Classic Film Guide

Hot Millions (1968) - full review!

Directed by Eric Till, with a story & screenplay written directly for the screen that earned Ira Wallach & lead actor Peter Ustinov (Topkapi (1964)) their only Writing Academy Award nominations, this dated comedy has an ironic conclusion. Fans of Ustinov's characterizations, complete with fumbling mannerisms intended to make one wonder if he (e.g. his character) is bumbling idiot or a genius pretending to be one, will certainly enjoy it while others may find that they wear thin to the point of being tiresome, especially during this film's slow moving plot. Plus, Bob Newhart’s comedic capabilities are wasted in his role.

Ustinov plays Marcus Pendleton who, upon his release from jail (presumably for a "white collar" crime) where he did the warden's taxes, steals the identity of (wannabe moth explorer &) computer expert Caesar Smith (Robert Morley) to get a job in the I/T (information technology) department at Ta Can Co, a concrete & cement corporation. He's hired by Tacanco’s executive vice president Carlton Klemper (Karl Malden); Newhart plays VP Willard Gnatpole. Maggie Smith plays Patty Terwilliger who, with seemingly no skills, can't keep a job until she's hired as a Tacanco secretary that's assigned to work for Smith. She knows him as Pendleton, because he lives in the same apartment building, but is otherwise clueless that her boss is about to embark on an elaborate embezzlement scheme. Cesar Romero appears late in the story as a customs inspector (in two scenes which seem unnecessary).

It's the 1960's, so the executives we see in the London offices of this American conglomerate are on the make (e.g. out for sex) AND are apparently able to kick up their feet & look out their office windows in lieu of doing any real work. By throwing around a few acronyms here & there and hiring an outside consultant to write some management recommendations for him, Ustinov as Smith has Klemper completely fooled as to his competency whereas Gnatpole is suspicious. Both, however, are impressed by what they think is their new hire’s sexual prowess. Since he keeps unqualified secretary Patty employed, they assume she's meeting his "other" needs. Gnatpole's attraction to Patty keeps him off balance and his suspicions somewhat at bay. Meanwhile, accountant trained but computer novice Pendleton/Smith reads a few technical manuals and, after learning an important trick from a housekeeper, is able to figure out how to defeat the corporation's computer security in order to drain one million pounds from the company's 290 million dollars in assets over the course of his year's employment. He does this by establishing dummy companies around the European continent; when the computer prints its checks, one goes to each of them.

The plot bogs down, necessarily as it turns out, when Patty is fired by personnel for being late. She and her former boss & neighbor Pendleton then discover that they're both lonely, and begin a relationship that leads to marriage and even her pregnancy. Eventually, of course, the crime is uncovered and Patty learns the truth about her husband and their sudden need to flee the country for Rio de Janeiro, but this comedy's payoff is when the truth about Patty is discovered.

Purchase this DVD now at