Brewster's Millions

I'm always a bit surprised to find authors that were widely-read in their day and are now largely unrecognized. McCutcheon is one such—a very popular author and playwright at the beginning of the 20th century. These days, it is usually fans of Anthony Hope's The Prisoner of Zenda or Edgar Rice Burroughs' The Mad King who know of him for his several books set in the fictitious Balkan kingdom of Graustark. Most do not realize that he was the author of Brewster's Millions, a story that has been made into a movie at least nine times as well as having a Broadway run.

However, if you saw one of the recent versions, forget the movie experience. The original, while humorous, wasn't simply a slapstick assembly of typical Richard Pryor humor. As show more with much popular reading from that era, the book is a blend of comedy, romance and a little bit of world view philosophizing.

The story concerns one Montgomery Brewster, an upper class young man whose uncle leaves him a large fortune…provided he spend every penny of the small fortune his grandfather (whom his uncle hated) left him. If he has even a penny of assets at the end of year, he gets nothing from his uncle's will. The kicker is that he is forbidden to tell anyone why he has become a spendthrift so, of course, friends and family rally to save him from himself.

I've read a dozen or so McCutcheon novels at this point and I've found them all to be pleasant and quick reads. If you don't mind a humorous romance (in the older sense of "boy meets girl" rather than the modern of something out of Harlequin Press) you can try something your grandparents or great-grandparents might have enjoyed. show less

Brewster's Millions by George Barr McCutcheon has been adapted to stage (at least once) and to the big screen six times and is apparently in development again. The version I know best is the 1945 film staring Dennis O'Keefe and Helen Walker. So when I found a nice 1902 edition (with photos from the stage play) at the tippy top of a bookshelf at the Book Shop, I snatched it up.

Montgomery Brewster has a girl friend and a happy life that includes living in a boarding house. An uncle dies and leaves him with a million. And he's basically set for life. He and his girl friend can get married and continue living in the boarding house her mother runs. End of story.

No. To further complicate things, an even more distant uncle who made his money show more in Montana dies and leaves him millions with a HUGE catch. He must prove himself worthy of the money by divesting himself of his newfound fortune through small but steady expenditures. He can't transfer his money to someone else. He can't tell anyone about these stipulations. He can't get married until after this trial is over. And it all has to be done by his next birthday.

Now here's a time when I think the movie (at least the 1945 version) is better than its source material. In the film, Brewster only inherits once. The untold fortune he is to inherit is tied to being able to divest himself of the first million of it. He can't just tell the lawyer for the second uncle to stuff it since he already by 1902 standards has a HUGE fortune and is living frugally to make it last. Nope, by the film's rules, it's all or nothing and the birthday deadline is shrunk to two months! The new rules and shorter deadline make for a madcap, screwball comedy.

The book thus takes its own sweet time going through situation after situation of funny money spending. So rather than getting a tightly written, humorous take on the old adage that "to make money, you need to spend money" (even when you don't want to!), there's instead a loosely woven series of gags, many of which fall flat.

The most groan worthy part of the book though is the section that inspired the very funny pleasure cruise that Brewster takes his fiancŽ on. In the movie, the cruise is a way to blow the last remaining funds as the deadline rapidly ticks down. It's also hinted in the film that they are using the trip to resume their relationship away from the watchful eyes of dead uncle's lawyer.

But but but... the book's cruise ends up taking months and months, this being a turn of the last century when vacations were by ship and often took weeks or months. So Brewster takes his girlfriend, who so far has decided he's not worth the effort since he's blown her off since getting his second inheritance, along for the cruise. Convincing her to come involves a lot of handwaving and HUGE plot holes and we're just expected to accept that she's part of this episode.

In the movie, they go somewhere like the Caribbean. It's close by and more typical of a modern day romantic cruise. And it's saves the movie from making the awful harem jokes that the book does. Yes Ñ Brewster's fiancŽ to spite him nearly gets herself stolen away by an Arab sheik to be part of his harem.

For the sloppy pacing and wretched extended harem plot, I'm knocking two stars off my rating. The film, though, gets a full five stars. show less

I got this because there was a word of the day, "brewstered". My favorite dog of all time was named Brewster, but brewstered didn't relate to my beloved companion from 2000 to 2012, but to a character in this book. So, I decided to check it out. Why not?

