Million Dollar Baby (1941 film)
Million Dollar Baby is a 1941 romantic comedy film directed by Curtis Bernhardt. Released by Warner Bros., the film stars Priscilla Lane, Jeffrey Lynn, and Ronald Reagan, with May Robson and Lee Patrick.
| Million Dollar Baby | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Curtis Bernhardt |
| Produced by | Hal B. Wallis (executive producer) |
| Written by | Casey Robinson Richard Macaulay Jerry Wald |
| Story by | Leonard Spigelgass, story "Miss Wheelwright Discovers America" |
| Starring | Priscilla Lane Jeffrey Lynn Ronald Reagan |
| Music by | Frederick Hollander |
| Cinematography | Charles Rosher |
| Edited by | Rudi Fehr |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
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Running time | 100 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Plot
When wealthy American expatriate Cornelia Wheelwright (Robson) is informed by her longtime lawyers that her late father swindled his partner, Fortune McCallister, out of $700,000, she acts decisively. First, because James Amory is the only lawyer in the firm to be outraged by the injustice, she hires him and fires the rest of the firm. His first task is to locate all of McCallister's heirs. It turns out there is only one: granddaughter Pam McCallister (Lane).
Pam works in Lacey's Department Store and lives in a boardinghouse in New York City. To find out what kind of person she is, Cornelia becomes a fellow tenant. Cornelia also meets Pam's boyfriend, composer and piano player Pete Rowan (Reagan).
Cornelia then has Jim give Pam a million dollars. Pam is excited at first, buying gifts for her boardinghouse friends, and her boyfriend, who lives across the hall from her. Much to her surprise, her friends and boyfriend seem to change overnight. They are not as overjoyed at her good fortune as she imagines they would be, and rather resent her. As the last straw, her boyfriend tells her she's an Elsie Dinsmore and breaks it off with her. Pam finally decides on a course of action that makes her happy, as well as those around her.
Cast
- Priscilla Lane as Pamela "Pam" McAllister
- Jeffrey Lynn as James "Jim/Jimmy" Amory
- Ronald Reagan as Peter "Pete" Rowan
- May Robson as Cornelia Wheelwright, aka Miss White
- Lee Patrick as Josie "Lou" La Rue
- Helen Westley as Mrs. Galloway, the landlady
- George Barbier as Mr. Marlin
- Nan Wynn as Flo Turner
- John Qualen as Dr. Patterson
- Walter Catlett s Mr. Simpson, Lacey's Dept. Store floorwalker
- Fay Helm as Mrs. Grayson
- Richard Carle as George
- John Ridgely as Ollie Ward
- Maris Wrixon as Diana Bennet
- James Burke as Callahan, Lacey's Dept. Store detective
- Charles Halton as John Parkinson
- John Sheffield as Alvie Grayson
- Jack Mower as Charlie