Brewster's Millions (1914)
Comedy | 15 April 1914
A full-page Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Co. advertisement in the 18 Apr 1914 Motion Picture News announced the arrival of Brewster’s Millions, “The Comedy-Drama of a Thousand Incidents,” starring Edward Abeles, “In the role he originated [onstage] and played 1,800 times.” The ad stressed that the overwhelming success of George Barr McCutcheon’s novel (“read by 19,000,000”) and Winchell Smith and Byron Ongley’s play (“seen by 9,000,000”) assured that 90 million people would want to watch the “photo-play,” which was filmed “in the most congenial environment by Cecil B. DeMille and Oscar Apfel.” Brewster’s Millions was the company’s second release, after The Squaw Man (1914, see entry).
According to the 2 May 1914 Motography, most filming was done at the “Lasky studios” at the southeast corner of what is now Vine Street and Selma Avenue in Hollywood, but the ballroom scenes was shot at the elite Sherry’s restaurant at the corner of Forty-fourth Street and Fifth Avenue in New York City. The yacht scenes may ahve been filmed off the California coast, since the boat was “owned by Mr. [Adolph B.] Spreckels, the California sugar king.” The article stated further that the film had its first private showing at the Carnegie Lyceum in New York.
Modern sources list Wilfred Buckland as the art director for this film.
Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Co. was founded in Hollywood, CA, in late 1913 by Lasky, Samuel Goldfish (later Goldwyn), and Cecil B. DeMille. This was the first of three Brewster's Millions productions by Lasky; the others were a 1921 film (see entry) directed by Joseph Henabery and a slightly ...
A full-page Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Co. advertisement in the 18 Apr 1914 Motion Picture News announced the arrival of Brewster’s Millions, “The Comedy-Drama of a Thousand Incidents,” starring Edward Abeles, “In the role he originated [onstage] and played 1,800 times.” The ad stressed that the overwhelming success of George Barr McCutcheon’s novel (“read by 19,000,000”) and Winchell Smith and Byron Ongley’s play (“seen by 9,000,000”) assured that 90 million people would want to watch the “photo-play,” which was filmed “in the most congenial environment by Cecil B. DeMille and Oscar Apfel.” Brewster’s Millions was the company’s second release, after The Squaw Man (1914, see entry).
According to the 2 May 1914 Motography, most filming was done at the “Lasky studios” at the southeast corner of what is now Vine Street and Selma Avenue in Hollywood, but the ballroom scenes was shot at the elite Sherry’s restaurant at the corner of Forty-fourth Street and Fifth Avenue in New York City. The yacht scenes may ahve been filmed off the California coast, since the boat was “owned by Mr. [Adolph B.] Spreckels, the California sugar king.” The article stated further that the film had its first private showing at the Carnegie Lyceum in New York.
Modern sources list Wilfred Buckland as the art director for this film.
Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Co. was founded in Hollywood, CA, in late 1913 by Lasky, Samuel Goldfish (later Goldwyn), and Cecil B. DeMille. This was the first of three Brewster's Millions productions by Lasky; the others were a 1921 film (see entry) directed by Joseph Henabery and a slightly altered 1926 film called Miss Brewster's Millions, both distributed by Paramount. There were also a 1945 Paramount production directed by Allan Dwan and a 1985 Universal film starring Richard Pryor (see entries). A British version was released in 1935.
Wealthy Edwin Peter Brewster disowns his son Robert for eloping with Louise Sedgwick, a woman of modest means. However, many years later, when the old man dies, he leaves one million dollars to Robert and Louise’s son, Monty Brewster, a bank clerk. Monty is staggered by the news, and as he begins to adjust to his new life as a wealthy man, he receives even more life-changing news. An attorney in the West informs Monty that he has inherited seven million dollars from his Uncle George Brewster, but with one stipulation: Monty must divest himself of his grandfather’s fortune within a year. According to George Brewster’s will, "Peter Brewster mistreated your mother and father and I do not want you to touch a dollar of his money. If you spend the million left to you by him and can, at the end of a year, show by receipts that you have judiciously spent, not squandered this million dollars, my attorneys will turn over to you my worldly possessions, aggregating seven millions. You must own nothing of value at the end of the year." In addition, Monty cannot tell anyone why he is freely spending his money. He lives lavishly, invests in the sure-loser “Lumber and Fuel” stock, and bets a bundle on a flabby prize fighter, but the stocks and the bet pay off. In desperation, Monty rents and repairs a yacht to sail a dozen of his friends around the world, but they mutiny in mid-ocean, thinking he has lost his mind, forcing Monty to send up a distress signal and spend two-hundred-thousand dollars to be salvaged by a passing ship. Fortunately, before this happens, Monty saves Peggy ...
Wealthy Edwin Peter Brewster disowns his son Robert for eloping with Louise Sedgwick, a woman of modest means. However, many years later, when the old man dies, he leaves one million dollars to Robert and Louise’s son, Monty Brewster, a bank clerk. Monty is staggered by the news, and as he begins to adjust to his new life as a wealthy man, he receives even more life-changing news. An attorney in the West informs Monty that he has inherited seven million dollars from his Uncle George Brewster, but with one stipulation: Monty must divest himself of his grandfather’s fortune within a year. According to George Brewster’s will, "Peter Brewster mistreated your mother and father and I do not want you to touch a dollar of his money. If you spend the million left to you by him and can, at the end of a year, show by receipts that you have judiciously spent, not squandered this million dollars, my attorneys will turn over to you my worldly possessions, aggregating seven millions. You must own nothing of value at the end of the year." In addition, Monty cannot tell anyone why he is freely spending his money. He lives lavishly, invests in the sure-loser “Lumber and Fuel” stock, and bets a bundle on a flabby prize fighter, but the stocks and the bet pay off. In desperation, Monty rents and repairs a yacht to sail a dozen of his friends around the world, but they mutiny in mid-ocean, thinking he has lost his mind, forcing Monty to send up a distress signal and spend two-hundred-thousand dollars to be salvaged by a passing ship. Fortunately, before this happens, Monty saves Peggy Gray, his childhood sweetheart, from being abducted by an Arab sheik. On the eve of gaining possession of Uncle George’s money, Monty, who has nothing more than a room full of receipts showing every dollar he spent, proposes to Peggy, who eagerly accepts despite her belief that Monty is a pauper. His friends, likewise thinking he is broke, try to press money and jewelry on him, but he cannot accept. Then a cable informs Monty that Swearengen Jones, his uncle’s executor, has absconded with the fortune. Unperturbed, Peggy and Monty marry, but then are presented with the seven-million-dollar inheritance as a wedding present by Jones, who turns out to be a practical joker.
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