy film starring Richard Pryor and John Candy based on the 1902 novel of the same name by George Barr McCutcheon. It is the seventh film based on the story, with a screenplay by Herschel Weingrod & Timothy Harris... |
1985 | Walter Hill | Richard Pryor Richard Pryor Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor was an American stand-up comedian, actor, social critic, writer and MC. Pryor was known for uncompromising examinations of racism and topical contemporary issues, which employed colorful vulgarities, and profanity, as well as racial epithets... |
Screenplay by Herschel Weingrod Herschel Weingrod Herschel Alan Weingrod is an American screenwriter. He has written and co-written a number of Hollywood blockbusters including Twins, 1990 Arnold Schwarzenegger film Kindergarten Cop with fellow writer Murray Salem and the 1996 movie Space Jam... and Timothy Harris Timothy Harris Dr. the Hon. Timothy Sylvester Harris has been the foreign minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis since August 10, 2001. Harris grew up in the rural village of Tabernacle... . Brewster has to spend $30 million in 30 days or less to inherit $300 million. |
| Maalamaal | 1988 | Kawal Sharma Kawal Sharma Kawal Sharma is an Indian film director and producer of Bollywood. He was prominent in 1980s and 90s with many Mithun Chakraborty movies. Some of his films are Paap Ki Kamaee, Gunahon Ka Devta, Jeete Hain Shaan Se and Mar Mitenge.... |
Naseeruddin Shah Naseeruddin Shah Naseeruddin Shah is an Indian / Bollywood film actor and director. He is considered to be one of the finest actors of Indian cinema. In 2003, the Government of India honored him with the Padma Bhushan for his contributions towards Indian cinema.-Early life:... |
This Hindi Hindi Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi... -language version was released in India India India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... in 1988. The plot remains the same — spend 30 million rupees in 30 days or less to earn 300 million rupees. It is an obvious scene-by-scene 'Indianisation' of the 1985 Richard Pryor Richard Pryor Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor was an American stand-up comedian, actor, social critic, writer and MC. Pryor was known for uncompromising examinations of racism and topical contemporary issues, which employed colorful vulgarities, and profanity, as well as racial epithets... film with some additional scenes and a few musical production numbers. |
| Arunachalam Arunachalam Arunachalam is a 1997 Tamil language film starring Rajinikanth.-Plot:Rajnikanth finds himself to be an orphan. He travels from his village to Madras. There he meets Janakaraj, who gives him a job. By some magical situation, Rajni discovers himself to be a son of a dead millionaire—through Visu.... |
1997 | Rajinikanth | An Indian Tamil Tamil language Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore... film based also on the Brewster story, with significant differences from earlier versions, particularly in the first half. Many plotlines are interwoven, but the basic concept, spending 30 million rupees in 30 days to inherit 300 million, remains the same. Tamil actor Rajinikanth stars. |
TV adaptation(s)
In It's Punky BrewsterIt's Punky Brewster
It's Punky Brewster is an animated spin off of the live action television show Punky Brewster. The show was animated by Ruby-Spears Productions.-Synopsis:...
episode "Punky's Millions", Punky Brewster
Punky Brewster
Punky Brewster was an American sitcom about a girl named Punky Brewster being raised by her foster parent...
(the surname is likely to be a coincidence since the character not only predates the episode but predates the whole series as well) is on a TV show trying to win money for charity. In order to win the forty-million-dollar prize, she must spend one million dollars. To make sure the money wouldn't be quickly spent on something expensive enough (For example, a villa like one of Punky's friends suggested), there's a rule stating the money can't be used to buy anything for more than ten thousand dollars. When the deadline ended, Punky and her friends lost because one of her friends, Allen, forgot to spend the ninety-eight cents he got as change when he bought chocolate. Fortunately, one of the dollars was spent on a lottery ticket and our heroes won one hundred thousand dollars, thus saving the orphanage.
See also
- The Million Pound Bank NoteThe Million Pound Bank Note"The Million Pound Bank Note" is a short story by the American author Mark Twain.The story takes place in Edwardian London, where two very rich, eccentric brothers, Oliver and Roderick Montpelier, give the penniless story protagonist, Henry Adams, one million pound money in form of a single...
, a similar story written by Mark TwainMark TwainSamuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
.
External links
- Brewster's Millions, online at Ye Olde Library