Le Million

(France, 1931, Black and White, English subtitles).

Rene Clair's comedy, with music, is a mild satire on the foibles of mankind, especially those people who live on expectations of big wins in raffles and lotteries. Coming between Sous Les Toits De Paris and A Nous La Liberte, it describes the pursuit of a lost prize-winning ticket, by the hero, Rene Lefebre, assisted by his fiancee Annabella, assisted by Louis Allibert and Vanda Greville.

In his "Picture History of The Cinema," Ernest Lindgren says "Although made so early in the sound period, this delightful comedy, in which the musical use of sound was completely integrated with the action, has never been surpassed."

At times, the comedy verges on surrealism, such as the balletic treatment of a football-type scrimmage in the middle of a theatre stage, or the bewildering sequence in the police station, with seminudity a major item.

(Le Million will be screened on June 27).