James Hitchcock Although it stars Gregory Peck, one of America's most popular and charismatic film stars of the period, "The Million Pound Note" is surprisingly little known today; mine is only the 17th review it has received on this site. Part of the reason is that, unlike most of Peck's output, it was not made in Hollywood but in Britain. (Peck made another British film, "The Purple Plain", during this period). Even in Britain, however, few people seem to have heard of it.The film was a based on a short story by Mark Twain. The basic idea, that of two elderly, wealthy brothers entering into an eccentric bet which affects the life of a complete stranger, is similar to that in the later American comedy, "Trading Places". That film was a contemporary satire on the "greed is good" attitudes of the 1980s, but "The Million Pound Note" is a period piece set in the early twentieth century. (The exact date is uncertain. A forty-eight-star flag flying outside the U.S. Consulate would seem to indicate that the film must be set in 1912 or later, but some of the costumes, and the absence of motor vehicles in the streets, would suggest a rather earlier date).The hero is Henry Adams, an American who finds himself stranded in England by an unusual combination of circumstances after a sailing accident and needs money for his passage back home. By chance he meets the two brothers, Oliver and Roderick Montpelier, who give him an envelope, telling him that it contains money. When Adams opens it he finds that it contains a single banknote to the value of one million pounds. (This is a fiction invented by Twain; in reality the Bank of England has never issued notes for such a sum. For the purposes of the story, however, we have to accept that the note is genuine and not a forgery).Like "Trading Places", "The Million Pound Note" is a satire on the capitalist system, but satirises it in a rather different way. "Trading Places" sends up the rapaciousness and heartlessness of the rich, represented in that film by the greedy, avaricious and corrupt Duke brothers. The satire of "The Million Pound Note" is directed less at rich people themselves than at the absurdities of the system through which they have obtained their wealth. While Adams has the note he is taken to be an eccentric millionaire. He can obtain whatever he needs without having to pay for it. (This is the reason for the wager; Oliver has bet the sceptical Roderick that mere possession of the note will enable the possessor to obtain limitless credit)Adams is accepted into the company of England's grandest High Society and is asked to back a business venture when a fellow American wishes to start up a gold mine. He does not actually have to put up any money himself; the mere fact of his association with the project is enough to start a boom in the value of the company's shares. When he temporarily mislays the note and a rumour spreads that he never actually had it in the first place, the share price plummets. It does not matter that a geological report has indicated that the company is actually on the verge of striking gold. What matters to the capitalist system is not reality but belief and confidence. A falsehood that people can believe in can be more persuasive than the truth. Businessmen may like to think of themselves as hard-headed realists, but in Twain's eyes they are as prone to fantasy and delusion as anybody else. Indeed, they are more so, because they operate within a system which depends upon fantasy and delusion in order to function.The film was directed by Ronald Neame who two years earlier had made "The Card". The two films have much in common. Both are based on literary sources, "The Card" on a novel by Arnold Bennett. Both are comedies set in Edwardian England. And both have similar themes, the importance of belief, even credulous or misplaced belief, to the money economy. (Or, to be more accurate, to the credit economy. The very word "credit" is derived from the Latin for "to believe"). Denry Machin, the hero of "The Card", is a young man who makes a fortune by promoting business schemes which, if not exactly dishonest, are nevertheless heavily dependent upon his charm, persuasiveness and plausibility. When one under-capitalised venture seems set to fail, he manages to save the situation by persuading an aristocratic lady to back him. As with Adams, the mere fact of her association with the scheme brings the investors flocking in.I would not rate this film quite as highly as "The Card", perhaps the greatest non-Ealing British comedy of the early fifties. Nevertheless, it has a lot going for it. It has some serious points to make, but makes them in an amusing way with wit and style. Gregory Peck had a wide range as an actor, but he was often at his best playing an ordinary, decent man who finds himself in extraordinary circumstances- "The Big Country" and "To Kill a Mockingbird" are two other examples- and here he makes a charming hero. It is visually attractive, being shot in what would today be regarded as the "heritage cinema" style. It may be little known today, but I would consider that it deserves to be known more widely. 7/10

