Love Among the Millionaires (1930) User Reviews

Clara Gives It Her All....

[kidboots · 7/10 · 11 April 2011]

....but unfortunately, it's not enough!!! After being the surprise hit of "Paramount on Parade" Clara was assigned to her only appearance in a musical (suprisingly). Just before this, she had sung in "True to the Navy" which was quickly rushed into production to tie in with the song she sang ("I'm True to the Navy") in "Paramount on Parade". Despite talk of "mike fright" she was still extremely popular but needed better films than "Love Among the Millionaires" to keep her at the top.

Introduced singing the song "That's Worth While Waiting For", Clara Bow is Pepper Whipple, a waitress at her father's (Charles Sellon) cafe, which is frequented by local railway men. The only admirers she has are "Clicker" (Stuart Erwin) and railway detective Boots McGee (Skeets Gallagher) who are both far too dopey for her. Fortunately along comes brakeman Jerry Hamilton (Stanley Smith), refined and handsome, who sweeps Pepper off her feet - they duet to the song "Believe It or Not - I've Found My Man". Of course he is not a mere brakeman but the son of the President of the railway.

Pepper is dismayed at Jerry's lack of ambition (he is keeping his wealthy life a secret) and sings him the sprightly "Love Among the Millionaires" to spur him on. The song, which is later reprised as a comic duet by Clicker and Boots, is probably the most hummable of all the songs featured, but that is no recommendation as the score is pretty sub-standard. Pepper's precocious little sister, Penelope (Mitzi Green) is around to clown with Clicker and Boots and puts her bag of tricks into a rendition of "Don't Be a Meanie" when her father goes to confront Jerry about the secrecy of his wealthy family. When Jerry takes Pepper to meet his family, she finds only his sister, Virginia (Barbara Bennett) is welcoming. It wouldn't be a Bow movie without giving her the opportunity for an emotional scene. This comes when she realizes she is standing in Jerry's way of a promotion - so at a party she pretends to be drunk and embarrasses Jerry with a raucous rendition of "Rarin' to Go" - so he will think she cannot fit in with his sophisticated friends.

It didn't help that Mitzi Green, who was at the height of her popularity, stole the film with a blistering interpretation of Clara singing "Rarin' to Go". Clara seemed to have more confidence with her dialogue and was far more relaxed and natural in front of the dreaded mike but the movie failed at the box office because the sensational publicity about her private life was at odds with her screen character, Pepper's, virtuousness. It was a sharp contrast from the flapper roles she had been playing and the public, who where constantly hearing rumours about her busy sex life, were not convinced.

Recommended for Clara.

Love that Clara Bow

[tashman · 28 February 2002]

Some of my favorite pictures, THIS GUN FOR HIRE; ROMAN SCANDALS; THIS IS THE NIGHT; and some early Clara Bow talkies, were directed by Frank Tuttle. I know he had style, but perhaps the man had patience, for it is written in many places how awful the talking picture experience was for Miss Bow. Tuttle certainly had a knack for keeping things light and entertaining. LOVE AMONG THE MILLIONAIRES was not an easy film to locate, and once I did, I found I must continue my search, for what's available is in pretty lousy condition. In spite of this, Bow manages to shine through, and very often does so with flying colors. Supported by three notorious scene stealers, the best that can be said is that Mitzi Green out-stole the combined efforts of Stu Erwin and Skeets Gallagher. Mercifully, this only effects Clara Bow one time, but unfortunately, it is a glaring one time. Bow does a nice job delivering her songs with inspired pizazz, especially the wordy one's like "Believe it or not, I've found my Man," and "That's Worth While Waiting for," and the just terrific, engaging title duet with Stanley Smith, but she is all at sea trying to put over the best song in the show - "Rarin' to Go!" Not a great singer, Bow could nevertheless sell the goods in a natural, savvy manner that most of the early talkie performers wish they'd had on tap, but when it came to this highly typical fox-trot, she is both visually and aurally flustered. What makes this moment worse is that she is soon followed by her kid sister, portrayed by Mitzi, who launches into her own verse of the song and brings the whole house down. Green was a Vaudevillian, the child of Vaudevillians, and with Vaudeville pumping through her veins it certainly wasn't her fault they handed her that song at that unfortunate moment in the film. This error aside, the picture is a Depression-ready Cinderella tale made palatable by a marvelous match between Bow and Stanley Smith (who has never been better than in this film). As with Astaire and Rogers, Smith instantly gives Bow some class while she unselfishly and unavoidably infuses her co-star with sex-appeal, you know, that girl just couldn't help it. Watch for Connie and Joan's sibling, Barbara Bennett, in one of her few film roles, as Smith's sister.

