If I Had a Million was the granddaddy of later films that strung together little vignettes and drew all-star casts for box office appeal. This one has a pretty clever impetus in the plot: A dying millionaire doesn't want to leave his money to his family, so he picks out eight random people out of a telephone book and gives a million dollars to each of them. Each of the eight handles their check differently, most with tragic consequences but some with smart decisions. The overall lesson is that money changes people and most people don't know what to do with it. In the midst of the Great Depression, it was a very smart lesson to espouse. People in the audience could go home and dream about what they'd do with their million dollars, and then when they remembered they weren't getting a check from a mysterious benefactor they could relax and say, "The folks in the movie weren't any better off with the money."George Raft, Gary Cooper, W.C. Fields, Charles Ruggles, Richard Bennet, Mary Boland, Jack Oakie, Charles Laughton, May Robson, and Alison Skipworth make up the cast, but this collection of short stories isn't very good. Mostly it's depressing and cynical, so unless you're in the mood to watch something like that, you're better off renting O. Henry's Full House.

I approached this movie with optimism, having read several glowing reviews. However, I came away disappointed. The main plot involves an eccentric - and bad-tempered - millionaire who is so dissatisfied with his relatives and work associates that, rather than will his money to any of them, he decides to give it away in million-dollar amounts to strangers picked from the city directory.The remainder of the movie is made up of 8 short stories involving each of the recipients. The problem that I have with the movie is that, with the exception of the final story, the recipients are a group of lowlife persons who simply waste the money. Charlie Ruggles plays a henpecked husband and a meek and clumsy china salesman who uses his fortune smashing up his employer's china shop out of spite, knowing that he can afford to pay for the damage. Wynne Gibson (strangely uncredited) plays a prostitute who uses the money to book into the best room in a swank hotel. George Raft plays a forger who is unable to cash the check because the law is after him and therefore it becomes worthless. Alison Skipworth and W C Fields play two ex-vaudevilleans who hate road hogs and spend their fortune on a fleet of cars for the sole purpose of causing road crashes. An uncredited actor plays a condemned man who cannot use his check to save himself. In a bizarre, wordless piece, Charles Laughton plays a clerk who travels through a series of doors for the sole purpose of blowing a raspberry to his employer. In a more entertaining piece Gary Cooper, Jack Oakie and Roscoe Karns play boisterous marines who spend more time in the guard house than on the parade ground and who dismiss the check as an April Fools prank and sign it away for $10 cash. None of these stories appears to have any redemptive value and I was left with the impression that the money would have been no worse spent on the millionaire's relatives and employees.The final - and longest - story redeemed the movie to a small degree. May Robson plays a dissatisfied and oppressed inmate of an old ladies' home. She at least puts her money to a good cause to improve her lot and that of her fellow inmates.Her good fortune and good heart has a flow-on effect on the millionaire, who at the beginning of the film could "go at any time." Throughout the movie, as he delivers the checks personally, he seems quite well and hearty enough and by the end of the movie he looks as though he could live forever, even though he still acts like a cranky old buffoon towards his employees.The final story of the movie is heart-warming but whether it is enough to warrant sitting through the other stories is in the eye of the beholder. For me, it wasn't quite enough.

I wanted to see this movie for a couple of decades after I first heard about it, but none of the TV stations in my area ever aired it, and (despite its cult) it has never been released on video or DVD. Thank goodness for Turner Classic Movies, which aired this recently.Was it worth the wait? Yes it was. Certainly, the movie isn't perfect - there are several episodes that seem a bit too close to their themes. Two segments concern criminals who can't cash their checks, and there are two segments about cowed individuals who get revenge against their bosses once they get their checks. But there's a lot more positive to say about the movie. ALL the episodes are entertaining, the best being the W. C. Fields episode (hilarious even though you'll think of modern day and deadly road rage while watching it.) And enough of the segments concern people getting what they have desired to get for a long time - you'll really relate to them.Come on, Universal, release this on DVD!

What a terrific 1932 film! Paramount's expensive depression comedy drama is one of the very best films made in the '30s and both a poignant and hilarious look at life in 1932 America. If you saw 42ND STREET and American MADNESS and perhaps THE KID FROM SPAIN all made the same year, you would have possibly the definitive early 30s films that allow as full a view of emotions and community as could be found. The cast is astonishing.. all the Paramount A- level stars, 8 of the best directors and 8 truly inspired vignettes present a balanced view of ordinary people 'winning a million dollars'... and their next move. My personal favorite was the prostitute who just wanted a good night's sleep, unmolested, and in a clean bed. The production values are huge, massive sets and elaborate scenes, especially the short one with Charles Laughton... the attention to detail and the fully realized settings are indicative of a very expensive film. All 8 scenes are terrific, not a slouch among them, and the final sequence in the old ladies home is particularly touching. George Raft's con man sequence and Gene Raymond's electric chair scenes are real eyeopeners given the irony involved. IF I HAD A MILLION is a film to find and celebrate. How amazing to have seen this in a 3000 seat cinema in 1932! imagine the cheering from the audience in the comedy scenes! What a crowd pleaser. In Australia this film ran prime time Saturday night 8.30pm on Nationwide free to air TV, such is its treasured reputation. It scored a ratings hit. True! check The TV guides here for ABC2 Saturday night Nov 1st 2009 if you do not believe me.