Robert J. Maxwell Gregory Peck is Henry Adams, a raggedy, good-natured American shipyard worker stranded in London and penniless. Poundless too, and this was 1903 when a pound was worth a pound. He's picked off the street at random by two millionaires of a betting disposition who hand him one of only two existing notes for one million pounds. If he returns the note intact at the end of one month, he'll have any sort of job he wants. Peck doesn't discover until later that he's rich beyond imagining. And he's aghast, as is the suspicious waiter who has just served this ill-groomed customer an expensive meal. Peck tries to return the note but his benefactors are on holiday for the month. It's all up to him.That plot point is a little confusing. Maybe I missed something. But suppose that, instead of giving the note back in a month, Peck just said, "The hell with it," and skipped town? He could live like a Pasha for the rest of his life.At any rate, when the public discovers that Peck has the note, everyone kisses his ring. Tailors give him a free wardrobe, Bumbles Hotel puts him up in the Bridal Suite, London society opens its doors to him, and when rumors start that Peck has invested in the New Hope Gold Mine, the price of shares skyrockets.There are less harmless memes. Nobody has seen the note recently. They've been operating on the sociological principle that "if men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences." Does he really HAVE such a note or is Peck "an adventurer"? Peck's fortune goes down, then up again, and he winds up in a clinch with Lady Bracknell's niece or something.It's based on a story by Mark Twain, a curious writer. He had a fine sense of irony, perhaps because he'd lived through the Civil War and was even briefly in the Confederate Army. "Tom Sawyer" is a child's adventure story but "Huckleberry Finn" is not. Twain poked understated fun at European pretensions and especially nobility. Huck and Jim pick up two scalawags who get into a quiet conflict over their social status, until one finally admits that he's the lost son of the King of France, which Huck swallows.That European nobility business gets a poke in the eye with a sharp stick in this film. So does capitalism. The question that wafts like a bouquet through the comedy is whether simply having a lot of money is better than being a gentleman. Is it better to be rich or to be a Duke?Peck's forte was never comedy. He seemed by nature to be upright and bourgeois. And, to the extent that he was amusing on screen, rather than only likable, it was because that air of self righteousness was made ludicrous by events. His reaction is always one of masked embarrassment. It requires only the slightest change in his features. He must have had a very good time playing a mad Nazi scientist in "The Boys From Brazil." The cast is filled out with familiar faces from British movies of the period.It may have been written by Mark Twain, whose name is itself a joke, but it's veddy British, colorful, and funny. You'll like it.

jotix100 Oliver and Roderick Montpellier, two English brothers, make a bet that any man given a one million pound note, can live off the fat of the land just by showing off the good fortune of having it in his possession. Then, if by the end of a month, if he can show the intact bill, he will indeed be a man worthy of whatever fortunes might befall on him because of the sheer luck of proving the brothers right.The lucky recipient of the note is one Henry Adams, an American in London who is just a poor man with no money, or prospects of a job in the near future. He tests his good fortune when he decides to dine at a modest restaurant. As the bill comes, he shows his one million pound note, which of course, the owner can't possibly change. The meal is free.Henry Adams then discovers how he can go through his present situation relying on the fact that he is a millionaire, without really being one. He is given a set of smart clothes, a suite at one of the best hotels in town, and an introduction to high society, something that is not always available to Americans, even rich ones, as Henry appears to be.This delightful comedy of 1954 was a total surprise. The film, made in England at the famous Pinewood studios, was directed by Ronald Neame. Based on a Mark Twain story, which we haven't read, it counts on the great work of Gregory Peck, a man that was one of the most charismatic performers during his years in the cinema. Mr. Peck is the whole movie; it's unimaginable to think of any other actor playing Henry Adams.The supporting cast shows familiar faces of consummate English players who contribute to create the Edwardian atmosphere. Ronald Squire and Wilfrid Hyde-White are the Montpellier brothers, whose bet trigger the action. Reginald Beckwith is the mute valet who sticks by Henry through thick and thin. Jane Griffiths plays Portia, the woman that conquers Henry Adams heart. Also in the cast we saw Hugh Griffith, in a non-credited role. Joyce Grenfell, another delightful character actress, has some brilliant moments as the Duchess of Cromarty.An enjoyable movie. Catch if it ever plays on your classic movie channel. You won't be disappointed!

stryker-5 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.