It seems that during a celebration of his 25th birthday, with pals from the "Little Sons of the Rich", Montgomery (or Monty) Brewster learns that his grandfather has died and that he, Monty, is to inherit a million dollars. But, a few days later, he learns that an uncle he hardly knew, has also died. That uncle, James T. Sedgwick, was a mining magnate in the west. It seems that said uncle will give his whole fortune, something like eight million dollars, to Monty, but with a certain show more proviso: Monty must divest himself completely of his inheritance from his grandfather by his 26th birthday, i.e. within just less than a year. But, he can't just give the money away, he must spend it in a somewhat responsible manner. The executor of the will, Swearengen Jones, will act as arbitrator as to how the money is spent, i.e. Monty has to clear things with Jones ahead of time. It seems that Uncle Sedgwick detested Monty's grandfather, hence the proviso in his will.

So, Monty goes about spending money like a champ. He throws parties and takes his pals on a cruise to Europe and so forth. Along the way, he has some set backs, in that the money isn't disappearing fast enough. For example, he was doing a nice job of losing money in Monte Carlo, when, suddenly his luck changed and he ended up winning a rather large sum.

Well, it's a light, frothy, amusing tale, but somewhat fun. It also dragged me further into a reading rabbit hole. It seems that Monty was a long time friend with Peggy Gray. As children they used to sneak up into the attic and read the books of Oliver Optic to each other. So, of course, I had to read some Oliver Optic. Then too, on the cruise, we have Monty shut up in his state room when in rushed Peggy for some reason or another. But, at the moment of Peggy's entering, Monty was reading a book, The Intrusions of Peggy, so of course I had to read that one as well.

Anyway, was an ok read, if not a great classic. show less

“Brewster's Millions” is a story of one man’s challenge to spend a million dollars – plus all gained interest – within a year in order to inherit seven million dollars.

I like the idea behind this book but it lacks conflict. What conflict there is tends to get sorted out too quick and easily, especially during a deadly confrontation with some Arabs, which has potential for bringing the story to life, but instead the situation is resolved without much ado.

I like George Barr McCutcheon’s style in other works that I’ve read by him, though this one is a little disappointing. Too much detail on what Brewster needs to spend, how he spends his money, what he spends his money on, how much he’s got left, etc., proves a little show more tiresome.

As mentioned, more conflict, plus more of McCutcheon’s snappy dialogue, would have improved this novel – according to my tastes, that is. show less

GB McCutcheon is now chiefly known for this book, probably on account of the Richard Pryor movie based on it made in the 1980s, although he had a ton of best sellers in his day and created Graustark, a Ruritania-like European country where he set several banal romances. I found this novel far more pleasant than expected. Montgomery Brewster, already a millionaire by inheritance, is charged with spending that money to get a much larger fortune. The conclusion was sort of forgone, but the characters were pleasant. There is one incident with an Arab which grates on modern ears, but basically this is a fun read.

Story:
I had no idea this was a book! My knowledge of it was limited entirely to the movie starring Richard Pryor. For those of you who have seen the movie, the basic plot is pretty much the same, however, pretty much everything else is pretty different. This probably comes as little surprise, if you know that the novel was published in 1902.

Brewster receives an inheritance of 1 million dollars and is, unsurprisingly, incredibly excited. Then, soon after, he learns that he is eligible for a second, much larger, inheritance, but only if, within one year, he can spend the prior inheritance. If he fails, he will not get the money, and will have to survive on what remains of the million. Of course, he tries to win big.

As you may have guessed show more based on the synopsis, or the film, this a is a light-hearted humorous book. I found most of it to be pretty funny, and really enjoyed the story. Of course, the funniest part is how difficult it was for Brewster to get rid of one million dollars. He should learn from today's celebrities, many of whom have managed to dispose of hundreds of millions. Rich people make me mad sometimes.

Performance:
I am now entirely certain that Pinchot is a very talented narrator. I've listened to three audiobooks that he's done, and in every single one he has sounded like a different person. Although I hated the first one I listened to, I've really enjoyed the others. Here, especially, he did a great job of fitting his voice and pacing to that of the character. His narration is blithe and conveys the humor of the situation.

This is quite an excellent audiobook, and just the right length for a decent road trip! show less

I think I was predisposed to like this book. I saw the movie when I was a kid. As always things aren't exactly like they were in the movie, they can't be. The book was written originally in 1902 and the movie I remember was not made until 1985. Obviously there were many changes and advancements in 83 years. Still the main plot is the same.

Young Brewster is trying to dispose of a million dollars without donating any of it, or acquiring assets with it. He finds it to be a harder challenge than he expected. My favorite line in the book Brewster is saying something about the 60 lbs he lost and the hair that has gone gray while he tried to accomplish the goal of disposing of so much money.

It has been a fun read and I would recommend it as show more light reading. show less