Originally developed by co-screenwriter Joseph L. Mankiewicz for the Marx Brothers, who passed on it, Edward Cline’s Million Dollar Legs is a pre-Code international farce that starts in the fictional country of Klostokia and ends up in Los Angeles, CA. Along the way, there is romance, political intrigue, feats of strength, and laughter.
Buy Million Dollar Legs from MovieZyngMigg Tweeny (Jack Oakie) is an American brush salesman who finds himself working in Klostokia. In a chance encounter, he falls instantly in love with Angela (Susan Fleming), which is the name of every girl in the country, and the feeling is mutual. But Migg needs to get the approval of her father (W.C. Fields), Klostokia’s President. However, the President has pressing issues to deal with as his cabinet is conspiring against him, hoping to oust him either by physically outpowering or hoping the country defaults on its government bonds.
Migg suggests the President participate in the ’32 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles to earn the $8 million Klostokia needs. The President agrees and Migg is tasked with seeking athletes to compete for the country in other events. After the team is assembled, the cabinet hires Mata Machree (Lyda Roberti) to seduce the male athletes, and she is so good she gets the team to turn on one another, leaving them brokenhearted by the time they arrive in California.
Million Dollar Legs has a number of funny scenes, especially at the Olympics where a runner is helped by camera trickery and the climactic weightlifting contest between the President and one of his Secretaries. Though the style of the time, the musical numbers don’t add much.
The video has been given a 1080p/MPEG-4 AVC encoded transfer displayed at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The image is in need of a restoration. Blacks are inky but those in background can crush because the focus isn’t always sharp. Film grain is apparent but so are white and black specks, splotches, scratches, and missing frames. The audio is available in DTS-HD MA 2.0. Dialogue is clear but a hiss can be heard of the track. The score sounds adequate. There are no extras.
Buy Million Dollar Legs from AmazonRunning just over an hour, Million Dollar Legs has something for everyone and will have everything for someone. Although in need of work, the A/V presentation should be a good upgrade from DVD.
