Thanks a Million

1935
Approved
1h 27m

IMDb RATING

6.3/10

284

YOUR RATING

Comedy Musical Romance

Entertainers enter a political rally to get out of the rain and become part of the show. One of them (Powell) gives a speech in place of the besotted candidate (Walburn) and is chosen to be ... Read allEntertainers enter a political rally to get out of the rain and become part of the show. One of them (Powell) gives a speech in place of the besotted candidate (Walburn) and is chosen to be the candidate by backers he later exposes as crooks.Entertainers enter a political rally to get out of the rain and become part of the show. One of them (Powell) gives a speech in place of the besotted candidate (Walburn) and is chosen to be the candidate by backers he later exposes as crooks.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.3/10

284

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 1 nomination total

Trivia
When Ned (Fred Allen) says to Eric (Dick Powell), "Up in Washington, they elected a jazz band leader Lieutenant Governor, and if people will vote for a jazz band leader, they'll vote for anybody," Lieutenant Governor Victor Meyers of Washington State (an ex-band leader) sued Twentieth Century-Fox for $250,000. He claimed it reflected on his qualifications and deprived him of the "confidence, respect and good will of the people." No information has been found on the result of the suit.

Goofs
Position of Eric's trench coat collar changes between long-shots and close-ups when Sally and Eric plan an excursion from the remainder of their troupe and the politicians.

Connections
Referenced in Dreamscape (1984)

Soundtracks
Thanks a Million
(1935)
Music by Arthur Johnston
Lyrics by Gus Kahn
Played by The Yacht Club Boys and other musicians, with David Rubinoff (uncredited) on violin,
and sung by Dick Powell (uncredited) and Ann Dvorak (uncredited)
Danced later by Ann Dvorak (uncredited) and Patsy Kelly (uncredited)
Reprised by Powell and Rubinoff near the end
Music played often in the score

User reviews12

Review

Featured review

8/10

This movie STILL hits the nail on the head!

Although the golden days of radio were long before I was born, I've always enjoyed the great radio comedians and was thrilled to see this Fred Allen movie being shown around the time of the 2008 election.

Fred Allen, who passed away in the early 1950s, was a contemporary of George Burns, Bob Hope, and Jack Benny, who pioneered the format of the sitcom in radio and later onto television. Unfortunately, Mr. Allen did not live long enough to make it into television (and he admittedly had a "face for radio", as he put it).

It is AMAZING to see how much the political parody in the movie Thanks a Million still hits the mark; the song "Square Deal Party" is a gem. If you get the chance to see this movie, don't miss it (I would recommend taping it - if you enjoy political satire, you will probably want to hear the lyrics of "Square Deal Party" again). It should be shown by the classic movie channels again WELL BEFORE 2012!!!

Fred Allen has an enjoyably sardonic, self aware delivery in this movie; it can be argued that his political satire on the radio was the first America had within that genre, if not some of the finest at that time. The Looney Tunes character Foghorn Leghorn (think the big rooster with the southern accent) is obviously based on the character Senator Claghorn from his "Allen's Allen." Fred Allen was a wordsmith who coined the phrase "low man on the totem pole" and is seriously underrated, in my opinion. Anyone who has an interest in American comedy/political satire and is not yet familiar with Fred Allen should spend a little time reading up on him and learning about a great American comedian who is sadly neglected and unknown today.