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.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 1 nomination total
Paul Whiteman
- Paul Whiteman
- (as Paul Whiteman and Band)
Charles Adler
- Member, The Yacht Club Boys
- (uncredited)
Ricca Allen
- Politician
- (uncredited)
Herbert Ashley
- Bus Driver
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- Nunnally Johnson
- Fred Allen(uncredited)
- James Gow(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWhen 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.
- GoofsPosition 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.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Dreamscape (1984)
- SoundtracksThanks 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
Featured review
Radio's Fred Allen's First Feature Film
The 1930s saw a tremendous growth in radio since it was first introduced in the 1920s. A few radio celebrities made a good living doing side work in cinema, led by Jack Benny, Will Rogers and George Burns and Gracie Allen. Radio personality Fred Allen augmented his popularity on the airwaves as a humorist by introducing himself in his first feature film in the October 1935 musical, "Thanks a Million."
Allen's barbs and one liners, beginning with his 1932 'The Fred Allen Show,' pioneered the comedy host-and-guest format for radio and television programs that talk show host Johnny Carson perfected. The newly-formed Twentieth Century-Fox's first feature film, "Thanks a Million," capitalized on Allen's immense popularity and worked its plot around him. His character Ned Allen is a band leader featuring singer Eric Land (Dick Powell). During a bus transfer, Allen notices a candidate running for the governor's office who needed some pizzazz to spark his stump speeches. He gets the campaign to hire his band to drum up crowds for the candidate Judge Culliman (Raymond Walburn), who loves his drink. At one stop, the judge is too drunk to speak, and Eric takes his place, firing up the crowd to call for him to replace Culliman. Eric does so and wins the election.
A couple years after the release of "Thanks a Million," Allen quipped on his radio show that the movie proved that "Up in Washington, they elected a band leader Lieutenant Governor, and if people will vote for a jazz band leader, they'll vote for anybody." He was referring to Victor Meyers, a former jazz-band conductor in Seattle who won the state's Lt. Governorship. In fact, Meyers had paid a visit on the 20th-Century studio lot while "Thanks A Million" was filming and joked to Dick Powell that if the actor became discouraged with show biz he could set his sights on a political career. Later, when Meyers heard Allen's joke on the radio, he hired an attorney and sued the studio for making him the brunt of an embarrassing joke that could potentially ruin his future political life. The lawsuit was eventually dismissed.
Studio producer and executive Darryl F. Zanuck, whose partnership in 20th Century Pictures in 1933 resulted in the purchase of Fox Films in 1935, loved to dream up stories which, under the pseudonym Melville Crossman, he would write his plots. He heard about Meyers' successful run for state office and based his "Thanks a Million" around a band's lead singer replacing a candidate for the governor's office. Fred Allen contributed to the film's dialogue. The Cambridge, Massachusetts born and raised Allen's first gig was in vaudeville before he took his act on to Broadway. CBS executives loved his New York City schtick and offered him a slot on their radio network's stations. He moved to NBC shortly afterwards. Allen was in three short films before "Thanks a Million," his first in 1929 showcasing his vaudeville act. After his feature film debut, Allen appeared in three additional full-length movies. But radio was clearly his forte, exclaiming "I have the perfect face for radio." One high point in Allen's popularity was when he and his good friend Jack Benny carried on a ten years-long feud about Benny's violin playing, which boasted both entertainers' radio ratings considerably. Allen is known to television viewers as a regular panelist on "What's My Line?"
Film reviewer Matt Hinrichs notes that Allen's "characterization of type-A manager Ned Allen is much more abrasive than his radio personality, but at least this offers a rare glimpse of a radio legend in action on celluloid."
Allen's barbs and one liners, beginning with his 1932 'The Fred Allen Show,' pioneered the comedy host-and-guest format for radio and television programs that talk show host Johnny Carson perfected. The newly-formed Twentieth Century-Fox's first feature film, "Thanks a Million," capitalized on Allen's immense popularity and worked its plot around him. His character Ned Allen is a band leader featuring singer Eric Land (Dick Powell). During a bus transfer, Allen notices a candidate running for the governor's office who needed some pizzazz to spark his stump speeches. He gets the campaign to hire his band to drum up crowds for the candidate Judge Culliman (Raymond Walburn), who loves his drink. At one stop, the judge is too drunk to speak, and Eric takes his place, firing up the crowd to call for him to replace Culliman. Eric does so and wins the election.
A couple years after the release of "Thanks a Million," Allen quipped on his radio show that the movie proved that "Up in Washington, they elected a band leader Lieutenant Governor, and if people will vote for a jazz band leader, they'll vote for anybody." He was referring to Victor Meyers, a former jazz-band conductor in Seattle who won the state's Lt. Governorship. In fact, Meyers had paid a visit on the 20th-Century studio lot while "Thanks A Million" was filming and joked to Dick Powell that if the actor became discouraged with show biz he could set his sights on a political career. Later, when Meyers heard Allen's joke on the radio, he hired an attorney and sued the studio for making him the brunt of an embarrassing joke that could potentially ruin his future political life. The lawsuit was eventually dismissed.
Studio producer and executive Darryl F. Zanuck, whose partnership in 20th Century Pictures in 1933 resulted in the purchase of Fox Films in 1935, loved to dream up stories which, under the pseudonym Melville Crossman, he would write his plots. He heard about Meyers' successful run for state office and based his "Thanks a Million" around a band's lead singer replacing a candidate for the governor's office. Fred Allen contributed to the film's dialogue. The Cambridge, Massachusetts born and raised Allen's first gig was in vaudeville before he took his act on to Broadway. CBS executives loved his New York City schtick and offered him a slot on their radio network's stations. He moved to NBC shortly afterwards. Allen was in three short films before "Thanks a Million," his first in 1929 showcasing his vaudeville act. After his feature film debut, Allen appeared in three additional full-length movies. But radio was clearly his forte, exclaiming "I have the perfect face for radio." One high point in Allen's popularity was when he and his good friend Jack Benny carried on a ten years-long feud about Benny's violin playing, which boasted both entertainers' radio ratings considerably. Allen is known to television viewers as a regular panelist on "What's My Line?"
Film reviewer Matt Hinrichs notes that Allen's "characterization of type-A manager Ned Allen is much more abrasive than his radio personality, but at least this offers a rare glimpse of a radio legend in action on celluloid."
helpful•00
- springfieldrental
- Jun 19, 2023
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Glada musikanter
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 27 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
![Thanks a Million (1935)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BY2U5N2JmNmMtNzM0MC00MmY3LTkxMjMtZmY3YWZiMjg0MDE1XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTY5Nzc4MDY@._V1_QL75_UY133_CR10,0,90,133_.jpg)