''Five Million Look for an Heir'' (german: Fünf Millionen suchen einen Erben) is a 1938 German

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

Carl Boese Carl Eduard Hermann Boese (; 26 August 1887 – 6 July 1958) was a German film director, screenwriter, and film producer, producer. He directed 158 films between 1917 and 1957. Selected filmography * ''Farmer Borchardt'' (1917) * ''Donna Lucia ...

and starring

Heinz Rühmann Heinrich Wilhelm "Heinz" Rühmann (; 7 March 1902 – 3 October 1994) was a German film actor who appeared in over 100 films between 1926 and 1993. He is one of the most famous and popular German actors of the 20th century, and is considered a Ge ...

, Leny Marenbach and

Oskar Sima Oskar Sima (31 July 1896 – 24 June 1969) was an Austrian actor who is best remembered for appearing in supporting roles in countless comedy films from the 1930s to the 1960s. Born in Hohenau an der March, Lower Austria, Sima attended high sc ...

. It was based on a novel by Harald Baumgarten.Rentschler p. 343 It was shot at the

Halensee Halensee () is a ''locality'' (''Ortsteil'') of Berlin in the district (''Bezirk'') of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Halensee was established as a villa and tenement settlement in about 1880, in the suburb of Wilmersdorf, which became part of Great ...

and

Tempelhof Studios The Tempelhof Studios are a film studio located in Tempelhof in the German capital of Berlin. They were founded in 1912, during the silent era, by German film pioneer Alfred Duskes, who built a glass-roofed studio on the site with financial back ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

Alfred Bütow Alfred Bütow (1902 – 1986) was a German art director. Originally he worked on scenic design in the theatre before switching to the film industry.Giesen p.236-37 He worked on the set design of over fifty films during his career. Selected filmo ...

and

Willi Herrmann Willi Herrmann (1893–1968) was a German art director. Selected filmography * '' Madness'' (1919) * '' Child on the Open Road'' (1919) * '' Jettatore'' (1919) * '' Humanity Unleashed'' (1920) * '' The Secrets of Berlin'' (1921) * '' The Mahar ...

Plot

The wealthy American uncle of vacuum cleaner salesman Peter Pett stipulated in his will that Peter may only inherit the five million dollars left to him if he is happily married. Otherwise, the five million should go to Peter's Scottish cousin Patrick. Commissioned by the executor, Mister Blubberboom comes to Europe to see if Peter is happy with his wife Hix too. But the insidious Blubberboom brings Peter to New York without his wife and wants to have the beautiful Mabel appears as his wife at the performance there. But Patrick, who looks confusingly like his cousin, also wants the money. He appears at Hix and travels with her to New York as well. In the Atlantic Hotel, everyone meets without meeting at first. There are confusing scenes, and even as a viewer it is difficult to tell which of the two Petts you are looking at. Eventually, Blubberboom reveals himself to be a gangster and hides Hix to avoid meeting her husband. But in the end, Hix and Peter finally meet, hug, and this obvious happiness also decides about the millions. But Patrick doesn't go away empty-handed either: he won Mabel's heart.

Cast

as Peter Pett / Patrick Pett * Leny Marenbach as Mabel *

Vera von Langen Vera may refer to: Names *Vera (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Vera (given name), a given name (including a list of people and fictional characters with the name) **Vera (), archbishop of the archdiocese of Tarra ...

as Hix *

as Blubberboom *

Heinz Salfner Heinz Salfner (31 December 1877 – 13 October 1945) was a German stage and film actor. Salfner appeared in more than sixty films during his career. He played the lead in the 1932 crime film '' A Shot at Dawn''.Youngkin p.465 Selected filmography ...

as Gould *

Olga Limburg Olga Limburg (5 April 1881 – 7 March 1970) was a German theater and film actress. She began her artistic career in 1901 with a commitment at the Municipal Theatre of Poznan. Since 1902, she played at several of Berlin's leading theaters includi ...

as Vorstandsmitglied *

Claire Reigbert Clair or Claire may refer to: *Claire (given name), a list of people with the name Claire * Clair (surname) Places Canada * Clair, New Brunswick, a former village, now part of Haut-Madawaska * Clair Parish, New Brunswick * Pointe-Claire, Q ...

as Miss Hopkins, Vorstandsmitglied der Vereinigten Frauen- und Sittlichkeitsverbände *

Albert Florath Albert Peter Adam Florath (7 December 1888, Bielefeld – 11 March 1957, Gaildorf) was a German stage and film actor. Early life and education Born to Joseph Florath, a locksmith, and his wife Matilda, née Burkart, he attended school in Brak ...

as Mister Bucklespring *

Valy Arnheim Valy Arnheim (born Valentin Theodor Woldemar Appel; 8 June 1883 – 11 November 1950) was a German film actor and director. Selected filmography * ''Lightning Command'' (1921) * ''Anne-Liese of Dessau'' (1925) * ''Harry Hill's Deadly Hunt'' (192 ...

as Mister Harris *

William Huch William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Eng ...

as Mister Kirkwood *

Anton Pointner Anton Pointner (8 December 1894 in Salzburg – 8 September 1949 in Hintersee) was an Austrian stage and film actor. Pointner's career began on the stages of Austria and performed in both silent and sound films in his native Austria, as well ...

as Hotelportier *

Otto Stoeckel Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', ''Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fro ...

as Arzt im Dachgarten *

Hermann Pfeiffer ''Leutnant'' Hermann Pfeiffer (24 July 1890 – 20 May 1917) IC was a German World War I flying ace credited with eleven aerial victories.The Aerodrome website http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/pfeiffer.php Retrieved on 15 April 2010. Wor ...

as Onkel Jim - NBC Radio-Reporter

References

Bibliography

External links

* 1938 films Films of Nazi Germany German comedy films German black-and-white films 1938 comedy films 1930s German-language films Films directed by Carl Boese Films based on German novels Films set in the United States Terra Film films 1930s German films Films shot at Tempelhof Studios Films shot at Halensee Studios {{1930s-Germany-film-stub