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Fifty Million Frenchmen (film)
Encyclopedia
__notoc__Fifty Million Frenchmen is a 1931 musical comedy film photographed entirely in Technicolor
. It was based on Cole Porter
's 1929 Broadway musical. It was originally intended to be released, in the United States, late in 1930, but was shelved due to public apathy towards musicals. Despite waiting a number of months, the public proved obstinate and the Warner Bros. reluctantly released the film in February 1931 after removing all the music. The film was released outside the United States as a full musical comedy in 1931.
Only a black and white copy of the cut print released in 1931 in the United States seems to have survived. The complete film was released intact in countries outside the United States where a backlash against musicals never occurred. It is unknown whether a copy of this full version still exists.
), who bets his friend Michael Cummings (John Halliday
) that he can woo and win Looloo Carroll (Claudia Dell
) without using any of his money or connections. Cummings hires Simon and Peter (Ole Olsen
and Chic Johnson
), a pair of erstwhile detectives, to make sure that Forbes doesn't win his bet. Instead, Simon and Peter befriend our hero and decide to help him out. Olsen & Johnson have all the best material, notably an early double entendre
encounter with a randy American tourist (Helen Broderick
) and a scene in which Olsen impersonates a mind-reading fakir (Bela Lugosi
) -- who loses his clothes in the process! The finale has the comedians being chased by every law officer in Paris.
musical, but the songs were omitted from all prints of the film in the United States because box-office receipts for musical films at that time were down.
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
. It was based on Cole Porter
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
's 1929 Broadway musical. It was originally intended to be released, in the United States, late in 1930, but was shelved due to public apathy towards musicals. Despite waiting a number of months, the public proved obstinate and the Warner Bros. reluctantly released the film in February 1931 after removing all the music. The film was released outside the United States as a full musical comedy in 1931.
Only a black and white copy of the cut print released in 1931 in the United States seems to have survived. The complete film was released intact in countries outside the United States where a backlash against musicals never occurred. It is unknown whether a copy of this full version still exists.
Plot
Set in Paris, the story concerns the exploits of wealthy Jack Forbes (William GaxtonWilliam Gaxton
William Gaxton was a star of vaudeville, film, and theatre.Born as Arturo Antonio Gaxiola in San Francisco, he appeared on film and onstage. He debuted on Broadway in the Music Box Revue on October 23, 1922...
), who bets his friend Michael Cummings (John Halliday
John Halliday
John Halliday was an American actor of stage and screen, who often played suave aristocrats and foreigners....
) that he can woo and win Looloo Carroll (Claudia Dell
Claudia Dell
Claudia Dell was an American showgirl and actress of the stage and Hollywood motion pictures. Her birth name was Claudia Dell Smith. She was born in San Antonio, Texas on January 10, 1910. She attended school in San Antonio and Mexico. Dell was blonde and blue-eyed, with a porcelain face. Her...
) without using any of his money or connections. Cummings hires Simon and Peter (Ole Olsen
Ole Olsen (comedian)
John Sigvard "Ole" Olsen was an American vaudevillian and comedian.Born in Peru, Indiana, he graduated from Northwestern University in 1912 with a degree in music and hit the Vaudeville circuit...
and Chic Johnson
Chic Johnson
Chic Johnson was the barrel-chested half of the Swedish-American comedy team of Olsen and Johnson, known for his strangely infectious, high-pitched laugh.-Background:...
), a pair of erstwhile detectives, to make sure that Forbes doesn't win his bet. Instead, Simon and Peter befriend our hero and decide to help him out. Olsen & Johnson have all the best material, notably an early double entendre
Double entendre
A double entendre or adianoeta is a figure of speech in which a spoken phrase is devised to be understood in either of two ways. Often the first meaning is straightforward, while the second meaning is less so: often risqué or ironic....
encounter with a randy American tourist (Helen Broderick
Helen Broderick
Helen Broderick was an American film and stage actress known for her comic roles, especially as a wisecracking sidekick.-Career:...
) and a scene in which Olsen impersonates a mind-reading fakir (Bela Lugosi
Béla Lugosi
Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó , commonly known as Bela Lugosi, was a Hungarian actor of stage and screen. He was best known for having played Count Dracula in the Broadway play and subsequent film version, as well as having starred in several of Ed Wood's low budget films in the last years of his...
) -- who loses his clothes in the process! The finale has the comedians being chased by every law officer in Paris.
Music
This was originally a Cole PorterCole Porter
Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
musical, but the songs were omitted from all prints of the film in the United States because box-office receipts for musical films at that time were down.