Brewster's Millions

Brewster's Millions

First edition cover
Author George Barr McCutcheon
Country United States
Language English
Genre Comedy novel
Publisher Grosset & Dunlap
Publication date
 1902
Media type Print (hardback & paperback)
OCLC 288834

Brewster's Millions is a novel written by George Barr McCutcheon in 1902, originally under the pseudonym of Richard Greaves. It was adapted into a play in 1906, which opened at the New Amsterdam Theatre on Broadway,[1] and the novel or play has been adapted into films ten times, three of which were produced in India.

Plot summary

The novel revolves around Montgomery Brewster, a young man who inherits one million dollars from his rich grandfather. Shortly after, a rich and eccentric uncle who hated Brewster's grandfather (a long-held grudge stemming from the grandfather's disapproval of the marriage of Brewster's parents) also dies. The uncle will leave Brewster seven million dollars, but only under the condition that he keeps none of the grandfather's money. Brewster is required to spend every penny of his grandfather's million within one year, resulting in no assets or property held from the wealth at the end of that time. If Brewster meets these terms, he will gain the full seven million; if he fails, he remains penniless.

Brewster finds that spending so much money within the course of a year is incredibly difficult under the strict conditions imposed by his uncle's will. Brewster is required to demonstrate business sense by obtaining good value for the money he spends, limiting his donations to charity, his losses to gambling, and the value of his tips to waiters and cab drivers. Moreover, Brewster is sworn to secrecy, and cannot tell anyone why he is living to excess. Working against him are his well-meaning friends, who try repeatedly to limit his losses and extravagance even as they share in his luxurious lifestyle.

Brewster's challenge is compounded by the fact that his attempts to lose money through stock speculation and roulette prove to increase his funds rather than decrease them. He throws large parties and balls, and charters a cruise lasting several months to Europe and Egypt for his large circle of friends and employees; the press lampoons him as a spendthrift. Despite his loose purse strings, Brewster repeatedly demonstrates a strong moral character. At one point, he uses his funds to bail out a bank to save his landlady's account, despite risking his eligibility for the will. At another, he jumps overboard to save a drowning sailor from his cruise even as his rich friends choose not to.

Monty's would-be wife Barbara Drew turns down his marriage proposal early in the year, believing him to be financially irresponsible and bound to a life of poverty, and his attempts to win her back repeatedly fail as Monty's attention is entirely absorbed by the requirement to spend so much money. At the conclusion of the year, Monty succeeds in spending the last of his funds, which he has meticulously documented, and confesses his love to another woman, Peggy Gray, who has been sympathetic to his lifestyle despite knowing nothing about his challenge. Tragedy strikes the night before Monty's deadline, as his lawyers inform him that the executor of his uncle's will has vanished after liquidating all of the assets. Monty convinces himself that he is doomed to poverty, but marries Peggy Gray, who accepts him despite the lack of wealth. Shortly after the wedding, the executor of his uncle's will arrives to inform him that he has successfully met the challenge and that he has come to deliver the money to Monty in person.

Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

Stage adaptation

The yacht scene from the Broadway play. Edward Abeles played Monty Brewster on Broadway as well as in the later film.

The novel was adapted into a Broadway play of the same name by Winchell Smith and Byron Ongley. The play débuted at the New Amsterdam Theatre on December 31, 1906.

Opening Night Principal Cast[2]

The play was later adapted into a musical, Zip Goes a Million.

Film versions

The novel Brewster's Millions has been adapted into many films:

Title Year Director Brewster Notes
Brewster's Millions 1914 Cecil B. DeMille and Oscar Apfel Edward Abeles Based on the play. Considered a lost film.
Brewster's Millions 1921 Joseph Henabery Roscoe Arbuckle Screenplay by Walter Woods, based on the play.
Miss Brewster's Millions 1926 Clarence G. Badger Bebe Daniels Screenplay by Monte Brice, Lloyd Corrigan and Harold Shumate, based on the play.
Brewster's Millions 1935 Thornton Freeland Jack Buchanan Screenplay by Douglas Furber and Paul Gangelin. United Kingdom version where Brewster has to spend 500,000 pound sterling in 60 days to inherit £6 million.
Brewster's Millions 1945 Allan Dwan Dennis O'Keefe Screenplay by Sig Herzig and Wilkie C. Mahoney. Brewster has to spend one million dollars in 60 days or less to inherit $7 million.
Vaddante Dabbu 1954 H.M. Reddy N.T.Rama Rao This is a Telugu movie. ₹100 thousand in 30 days.
Three on a Spree 1961 Sidney J. Furie Jack Watling Screenplay by Sig Herzig and James Kelley
Babayi-Abbayi 1985 Jandhyala Subramanya Sastry Nandamuri Balakrishna This is a Telugu movie. ₹3 million in 30 days.
Brewster's Millions 1985 Walter Hill Richard Pryor Screenplay by Herschel Weingrod and Timothy Harris. Brewster has to spend $30 million in 30 days or less to inherit $300 million; he is given the option to simply take $1 million upfront, but turns it down.
Maalamaal 1988 Kawal Sharma Naseeruddin Shah This Hindi-language version was released in India in 1988. The plot remains the same – spend 30 million rupees in 30 days or less to earn 300 million rupees. It is an obvious scene-by-scene 'Indianisation' of the 1985 Richard Pryor film with some additional scenes and a few musical production numbers. Maalamaal at the Internet Movie Database
Arunachalam 1997 Sundar C Rajinikanth An Indian Tamil film based also on the Brewster story, with significant differences from earlier versions, particularly in the first half. Many plotlines are interwoven, but the basic concept, spending ₹300 million in 30 days to inherit ₹30 billion, remains the same.

TV adaptation(s)

In the It's Punky Brewster episode "Punky's Millions," Punky Brewster is on a TV show trying to win money for charity. In order to win the $40 million prize, she must spend one million dollars in 48 hours. To make sure that the money would not be spent all at once on something very expensive (e.g. a villa as suggested by one of Punky's friends), a rule states the money cannot be used to buy any single item for more than $10,000. When the deadline ends, Punky and her friends have lost because one of her friends, Allen, forgot to spend the 98 cents he got as change when he bought chocolate. Fortunately, one of the dollars was spent on a lottery ticket, and the heroes win $100,000, saving the orphanage.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "IBDB.com: Brewster's Millions".
  2. ↑ The Theatre Magazine; January, 1907; pg. 31 accessed August 22, 2012

External links

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