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Quick Millions

1931, Movie, NR, 72 mins

Quick Millions: Review

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Tracy is a truck driver, by his own admission "too lazy to work and too nervous to steal." What he can do, though, is organize a racket with himself as its head that starts out wrecking cars in the street for a share of the profits of the garage owners the vandalized motorists turn to, then moving into extortion, protection rackets, and eventually taking over the trucking business of the whole town. He falls in love with Churchill, a socialite, and he wants to marry her to give him the class his regular moll, Eilers, can't provide. He forces her brother, Wray, into business with him so he can have access to her, but she constantly turns aside his advances. Meanwhile, Tracy's trusted henchman, Raft, is tricked by rival gang lord Richmond into killing a reformer. Word of this unauthorized hit gets back to Tracy and he has his loyal underling taken out and killed. Churchill plans to marry another man and Tracy plots to kidnap her from the altar, but on the way to the church, his men, tired of their boss' constant quest for "class," take him for a "ride." This undeservedly neglected gangster film is one of the best of the era, ranking with pictures like THE PUBLIC ENEMY (1931) and LITTLE CAESAR (1930). Director-writer Brown made his debut here, and would direct only a few others, including the recently rediscovered gangster classic BLOOD MONEY (1933), before his star would mysteriously fade. Tracy gives a terrific performance as a decent man who lusts after power and class and only ends up dead, and many of the other performers give lucid, interesting performances. Raft made his second feature appearance here and started his career in earnest. He had come to Hollywood some months earlier with his good friend gangster Owney Madden. Madden introduced Raft to Brown and suggested that Brown might be able to find a place for Raft in his new movie. The next morning, a limousine came and picked up Raft and took him to the studio, a star treatment that even the film's star, Tracy, wasn't receiving. On the set, an argument broke out between Brown and the casting director over Raft's suitability for the role. The actor was shocked to hear himself talked about "like a piece of meat" so he told the bickering pair: "Look, gentlemen, may I say something? Suppose I come in tomorrow and read for the part. If my work is satisfactory, you hire me. If it isn't, you don't." His screen test was successful and he was impressive enough in his small role to convince Howard Hawks to cast him in the film that would cement him forever in the public mind, SCARFACE. leave a comment
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