Man with a Million

Original title: The Million Pound Note

1954
Approved
1h 30m

IMDb RATING

6.8/10

4.3K

YOUR RATING

Comedy Romance

As part of a bet, two aristocrats offer a penniless American a loan, without telling him that the amount is £1,000,000 in the form of a single banknote.As part of a bet, two aristocrats offer a penniless American a loan, without telling him that the amount is £1,000,000 in the form of a single banknote.As part of a bet, two aristocrats offer a penniless American a loan, without telling him that the amount is £1,000,000 in the form of a single banknote.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.8/10

4.3K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Trivia
The prop £1,000,000 note was larger in both size (about 7 x 9 inches) and value than any real note produced by the Bank of England up to that time, even notes for internal use. However, the bank still imposed strict regulations, which were violated when posters advertising the movie showed a reproduction of the note. This had to be covered over before the posters were allowed to be used.

Goofs
The flag outside the U.S. consulate features 48 stars, although an American flag in 1903 would have had only 45 stars.

Quotes
[Henry has just eaten a slap-up meal in a restaurant and the proprietor is hassling him to pay the bill. He opens the envelope from the Montpelier brothers and sees the £1 million note]
Henry Adams: [hesitantly, in shock] I'm awfully sorry. I don't have anything smaller.

Connections
Featured in Jonathan Ross' Must-Watch Films: Cult Classic Films (2023)

Soundtracks
Tempus adest floridum
(uncredited)
Traditional
Whistled by Gregory Peck

User reviews37

Review

Featured review

"What A Charmingly Whimsical Gesture!"

Two elderly brothers, wealthy English gentlemen, establish a wager. They entrust a million-pound banknote to a penniless American, to see if he can live for a month purely on the good will which the note will engender, without ever having to cash it.

Gregory Peck plays Henry Adams, the innocent American, in this stodgy romantic comedy, based on a Mark Twain story. His love interest Portia Lansdowne is played by Jane Griffiths. The film is really just one gag, strung out for 90 minutes - a pauper has no friends, whereas a millionaire is surrounded by sycophancy and limitless credit. Markets deal in confidence, rather than cash.

The film is unarguably well-made. The performances are sharp, the incidental music comments neatly on the action and the 'look' is sumptuous. And yet there is something flat about Ronald Neame's direction, and the laughs are rather thin on the ground.

Verdict - Ostensibly a good idea, but not enough to support a full-length film.