LE MILLION (1931)

A.K.A.: The Million

Country: France

Genre(s): Comedy / Musical

Director: Rene Clair

Cast: Rene Lefevre / Annabella / Jean-Louis Allibert

Plot

Hounded by creditors, a poor artist wins the lottery, the ticket to which is in his jacket pocket.  Great news, until he finds out that his jealous girlfriend has given his jacket away, an act that sets in motion a wild hunt across Paris.

Thoughts

Though “Le Million” may not illicit full-on belly laughs, the film retains an irresistible charm and remains highly entertaining more than 80 years after its release.  An early sound film shot and set in France, doubtless much of the film’s humor is either lost in translation or has dissipated with the changing of public tastes.  Prat falls and pompous buffoonery have not aged well.  Nonetheless, the story and pacing, combined with some terrific performances still provide constant amusement, even for today’s viewer.

“Le Million” still displays the hallmarks of the silent film era: the styles of dress and makeup, frequent chase scenes, exaggerated physical gestures by the actors.  Yet, instead of making “Le Million” seem dated, these elements bring a certain elegance to the film.  There are almost as many scenes without dialogue as there are with dialogue, allowing the talents of the actors and director Rene Clair for physical comedy to shine.  Rene Lefevre in particular is fantastic, whether talking or not, as the leading man Michel.  When I did chuckle, it was always because of Lefevre’s performance.

Most Memorable Scene

***spoiler alert***

There is a magnificent scene at the opera house, one of the places the Michel and many others have gone to try and track down the missing jacket.  Lefevre and the lovely Annabella, who plays his love interest, wind up hiding behind some set pieces on stage during a performance.  Forced to wait out the love song duet being performed, the pair reconcile.  As they do so, the lyrics of the song play out the feelings of the lovers.  Using no dialogue of their own, Lefevre and Annabella are both terrific here and it is this scene which takes the movie from amusing musical to absolute classic.

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5