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Spendthrift ()


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Profligate Townsend "Towny" Middleton, once the possessor of $20,000,000, becomes a "millionaire with everything but money." In order to enter his filly "Black Mamba" in the Kentucky Derby, Towny sells his polo horses. At Churchill Downs,... See more »

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Townsend Middleton
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Valerie 'Boots' O'Connell
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Sally Barnaby
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Uncle Morton Middleton
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Bill McGuire
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Popsy
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Pop O'Connell
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Col. Barnaby
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Topsy Martin
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Beuhl - the Butler
Jerry Mandy ...
Enrico
Miki Morita ...
Valet
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Hilda - the Maid
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Ransom
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
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Reporter (uncredited)
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Reporter (uncredited)
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Uncle Morton Middleton's Nurse (uncredited)
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Attorney (uncredited)
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Attorney (uncredited)
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Carlton (Polo Player) (uncredited)
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Restaurant Table Captain (uncredited)
William Ruhl ...
Radio Operator (uncredited)
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Uncle Morton Middleton's Doctor (uncredited)
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Sheriff (uncredited)
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Radio Station Executive (uncredited)
Ruth Warren ...
Eleanor - Uncle Morton Middleton's Secretary (uncredited)
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Radio Announcer (uncredited)

Directed by

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Raoul Walsh

Written by

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Raoul Walsh ... (screenplay) and
Bert Hanlon ... (screenplay)
 
Eric Hatch ... (story)

Produced by

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Walter Wanger ... producer

Music by

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Gerard Carbonara ... (uncredited)
John Leipold ... (uncredited)

Cinematography by

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Leon Shamroy ... director of photography

Editing by

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Robert L. Simpson

Editorial Department

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William Reynolds ... assistant editor (uncredited)

Art Direction by

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Alexander Toluboff

Costume Design by

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Helen Taylor

Production Management

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Earl Rettig ... unit manager

Music Department

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Boris Morros ... musical director
Charles Bradshaw ... composer: stock music (uncredited)
Victor Young ... composer: stock music (uncredited)

Additional Crew

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Adolph Zukor ... presenter

Production Companies

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Distributors

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Special Effects

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Other Companies

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Storyline

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Plot Summary

Profligate Townsend "Towny" Middleton, once the possessor of $20,000,000, becomes a "millionaire with everything but money." In order to enter his filly "Black Mamba" in the Kentucky Derby, Towny sells his polo horses. At Churchill Downs, Towny meets bankrupt Kentucky colonel Barnaby and his gold digging daughter Sally. During the Derby, Black Mamba's jockey falls off the horse and Towny loses. After the race, creditors try to repossess Black Mamba, but her devoted trainer, Valerie "Boots" O'Connell, steals her and places her on the private train car of Towny's dyspeptic, rich uncle Morton Middleton. On the train, Sally and Towny kiss. Back in Long Island, at Towny's Greenhill Manor, they marry, and Boots's heart is broken. On their honeymoon, Sally spends $12,000 on clothes, believing Towny is still a millionaire. When he scolds her for her extravagance, she throws a tantrum and forces him to concede. Boots's father, who managed the Middleton stables for years, then dies, and Towny shortens the honeymoon to return to Boots. Again Sally cries and Towny buys her a Rolls Royce to appease her. When Boots insists on leaving Greenhill Manor, Towny gives her Black Mamba to prevent creditors from using the filly as collateral against Towny. Towny's valet, Bill, finally tells Sally she's broke, but she is counting on Black Mamba and Uncle Morton's eighty million. Colonel Barnaby then arrives at Greenhill Manor for an indefinite stay. When Sally realizes Towny loves not her, but Boots, she dismisses Towny's staff, including Bill and Boots, and Towny again acquiesces. The sheriff then forecloses on Greenhill Manor, and Boots sells Black Mamba to Uncle Morton in order to help Towny, promising to train the horse for the next Kentucky Derby. Bill gets himself hired as Morton's health advisor and cures Morton's dispositional dyspepsia. When Barnaby and Sally go to Morton for money, Bill bugs their car and Morton overhears them saying they are waiting for him to die. After Morton buys Greenhill Manor and has Barnaby and Towny evicted, Towny becomes determined to get a job. He becomes a famous sports broadcaster and diligently saves his money. In lieu of Towny's success, the Barnabys resurface, but a wiser Towny tricks them into accepting $1,000 for a Reno divorce. Towny then broadcasts Mamba's winning race and proposes to Boots on the air. Written by Anonymous

Plot Keywords
Taglines He ran a fortune into a shoestring in his hunt for romance! (original print ad) See more »
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Additional Details

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Also Known As
  • Juventud dorada (Uruguay)
  • Millionær uden Penge (Denmark)
  • Juventude Dourada (Brazil)
  • 浪費者 (Japan, Japanese title)
  • Köyhä miljonääri (Finland)
  • See more »
Runtime
  • 80 min
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Did You Know?

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Trivia One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since; its earliest documented telecasts took place in in Asheville NC Sunday 26 July 1959 on WLOS (Channel 13), in Seattle Tuesday 11 August 1959 on KIRO (Channel 7) and in Boston Thursday 15 October 1959 on WBZ (Channel 4). See more »
Quotes Uncle Morton Middleton: What's this? A letter from my nephew. Well, there's one thing I'll say for him: he's done a lot of silly things but he's never been fool enough to get married.
[he reads the letter out loud]
Uncle Morton Middleton: Dear Uncle, you are cordially invited to my wedding tomorrow afternoon at four, your loving nephew, Townsend.
[he screws the letter up in disgust and throws it away]
Uncle Morton Middleton: .
Uncle Morton Middleton: Eleanor, take a letter.
Eleanor - Uncle Morton Middleton's Secretary: Yes, Sir.
Uncle Morton Middleton: Townsend Middleton, Young man, my first impression of you was correct. You're a moron! I always thought you were a half-wit. But I was charitable - you have no brains at all. If you have any intelligence, you have a very clever way of concealing it. That's all.
Eleanor - Uncle Morton Middleton's Secretary: Shall I sign your name to it?
Uncle Morton Middleton: Yes. Sign it six times! And put a bomb in it!
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