A Funny Story
Christabel Sloane (Parker), Christy of the title, is a San Francisco lawyer’s (Douglass Dumbrille) secretary. The discrepancy between her expensive taste and her meager salary makes Christy wish for a millionaire to marry. Her wish seems to have been granted when she is assigned to go to Los Angeles to tell Peter Ulysses Lockwood (MacMurray) that his uncle has left him $2 million. According to her friend and co-worker Patsy (Una Merkel), this is her chance to get a millionaire of her own.
Christy’s prospective millionaire is a successful radio host: the ridiculously hypocritical Sunshine Man, who sells his sponsor’s prune juice with plenty of hogwash. However, although in real life he may not be the hopeless optimist he portrays on the radio, he’s very handsome.
Christy decides to take Patsy’s advice and literally swoons in his arms when she comes to his apartment door. Distressed, Peter drags her to his bedroom, where he tries to revive this stranger. He’s dressing for his wedding to June Chandler (Kay Buckley), so he doesn’t need this delay. Just then, psychiatrist Dr. Roland Cook (Richard Carlson), who’s his best friend and best man, shows up and assumes the worst about Peter and Christy. By this point, however, Peter is thoroughly convinced that Christy is insane.
Comedy Without a Cause
“A Millionaire for Christy” doesn’t have a strong moral message. It’s not about lost causes and great heroes. It’s a lighthearted and fun movie. This post-war screwball comedy emphasizes that taking a lighthearted approach can make life more enjoyable. Not everything has to be serious to be meaningful.
During the Golden Era of Hollywood, movies consistently depicted, promoted, and encouraged decent behavior and sound morals. This was not because of the collective decency of filmmakers or even because of societal standards. This was because the major studios were signatories of the Motion Picture Production Code, commonly called the Hays Code. By agreeing to follow this wise document’s guidelines on acceptable film content for Americans of all ages and backgrounds in 1934, they committed to following the guidance of Joseph I. Breen of the Production Code Administration. Until his retirement in 1954, Mr. Breen helped make movies clean and decent for everyone, even if they weren’t overtly patriotic or religious.
Although a fun comedy, this movie is also a good example of upright traditional living. Christy is a hard worker, but she wants to find a husband to provide for her and a family. The two main male characters want to marry one young woman, but Peter later realizes that he is attracted to Christy. He forgets himself after drinking some tequila and kisses her in the moonlight, later apologizing for his forward behavior.
Some of the dialogue would have been considered sophisticated, mature, or somewhat racy in 1951, but today we can appreciate the high standards of the day. The constant suspicion Peter receives from the other characters is a reminder of how highly propriety and chastity were regarded then.
Fred MacMurray remained popular in his later acting years as the father in the television series, “My Three Sons,” and on similarly wholesome Disney live action films from the 1960s. Eleanor Parker’s greatest claim to fame was playing the baroness in the refreshingly uplifting 1965 musical “The Sound of Music.”
However, if you want to see a funny and wholesome example of their earlier work, I recommend “A Millionaire for Christy.”
