''Brewster's Millions'' is a 1914 American
comedy film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...
directed by
Oscar Apfel
Oscar C. Apfel (January 17, 1878 – March 21, 1938) was an American film actor, director, screenwriter and producer. He appeared in more than 160 films between 1913 and 1939, and also directed 94 films between 1911 and 1927.
Biography
Apf ...
and
Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American film director, producer and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of the American cine ...
and starring
Edward Abeles
Edward Abeles (November 4, 1869 – July 10, 1919) was an American actor. He appeared in eight films between 1914 and 1918. Before working for Famous Players-Lasky, of which he was one of the founding members, he had a lengthy stage career.
Abe ...
. It is an adaptation of the
1902 novel written by
George Barr McCutcheon
George Barr McCutcheon (July 26, 1866 – October 23, 1928) was an American popular novelist and playwright. His best known works include a series of novels set in Graustark, a fictional East European country, and the novel '' Brewster's Milli ...
. The novel had also been turned into a successful 1906 Broadway
play of the same name
Play most commonly refers to:
* Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment
* Play (theatre), a work of drama
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* Pla ...
that also starred Edward Abeles. Abeles's success in the play led to his being cast in this film.
Sydney Deane
Sydney Leslie Deane (1 March 1863 – 20 March 1934) was a first-class cricketer and entertainer, and the first Australian to appear in a Hollywood movie.
Biography In Australia
Born in Balmain, Sydney, to Edward and Sophia, Deane was a prom ...
, who played the character of Jonas Sedgwick, made his film debut in ''Brewster's Millions'' and in doing so became the first
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
n to appear in a Hollywood film.
[Bonnell, M. (2004) "Men of Many Talents", The Journal of the Cricket Society, vol. 21, no. 4., The Cricket Society] The film is considered to be
lost
Lost may refer to getting lost, or to:
Geography
*Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland
* Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US
History
*Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...
.
Plot
Wealthy Edwin Peter Brewster disowns his son Robert when he marries Louise Sedgwick, a woman of modest means. Many years later, when Robert dies, however, E.P. Brewster leaves one million dollars to their son Monty, a bank clerk. Shortly thereafter, Monty learns that he has inherited seven million dollars from his Uncle George on the stipulation that Monty divest himself of his grandfather's fortune within a year, without revealing why. A further stipulation is that the money must be used only for personal expenditures. Monty spends lavishly, invests in stock and makes a bet on a prize fight, but the bet and the stocks pay off. In desperation he rents and repairs a yacht to sail around the world. At one port, Monty saves Peggy Gray, his childhood sweetheart, from abduction by an Arab sheik. On the eve of gaining possession of the money, Monty proposes to Peggy, who eagerly accepts, thinking that Monty is a pauper. Then a cable informs Monty that Swearengen Jones, his uncle's executor, has absconded with the fortune. Unperturbed, Peggy and Monty marry but then are presented with the inheritance as a wedding present by Jones, who turns out to be a practical joker.
Cast
*
Edward Abeles
Edward Abeles (November 4, 1869 – July 10, 1919) was an American actor. He appeared in eight films between 1914 and 1918. Before working for Famous Players-Lasky, of which he was one of the founding members, he had a lengthy stage career.
Abe ...
as Robert Brewster / Monty Brewster
*
Joseph Singleton
Joseph Edward Victor Fairfield Daveran Singleton (1 March 1879 – 24 October 1946) was an actor of the silent era. An Australian, he appeared in 74 films between 1913 and 1925. He was born in Melbourne.
Selected filmography
* ''Shon the ...
as Edwin Peter Brewster
*
Sydney Deane
Sydney Leslie Deane (1 March 1863 – 20 March 1934) was a first-class cricketer and entertainer, and the first Australian to appear in a Hollywood movie.
Biography In Australia
Born in Balmain, Sydney, to Edward and Sophia, Deane was a prom ...
as Jonas Sedgwick
* Miss Bartholomew as Louise Sedgwick
*
Mabel Van Buren
Mabel Van Buren (born Mabel Brown Southard; July 17, 1878 – November 4, 1947) was an American stage and screen actress.
Biography
As a theatrical performer she played the leading lady in both ''The Virginian'' and ''The Squaw Man'' (190 ...
as Mrs. Gray
* James MacGregor as John Harrison
*
Dick La Reno
Dick La Reno (October 31, 1863 – July 26, 1945) was an American film actor of the silent era. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1914 and 1931. He was born in Ireland and died in Hollywood, California.
Selected filmography
* '' Ro ...
as Swearengen Jones / The Sheik
* Baby La Reno as Monty Brewer, age 5
* "Baby" Carmen De Rue as Peggy Gray, age 5 (as Baby De Rue)
*
Winifred Kingston
Winifred Kingston (11 November 1894 – 3 February 1967) was a British-born American silent film actress.
Kingston was educated in Scotland and Belgium. She acted on stage in England before she began acting in the United States.
On Broadway, K ...
as Peggy Gray
* Bernadine Zuber as Barbara Drew
*
Monroe Salisbury
Monroe Salisbury (May 8, 1876 – August 7, 1935) was an American actor. He appeared on the stage for several years and then became an early film star.
Salisbury was a matinee idol. He began his acting career on the stage in 1898, appearin ...
as Noppier Harrison
* Maureen Rasmussen as Trixie, the actress
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brewster's Millions (1914 Film)
1914 films
1914 comedy films
1914 lost films
Silent American comedy films
American silent feature films
American black-and-white films
American films based on plays
Films about inheritances
Films based on American novels
Films directed by Cecil B. DeMille
Films directed by Oscar Apfel
Films based on multiple works
Films based on Brewster's Millions
Lost comedy films
Lost American films
Paramount Pictures films
1910s American films