Clara Bow as a Hash Slinging Singing Waitress

[wes-connors · 2/10 · 5 August 2008]

Don't ask, Why didn't Clara Bow survive the transition from silent to sound? Ask, How could any actress survive such inappropriate material? "Love Among the Millionaires" is "A Musical Romance". Apparently, Paramount was seeking to try Ms. Bow as a musical comedy star; indeed, musicals were a very popular early sound genre. Bow plays a singing waitress who unwittingly falls in love with millionaire in disguise Stanley Smith (as Jerry Hamilton). She serves "salt, pepper, baloney, and hash." Mr. Smith loves Bow back, but others get in the way…

Smith and young Mitzi Green (as Penelope) show some musical stage ability. The latter performer is a huge misdirected annoyance in this film, however; one might say, "When she was good, she was very, very good; but, when she was bad, she was horrid." The movie is more often horrid. Barbara Bennett ends her brief film career with a brief appearance; she looks, and sounds, like sister Joan. Bow has a "drunk" song. Unfunny lines include, "Now, you can order watermelon!" and "This is our dance".

This is one obnoxious movie.

** Love Among the Millionaires (7/19/30) Frank Tuttle ~ Clara Bow, Stanley Smith, Mitzi Green

Absolute Rubbish

[AAdaSC · 1/10 · 14 August 2009]

Pepper (Clara Bow) falls in love with railroad engineer Jerry (Stanley Smith) who is really a millionaire in disguise. His family don't approve of her but they go ahead with a party for her where she shocks all the guests. Does love win out in the end....?...

With the exception of Clara Bow (when she is not singing!), the whole cast is annoying with a special mention going to the characters of Clicker (Stuart Erwin) who plays a very slow speaking retard who is in love with Pepper: and Pepper's young sister Penny (Mitzi Green) who is precocious and obnoxious beyond belief! The film is crashingly dull with terrible songs. Its not funny at any point despite the film being played for comedy. You will either fall asleep, switch it off or if you sit through it, you will be praying for it to finish and looking at the clock every 3 minutes.

Truly awful.

Vaudeville parts, choppy script, and low quality do this film in

[SimonJack · 4/10 · 31 July 2020]

This movie came out nine months after the stock market crash of 1929 that began the Great Depression. Hollywood responded to the depression by making many comedies, musicals and other escapist films. "Love Among the Millionaires" would be about as escapist as one could get. Everyone here has a job, there's a very wealthy family, and there's no mention of a stock market crash or depression. And, it's a comedy, musical and Cinderella romance. Only, in this story, the girl doesn't' know her man is a prince.

Yet, with all of those aspects, this film just barely makes it out of the starting blocks. It suffers from much dead-end Vaudeville, a choppy script, and weak production quality. The only good aspects are the convoluted story toward the end, and some scenes of family members running their café.

The film stars Clara Bow, a sex symbol of the Roaring Twenties. She was one of the female leads of the last decade of the silent era who had a good voice and made it into sound pictures. She was a dependable major draw at the box office and one of the highest paid stars of the time. And, she had a moderate singing voice as here and in the 1931 film, "No Limit." But she said she hated "talkies" because they crimped her style. She was dogged with tax problems, and had a lengthy trial over her secretary's mismanagement of her funds. She was tired and felt the pressures of work, public scandals and scripts that weren't to her liking. So, after marrying cowboy actor Rex Bell in 1931, she retired early and lived the rest of her life on their Nevada ranch.

Here, Bow plays Pepper Whipple who runs a railroad café named after her, with her dad, Pop Whipple (Charles Sellon), and her 10-year-old kid sister, Penny Whipple (Mitzi Green). Railroad cafes are a thing of the past. From the early decades of railroads well into the mid-20tth century, such cafes existed in towns that had large railroad yards, branch-off lines, or crew switches. The railroaders tended to congregate around such cafes.

Mitzi Green plays an animated character behind the cash register. She knows the workers by name and exchanges jokes, news and wisecracks with them. This also is a familiar scene from the past. Family members worked in mom and pop cafes, including younger members who often ran the cash register. I had a similar experience from age 12 through my teens, working in my dad's steakhouse restaurant and bar.

Mitzi Green was a child star whose career transitioned into her adult life. But, she left Hollywood for several years and acted on the Broadway stage. She had a good singing voice and in 1937 was the first person to sing the Rodgers and Hart hit tune, "My Funny Valentine," in the Broadway musical, "Babes in Arms." She married and raised four children and appeared in occasional films and then a TV series into the mid-1950s. She died of cancer in 1969 at just 48 years of age.

A big piece of this film is comedy exchanges between two guys, Clicker Watson and Boots McGee. Stuart Erwin and Richard Gallagher play those parts of railroad men who have their eyes set on Pepper. But their dialog is mostly Vaudevillian that flops. By 1930 and sound pictures, Vaudeville comedy was a thing of the distant past. It subtracts substantially from the movie.

