The most dominating character role I've seen irascible grandfatherly Charles Coburn play. This is definitely his movie, whatever the official credits suggest. He also dominated, again playing a tycoon, in "The Girl Who Took the West", where again he was concerned how his fortune would fare after he was gone.
Coburn, as Samuel Fulton/alias John Smith, having no close kin, wants to bequeath his fortune, especially in gold and oil companies, to the descendants of the one woman he loved, back when he was poor and struggling. He wants to express his gratitude to her for refusing him, which stimulated him to travel around the US, looking for investment opportunities. But first, he wants to test if this family can handle his fortune responsibly. He fakes an advertisement from them for a roomer, then shows up on their doorstep with the paper in hand, badgering them into accepting him as the roomer.
Mrs. Blaisdell(Lyn Bari) is characterized as the worst offender in spending the test money lavishly on a mansion with fancy furnishings, expensive car and clothes, etc.. She even demands they trade in their personable Airedale for a pair of French poodles. In large part, she wants these things in order to be accepted as an equal by the town upper crust, so that her daughter, Millie, is better qualified to marry the son of a rich family. Meanwhile, son Charles tries to multiply their fortune by gambling at cards, but instead loses all his money, necessitating Coburn to use his expertise at card gambling to win it back for him anonymously. Meanwhile Mr. Blaisdell gambles a good share of the money on a stock, which then collapses. Daughter Millie is the only one of the adults who is conservative in her demands with the money. Her mother wants her to marry a rich man she doesn't love. Now that they are rich, Millie's boyfriend Dan(Rock Hudson), a mere soda jerk, feels out of place as her boyfriend, so breaks off their engagement. But later, when the family is flat broke, he resumes his interest in Millie, while her rich fiancé suddenly loses interest in her.
We don't learn whether Coburn decided to will the rest of his fortune to the family. He took a special interest in Millie. If I were him, I would have all securities, companies and cash put in a trust fund, from which they can draw so much per year. with Millie getting the most.
This comedic drama is played against a background of 1920s culture, including raccoon coats and a number of songs. In fulfilling his role as a snooper and aid to the Blaisdells, Coburn is arrested several times for frequenting a speak-easy or a gambling den, and reprimanded for allegedly necking in a movie theater with Millie. He is talked into working in the Blaisdell's pharmacy as a soda jerk, after an inauspicious training period. At night, he has to sleep with the family dog.
The aspect that deserves the most criticism is the excessively feel good ending, which has the family returning to their old house and old business(which they had sold),as if they had never received the money and hadn't gone bankrupt. Should Coburn have revealed himself before leaving , or disappeared incognito.
Lyn Bari, usually typecast as "the other woman" or loser, has a different role here, but still clearly comes across in a negative light who, along with the others, loses their fortune because of their greed. Also, she champions "the other man" to marry her daughter.
Coburn, as Samuel Fulton/alias John Smith, having no close kin, wants to bequeath his fortune, especially in gold and oil companies, to the descendants of the one woman he loved, back when he was poor and struggling. He wants to express his gratitude to her for refusing him, which stimulated him to travel around the US, looking for investment opportunities. But first, he wants to test if this family can handle his fortune responsibly. He fakes an advertisement from them for a roomer, then shows up on their doorstep with the paper in hand, badgering them into accepting him as the roomer.
Mrs. Blaisdell(Lyn Bari) is characterized as the worst offender in spending the test money lavishly on a mansion with fancy furnishings, expensive car and clothes, etc.. She even demands they trade in their personable Airedale for a pair of French poodles. In large part, she wants these things in order to be accepted as an equal by the town upper crust, so that her daughter, Millie, is better qualified to marry the son of a rich family. Meanwhile, son Charles tries to multiply their fortune by gambling at cards, but instead loses all his money, necessitating Coburn to use his expertise at card gambling to win it back for him anonymously. Meanwhile Mr. Blaisdell gambles a good share of the money on a stock, which then collapses. Daughter Millie is the only one of the adults who is conservative in her demands with the money. Her mother wants her to marry a rich man she doesn't love. Now that they are rich, Millie's boyfriend Dan(Rock Hudson), a mere soda jerk, feels out of place as her boyfriend, so breaks off their engagement. But later, when the family is flat broke, he resumes his interest in Millie, while her rich fiancé suddenly loses interest in her.
We don't learn whether Coburn decided to will the rest of his fortune to the family. He took a special interest in Millie. If I were him, I would have all securities, companies and cash put in a trust fund, from which they can draw so much per year. with Millie getting the most.
This comedic drama is played against a background of 1920s culture, including raccoon coats and a number of songs. In fulfilling his role as a snooper and aid to the Blaisdells, Coburn is arrested several times for frequenting a speak-easy or a gambling den, and reprimanded for allegedly necking in a movie theater with Millie. He is talked into working in the Blaisdell's pharmacy as a soda jerk, after an inauspicious training period. At night, he has to sleep with the family dog.
The aspect that deserves the most criticism is the excessively feel good ending, which has the family returning to their old house and old business(which they had sold),as if they had never received the money and hadn't gone bankrupt. Should Coburn have revealed himself before leaving , or disappeared incognito.
Lyn Bari, usually typecast as "the other woman" or loser, has a different role here, but still clearly comes across in a negative light who, along with the others, loses their fortune because of their greed. Also, she champions "the other man" to marry her daughter.