Million Dollar Legs

Plot

"Klopstokia: A Far-Away Country. Chief Exports: Goats and Nuts. Chief Imports: Goats and Nuts. Chief Inhabitants: Goats and Nuts." This introductory title ushers in Million Dollar Legs, one of the zaniest comedies ever to emerge from a major studio. W.C. Fields stars as the president of Klopstokia, who will hold on to his office so long as he can best the secretary of the treasury (Hugh Herbert) in their daily arm-wrestling contests. Like most of the Depression-era world, Klopstokia is broke, forcing the government to take drastic measures to raise money. Fortunately, everyone in the country is a super-athlete, inspiring visiting Fuller Brush salesman Migg Tweeney (Jack Oakie) to come up with a brilliant idea: Klopstokia will enter the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles. Alas, the subversive cabinet members, hoping to overthrow the president, plot to undermine the Klopstokian athletic team with the aid of sexy seductress Mata Machree (Lyda Roberti), "the woman no man can resist." Words can hardly describe the nonstop parade of gags and verbal insanity in Million Dollar Legs: Ben Turpin, playing a cloaked-and-caped spy, pops in and out with neither rhyme nor reason; the conspirators' outdoor hideout is incongruously equipped with hydraulic lifts and elevators; Mata Machree's butler informs the villains that "Madame can only be resisted from 2 to 4,"; and, when asked why all the Klopstokian men are named George and the women named Angela, the president's daughter (Susan Fleming, later the wife of Harpo Marx), replies "Why not?" then launches into the national anthem -- a double-talk version of "One Hour With You." Among the writers were Joseph L. Mankiewicz and Henry Myers, who were also responsible for the wacky Wheeler andWoolsey political satire Diplomaniacs. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Review

Though not really a cult film, Million Dollar Legs seems to provoke differing reactions in audiences. Many find it entirely too silly or feel that the movie is nothing more than a string of comedy routines (some of them quite dated) loosely strung together or that Legs loses steam after a while by not staying focused on its initial premise. And some simply feel that this kind of anarchic comedy was simply done better by the Marx Brothers, most particularly in Duck Soup. But there are others who revel in Legs' freewheeling, come-what-may attitude, and it's hard to argue that the film is not infectious. Devotees dismiss the criticism of the film's lack of focus, believing that the incredible quantity and quality of laughs to be found in the film more than make up for structural failings. They also point to the hilarious contributions of Jack Oakie, W.C. Fields, Lyda Roberti, and Ben Turpin, and to the lightning-fast pacing that keeps this madcap little soufflé from deflating. Indeed, if one really gets into the spirit of Legs, it can be a curiously fascinating, almost surreal experience. Those who prefer their comedies straight up may not really enjoy the film, but those who like a film that really lets itself go will find that Legs has quite a kick to it. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi

Cast

• Jack Oakie - Migg Tweeny, American brush salesman
• W.C. Fields - President of Klopstokia
• Andy Clyde - Major-Domo
• Lyda Roberti - Mata Machree
• Susan Fleming - Angela

Ben Turpin - Mysterious Man; Hugh Herbert - Secretary of the Treasury; George Barbier - Mr. Baldwin; Dickie Moore - Willie, Angela's brother; Ernie S. Adams - Contestant; Sam Adams - Secretary of State; Irving Bacon - Secretary of the Navy; Hobart Bosworth - Olympics Official Starter; Al Bridge; Herman Brix; Tyler Brooke - Olympics Announcer; Chick Collins - Jumper; Charles "Heinie" Conklin - Spy in Cape; Edgar Dearing - Train Official; Vernon Dent - Secretary of Agriculture; Bobby Dunn; Eddie Dunn - Coachman; Billy Engle - Klopstokian Athlete; Herbert Evans - Butler; Billy Gilbert - Secretary of the Interior; Teddy Hart - Secretary of War; Lew Kelly - Conductor; Hank Mann - Custom's Inspector; Sid Saylor - Starter at the Games; Ben Taggart - Ship's Captain; Don Wilson - Stationmaster; John Sinclair - Secretary of Labor; Eddie Baker; Charlie Hall

Credit

Edward F. Cline - Director, Arthur Todd - Cinematographer, Herman Mankiewicz - Producer, Joseph L. Mankiewicz - Screen Story, Nicholas Barrows - Screenwriter, Henry Myers - Screenwriter

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