Fifty Million Frenchmen

Fifty Million Frenchmen is a musical comedy with music and song lyrics by Cole Porter, the book was inspired by Herbert Fields. The premiere took place on 27 November 1929 at the Lyric Theatre in New York, a month after the stock market crash on Black Thursday, the beginning of the Great Depression. It was the first to Porter's big Broadway hit. The main role was played by William Gaxton.

Content

Paris has the late twenties a lot to offer for Americans: culture, beauty, distraction and alcohol! (see Prohibition ), banned books, unscrupulous men. Three college buddies from a wealthy family to spend their vacation in Paris. When one of them, Peter Forbes, a girl, Looloo Carroll, meet again, which was already noticed him at the crossing, there is a bet to 50,000 Francs ( " fifty Mille " ): Within a month he should Looloo persuade him to marry, but without employing his wealth as a means of courtship nor for his livelihood. Now we see Peter as a guide and as a gigolo; Also: a visit to the racetrack Longchamp, a pompous reception and in between some other Paris - great Americans.

The plot of Fifty Million Frenchmen still has the incoherence of a revue, as was customary for the shows of the 1920s. Porter wrote about twice the musical numbers used in the end - the piece took its shape only during rehearsals at. Increasing concentration of the Broadway shows on a storyline became common only in the Musical Plays of the 1930's and has to do with the competition of the talkies.

Well-known musical numbers

• You Do Something To Me
• You've Got That Thing
• You Do not Know Paree

Filming

Film versions exist from 1931, directed by Lloyd Bacon ( the songs were merely instrumental here reproduced), and from 1934 under the title Paree, Paree ( a short film ).