The film has a nice twist to the lower-class working girl being an outcast to her love's family. Those are mostly minor parts but played well enough. Most aren't names that people recognized beyond that time. Some, like Stanley Smith who plays Pepper's sweetheart, had relatively short film careers and left the cinema at a young age.

For a Paramount picture, even in 1930, the production and technical aspects of this film aren't very good. The script is choppy, and, frankly, the inclusion of considerable time of deadpan comedy with Clicker and Boots stinks and pulls this film down. Only those who are fans of Clara Bow are likely to enjoy this film.

Here are most of the good lines from the movie.

Clicker Watson, "Say, Bill, are there any "S"es in Cincinnati?" Bill, Telegrapher, "No, you're thinking of Chicago." (He snorts and chuckles.)

Clicker Watson, "There's a name for guys like you, but I can't think of it."

Penny Whipple, "Pardon my split lip." Boots McGee, "I'm sorry I didn't split it." Penny, "Oh, don't be so plebeian."

Boots McGee, "You know, if I'm every electrocuted, I would love to have you sitting on my lap."

Clicker Watson, after washing soot off his face, "Pop, is uh, is the face all right?" Pop Whipple, "Well, it's uh, clean anyway."

William Jordan, "You mean to tell me that you're falling in love with a waitress?" Jerry Hamilton, "No." Jordan, "I thought you were kidding." Jerry, "I've already fallen. I'm lying flat on my back."

Jerry Hamilton, "Oh, Pepper, money isn't everything." Pepper Whipple, "I know. But it'll do till something better comes along."

Jerry Hamilton, "I mean it, Pepper. I think you're... the salt of the earth." Pepper Whipple, "That's funny. Pepper - I think you're the salt."

Jerry Hamilton, "When you're in love, you can't see the patches." Pepper Whipple, "I know. But they're there, just the same."

Boots McGee, to Clicker, "Listen, I'd leave you here, only I don't wanna pull a dirty trick on the alligators."

Pop Whipple, "Four wheels and nine blowouts."

Pop Whipple, "Say, them black seed sandwiches is swell, ain't they, huh?" Mr. Hamilton, "That's caviar." Pop Whipple, "Yeah, yeah. Never had any of it in my beanery, no siree."

wonderful

[geoffreybow · 10/10 · 20 May 2006]

I shall love this movie until the day I die. It was easy going, entertaining and funny. A must for Clara Bow fans she showed what a talented actress she was. her screen presence as usual was huge. There was and never will be anyone like her. she is the greatest. Clara Bow to me shines greater than any other female star of the last century and none this century so far have got the charisma she had. In this movie she not only had a good script but had many great supporting performances from the rest of the cast too. I could go on watching this film again and again and probably will. At seventy four minutes the movie is just about the right length and it kept me riveted to the screen throughout.

Wasn't in the Mood

[view_and_review · 1/10 · 3 February 2024]

I must really know how to pick 'em because three straight movies have found a way to work in blackface: "Sweetie" (1929), "Happy Days" (1930), and this movie, "Love Among the Millionaires" (1930). In the case of "Love Among the Millionaires" I was just cautiously waiting to see what direction they were going to take a lame joke.

Boots McGee (Richard 'Skeets' Gallagher) gave his frenemy Clicker Watson (Stuart Erwin) an oily handkerchief for him to wipe his face. Clicker obligingly took the rag and without looking at it he began wiping his face with it. Naturally, it made his face dark with oil. The little girl (Mitzi Green) had a good laugh at it at which point the joke should've been over. But... they had to slip in some racism.

Boots added more oil to Clicker's face and said, "Now you can order watermelon." An ignorant joke that shouldn't go over the head of anyone. It was clearly an attempt to indicate he was now Black because it's common knowledge (sarcasm) that Black people love fried chicken and watermelon.

A week ago I may have finished watching this movie, but it was the third pre-code movie in a row in which I had to suffer through offensive behavior at the expense of Black folks. There are too many good movies from that era for me to waste my time on tripe like this.

Free on Internet Archive as "Poor Boy, Rich Girl"

Anything with Clara Bow is a DELIGHT!

[msladysoul · 29 August 2003]

This was my first movie of Clara Bow. But, I was a fan- because I've seen documentaries and short clips of her and I instantly fell in love with her. She had great charisma, energy. You just have to watch her. I think she was wonderful. She looks at ease. Even though many said she didn't like talkies and her Brooklyn accent wasn't good. So what, Ingrid Bergman, Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, Katharine Hepburn and Jean Harlow had funny accents, but everyone loved them. I wish actresses today had the energy to draw you to them like Clara Bow and others had. This film isn't of her best films. But if your a Clara Bow fan, any film is a delight to see.