50 Million Frenchmen (1931)

Independently wealthy American Jack Forbes has just arrived in Paris. Because of his wealth, he can have any woman on his arms. Currently that role is filled by Marcelle Dubrey, but Jack ... See full summary »

Director:

Lloyd Bacon

Writers:

Herbert Fields (based on the play by), E. Ray Goetz (based on the play by),

Stars:

Ole Olsen, Chic Johnson, William Gaxton

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Ole Olsen	...	Simon Johanssen (as Olsen)
Chic Johnson	...	Peter Swanson (as Johnson)
William Gaxton	...	Jack Forbes
Helen Broderick	...	Violet
John Halliday	...	Michael Cummins
Claudia Dell	...	Lu Lu Carroll
Lester Crawford	...	Billy Baxter
Evalyn Knapp	...	Miss Wheeler-Smith
Charles Judels	...	Pernasse - Hotel Manager
Carmelita Geraghty	...	Marcelle Dubrey
Vera Gordon	...	Jewish Tourist's Wife
Nat Carr	...	Jewish Tourist

Storyline

Independently wealthy American Jack Forbes has just arrived in Paris. Because of his wealth, he can have any woman on his arms. Currently that role is filled by Marcelle Dubrey, but Jack ditches her when he spots the woman of his dreams. When Jack tells his equally wealthy friend Michael Cummins that he will marry that mystery woman, Michael, upon learning that that woman is Lu Lu Carroll who he too has been trying to court, bets Jack $50,000 that he can't give up all his money and get engaged to her within two weeks. Jack accepts the bet as Mike strips him of his money. Jack has to try and meet and woo her all without doing anything with her that requires money, all the while trying to hide the fact that he has no money as he tries to earn some using whatever limited job skills he has at hand. Meanwhile, Mike hires a couple of American detectives, Simon Johanssen and Peter Swanson, to tail Jack to ensure that he keeps to the rules of the bet, but also to thwart Jack's attempts with ...

---

Plot Keywords:

hotel | detective | horse racing | false accusation | chick | 

---

Genres:

Comedy | Romance

---

Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French German

Release Date:

14 February 1931 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros, Vitaphone Corporation, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

74 min 70 min (Turner library print) 74 min (copyright length)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was completed in 1930, but not released until 1931, after most of the songs had been removed.

---

Connections

Version of Paree, Paree (1934)

---

Soundtracks

"La Marseillaise"
(1792) (uncredited)
Written by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle
In the score at the mention of "shores of France"

User Reviews

Olsen & Johnson's 50 Million Frenchmen was a better movie of theirs for me than the last one of Ghost Catchers I saw a few months ago

This is the second of the Ole Olsen & Chic Johnson movies I've seen after Ghost Catchers last October. They're a bit funnier here and Johnson's constant laugh does get a bit irritating though not so much that I didn't find it funny again at the end. This was originally a musical with Cole Porter songs but by the time this was adapted for the screen, the vogue for movie musicals had cooled a bit and wouldn't become popular again until 42nd Street a couple years later so only an Olsen & Johnson number is all that's left of the songs though some instrumental versions of those tunes serve as the underscore. Like I said, the team are quite hilarious here especially when they disguise themselves as magicians after stealing the real one-Bela Lugosi's-clothes! By the way, this came out the same day as Lugosi's Dracula so it wouldn't be long before the Hungarian actor became a household name. So on that note, 50 Million Frenchmen is worth a look for fans of movie comedy and of the comedy team.