Le Million Review- By Michael Carlisle

Title: Le Million
Year: 1931
Director: Rene Clair
Country: France
Language: French 

 

Rene Clair is a master in French comedy, even proving himself to be an asset in English film with his 1942 classic I Married A Witch. He is profound, having an influence over almost every comedian who has ever graced the screen, including the legendary Charlie Chaplin. A decade before he made the Veronika Lake picture, Clair decided to astound audiences with the musical known as Le Million. It would certainly leave its mark as one of Cinema's greatest assets.

Starring Annabella and Rene Lefevre, Le Million is about a man named Michel, a Parisian artist, is being hounded by numerous impatient creditors. Suddenly, Michel learns that he holds the winning ticket in the Dutch Lottery, but when he goes to retrieve the ticket from the pocket of his jacket, he finds that his fiance Béatrice has given the jacket to a stranger who was in need. Now everyone has a keen interest in finding that jacket.

If Le Million reminds you of the classic It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963) then it should; for even decades after its release it continued to inspire Directors all over the world to make comedies about the desperate search for lost treasure. Clair's film is witty, romantic and full of songs that I could sing all day, if I only knew how to speak French. The use of cheery music in an expressive way to indicate goals or change of emotion would influence the Mar Brothers in the making of their most celebrated piece Duck Soup.

With this film, Clair gives Paris a magical fairytale like atmosphere; nothing is certain, yet nothing is impossible and miracles happen every second. Each character, even the devilish creditors, are wacky and fun. It's comical moments are slowly build up and when released are absolutely hysterical. Le Million has beautiful transitions from silence to sound, and then back again. Both work fluently and add to heighten the director's creativity. Clair's cinematography is ravishing; he allows his camera to swoop over the roofs of Paris, like a majestic bird.

In conclusion, though his later films like were great, it's Le Million that is Clair's magnum opus. The picture has all the charm of Charlie Chaplin, all the wit of Groucho Marx and all the exuberance of the classic American musical. This is a type of film that just isn't made anymore and will likely never be made again. If you wish to be left in awe at a masterpiece, then check out this movie. Praise it! 5/5