Brewster’s Millions (1935) is a charming, old-school headache

Is it worth your time?

If you like old British comedies that move at a pace suggesting everyone had somewhere much better to be, then yeah, check this out. You’ll probably enjoy it if you find the concept of 'spending money fast' inherently funny, but if you need your movies to have, you know, actual logic, you might find yourself checking your watch. People who hate black-and-white dialogue-heavy films will probably want to skip this one entirely. 🎥

There’s this frantic energy to Jack Buchanan that I honestly couldn't look away from. He’s running around trying to be irresponsible, which is a weirdly difficult thing to watch someone attempt on purpose. The 1935 version feels a lot more like a stage play than a movie, but it has these odd little corners of charm.

Notes from the couch:

• The sheer amount of running around London is exhausting. Why is everyone always moving so fast?
• The dialogue is sharp, but sometimes it feels like they’re just throwing words at the wall to see what sticks.
• There’s a specific scene involving a fancy dinner that goes on for a bit too long. It’s supposed to be funny, but I just felt tired for him.
• If you like this sort of lighthearted nonsense, you might want to compare the mood to something like Ain't She Sweet?, though they aren't exactly the same beast.

One thing that hit me is how dated the 'rules' of the inheritance feel now. It’s the kind of premise that makes sense only in a world where money behaves like a magical curse. It’s not grounded, but it doesn't try to be. It’s a fable about greed, I guess? Or maybe just a fable about how bad people are at math when they're panicking.

I found myself wondering if anyone in the 1930s actually thought this was a realistic way to handle an estate. Probably not. The side characters are mostly just there to look confused while Brewster makes a mess of his life, which works fine. There’s no deep, hidden meaning here. It’s just a man versus his own wallet.

The ending is… well, it’s an ending. It ties up the knots, but it feels like the movie just ran out of steam and decided to call it a day. I didn't mind it, though. Sometimes you just want to see a guy try to lose a fortune and fail at failing. It’s simple. It’s dated. It’s fine. 🤷‍♂️