Three on a Spree | |
---|---|
Directed by | Sidney J. Furie |
Written by | George Barr McCutcheon (novel, "Brewster's Millions") Winchell Smith and Byron Ongley (play, "Brewster's Millions") |
Produced by | Edward Small (executive) George Fowler David E. Rose (executive) |
Starring | Jack Watling Carole Lesley John Slater |
Cinematography | Stephen Dade |
Edited by | Bert Rule |
Music by | Ken Thorne |
Production company | Caralan Productions |
Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date |
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Running time | 90 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Three on a Spree (also known as Brewster's Millions) is a 1961 British comedy film directed by Sidney J. Furie and starring Jack Watling, Carole Lesley and John Slater. [1] It is based on the 1902 novel Brewster's Millions by George Barr McCutcheon, which became the hit 1906 play written by Winchell Smith and Byron Ongley. It had been previously filmed by Edward Small in 1945. [2]
The film was shot at Walton Studios. Its sets were designed by the art director John Blezard.
Michael Brewster stands to inherit £8,000,000, but only if he can spend the first million in 60 days.
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "A new version of that hoary stage success, Brewster's Millions, which rings far too many changes on its central idea and leaves its hard-pressed cast panting by the time the inevitable happy ending is reached. There are one or two good gags and lively moments, but the comedy is otherwise sparse and leaden." [3]
The New York Times found the film "all unbelievable and more than a little unpleasant." [2]
The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 3/5 stars, writing: "First made as a silent by Oscar Apfel and Cecil B. DeMille in 1914, Brewster's Millions underwent another reworking in this shoddy British offering. The story lumbers around London as Jack Watling attempts to spend a small fortune in a bid to land a whopping inheritance. Carole Lesley comes along for the ride, without bring much to the picnic. Sidney J Furie's leaden, laugh-free direction saps the morale of a willing, but woefully wasted supporting cast." [4]
George Barr McCutcheon 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 Millions, which was adapted into a play and several films.
Jack Stanley Watling was an English actor.
Sidney Joseph Furie is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, and producer best known for his extensive work in both British and American cinema between the 1960s and early 1980s. Like his contemporaries Norman Jewison and Ted Kotcheff, he was one of the earliest Canadian directors to achieve mainstream critical and financial success outside their native country at a time when its film industry was virtually nonexistent. He won a BAFTA Film Award and was nominated for a Palme d'Or for his work on the acclaimed spy thriller The Ipcress File (1965) starring Michael Caine.
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Brewster's Millions is a 1902 comedic novel by George Barr McCutcheon.
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Brewster's Millions is a 1945 American comedy film directed by Allan Dwan and starring Dennis O'Keefe, Helen Walker and June Havoc. It is one of many film adaptations of the 1902 novel of the same name by George Barr McCutcheon and the subsequent smash-hit play adaptation by Byron Ongley and Winchell Smith. In the novel, Brewster is a stockbroker; in this version, he is portrayed as a returning soldier.
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