Kid Millions (1934)

A musical comedy about a Brooklyn boy (Eddie Cantor) who inherits a fortune from his archaeologist father, but has to go to Egypt to claim it.

Directors:

Roy Del Ruth, Willy Pogany (uncredited)

Writers:

Arthur Sheekman (original story and screen play), Nat Perrin (original story and screen play)

Stars:

Eddie Cantor, Ann Sothern, Ethel Merman

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Eddie Cantor	...	Eddie Wilson Jr.
Ann Sothern	...	Joan Larrabee
Ethel Merman	...	Dot Clark
George Murphy	...	Jerry Lane
Berton Churchill	...	Col. Harrison Larrabee (as Burton Churchill)
Warren Hymer	...	Louie the Lug
Paul Harvey	...	Shiek Mulhulla
Jesse Block	...	Ben Ali
Eva Sully	...	Princess Fanya
Otto Hoffman	...	Khoot
Stanley Fields	...	Oscar Wilson
Edgar Kennedy	...	Herman Wilson
Jack Kennedy	...	Pop Wilson
John Kelly	...	Adolph Wilson
Doris Davenport	...	Nora aka 'Toots'

Storyline

A musical comedy about a Brooklyn boy (Eddie Cantor) who inherits a fortune from his archaeologist father, but has to go to Egypt to claim it.

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Plot Keywords:

character name as title | nickname as title | egypt | color sequence | black and white segues into color | 

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Taglines:

HE HAD PLENTY OF DOLLARS AND NO SENSE! (original print ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 November 1934 (USA)

Also Known As:

Abafando a Banca

Filming Locations:

Calabasas, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Samuel Goldwyn Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Wide Range Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Color (3-strip Technicolor) Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The music of I Want to Be a Minstrel Man, sung by Harold Nicholas and chorus girls (Lucille Ball is clearly visible at 39:10 for a few seconds), was reused by composer Burton Lane in Royal Wedding (1951) as You're All the World to Me, where Astaire dances on the floor, walls and ceiling.

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Quotes

Eddie Wilson Jr.: I wonder what the doctor said to your father when you were born.
Princess Fanya: Why bring that up?
Eddie Wilson Jr.: That's just what I thought.

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Connections

References Caravan (1934)

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Soundtracks

Ice Cream Fantasy
(1934) (uncredited)
Music by Walter Donaldson and Alfred Newman
Lyrics by Gus Kahn
Performed by Ethel Merman, Eddie Cantor, Doris Davenport, Warren Hymer and chorus

User Reviews

Eddie Eyes The Prize

A goodhearted New York barge boy becomes KID MILLIONS after inheriting an Egyptian treasure.

Comedian Eddie Cantor has a wonderful time, prancing through this lavish, nonsensical musical comedy while entertaining the viewers with his abundant high spirits. Don't expect the plot to make any sense--it doesn't--but just enjoy the laughs and the songs as Cantor and his costars present quite a romp.

The film enjoys quality production values, both in the shipboard scenes and in the Egyptian sequence which follows. Midway through the film the cast presents a minstrel show, complete with Eddie in blackface, which strays a bit into racial stereotyping but also offers an excellent venue for the young Nicholas Brothers' fancy terpsichorean footwork. (The choreographed numbers cry out for a Busby Berkeley in control, but they are still competent and even include Irving Berlin's rousing ‘Mandy.') The joyous finale erupts into Technicolor as Eddie shares the delights of his new ice cream factory with the audience.

A bold & brassy Ethel Merman, belting out both songs & dialogue, gives Cantor a real run for his money as to who will dominate the picture. The scene in which she convinces him that she's actually his long-lost mother, although younger than he, is hilarious. She's after Eddie's treasure, and so is her luggish boyfriend, Warren Hymer, who would rather kill than kiss his new ‘nephew.' Blustery Berton Churchill plays a Dixie colonel who also wants to appropriate the fortune; his lovely niece, Ann Sothern, yearns to merely appropriate Eddie's honest assistant, good guy George Murphy. Strangely, the plot completely abandons Churchill, Sothern & Murphy in a most precarious situation, leaving their fate a mystery. It also quickly dumps the rowdy bullies, including Stanley Fields & Edgar Kennedy, we met early in the proceedings.

While Paul Harvey, as a greedy Sheik, is given rather lackluster dialogue, zany Eve Sully, as his wacky Princess, proves a worthy match for Eddie. Wizened Otto Hoffman, made up to look like Gandhi, provides some funny moments as the royal advisor. Pretty Doris Davenport makes the most of her short screen time as Cantor's girlfriend.

Movie mavens should have no difficulty in spotting various OUR GANG members, including Matthew ‘Stymie' Beard and bad boys Leonard Kibrick & Tommy Bond, as barge kids, as well as Clarence Muse as a ship's steward and Lucille Ball as one of the chorus girls--all uncredited.