If you go online to the International Movie Database (IMDb) and look up The Million Pound Note (1954), you will not find a title under that name.  Yet, this is what was affixed to the movie I watched on Amazon Prime, which is based on a short story by Mark Twain.  The celebrated author added the word “Bank,” but otherwise this is what the producers went with upon its release.  The reason for the mystery, if you will, pertains to what it changed to upon coming to the United States: Man with a Million.  I cannot tell you the reason for the switch, and it is stranger when you consider that it is a British adaptation of a story by an American writer.  Either way, this Catholic picked it because it seemed to talk about how people treat wealth, and it did not disappoint in this regard.

What is being regarded by brothers Oliver (Ronald Squire) and Roderick Montpelier (Wilfrid Hyde-White) at the beginning of The Million Pound Note is the incredulity of the Bank of England employee over their request for such a large sum of money to be put in one bill.  Nonetheless, since they have the funds, they are granted their request and leave.  We then switch to Henry Adams (Gregory Peck), an American sailor who has been stranded in London.  He has no money and the American consulate is unable to provide any help.  As he wanders the streets wondering what to do, he is called to by Oliver and Roderick from the top floor of their city abode.  Henry is looking for work, but the siblings have something else in mind.  They seem helpful, impressed by his honesty and intelligence, and hand him an envelope with instructions not to open it for a few hours.  He assumes there is cash inside, and decides to have himself two steak dinners to pass the time.  When the moment comes to settle the bill, even though it is a few minutes before the agreed hour, he uncovers the contents and is shocked to find a Bank of England note for £1 million.  Upon looking at the large denomination, the waiter shows it to the rest of the staff and they automatically assume that he is a millionaire.  Because they wish to attract more such clientele, they tell him that the meal is on the house and send him on his way.  At first, the windfall terrifies him and he tries to return it to the Montpeliers.  However, he is disturbed to discover that they have left for a month.  It is at this point that he reads the note that came with the unheard-of gift, telling him that he is to keep hold of the bill while they are gone.  If he is able to return it to them when next they meet without having been broken, they will do everything in their power to help him find employment.  Seemingly without a choice, Henry realizes that he possesses a power, which he promptly exercises by getting new clothes.  Initially, they do not pay him much mind until he reveals the money he is carrying.  With that, they begin measuring him for several suits, all of which they tell him are necessary for the coming London season.  This is an old-fashioned term, by the way, for what amounted to summer in the British capital.  I will not bore you with any more information that you could readily research on your own.  As they are telling him that he can pay for the threads later, their manager calls ahead to an upscale hotel to arrange for Henry to stay.  So impressed is the concierge that another patron, the Duke of Frognal (A. E. Matthews), is kicked out of one of the finest sweets to make way for Henry.  As they are awaiting the arrival of this supposed new American millionaire, they mistake a passing weightlifter, Rock (Reginald Beckwith), as Henry and begin the checking in process.  The matter is cleared when Henry gets there, but he takes a liking to Rock and asks the mute bodybuilder to stay and be his servant.  Together, they decide to make the best of the situation, and soon Henry is accepting invitations to high society functions.  Word gets out that there is a new rich person in town, and he is summoned to the American consulate (Wilbur Evans), who proffers a few more sensible sums of money.  At a party being hosted by the Duke of Cromarty (Hugh Wakefield), Henry meets the niece of the man of the house, Portia Landsdowne (Jane Griffiths).  The two are immediately smitten with one another, but Henry does not reveal his game during their encounter.  Instead, he impresses her even more by bidding £5,000 on a gaudy vase at a charity auction.  By throwing cash around in this manner, requests for further donations mount.  Indeed, he is starting to get into major debt, being plagued by dreams to the point that he is contemplating running off with Rock.  In the morning, though, he feels different, but he still thinks he needs to admit the caper to Portia.  His attempt is taken as a profession of love, which is not untrue.  It takes him bringing her on a boat ride for him to finally get her to listen to the whole story.  She is indignant that he would take her for a gold digger, and it is made worse when his friend, Lloyd Hastings (Brian Oulton), reports that Henry has made a small fortune through the use of his name on a gold mine.  At the same time, the Duke of Frognal hatches a plot to expose Henry as a fraud by having a maid hide the note.  He then spreads a rumor that Henry is a fake that causes a panic, with creditors marching on the hotel demanding their due.  At the same time, the revelation proves to Portia that Henry had been truthful, so she goes back to him.  And seeing the mob that goes after Henry makes the Duke of Frognal repent of his actions, giving the money back in front of the crowd.  This clears Henry’s name, and he is able to give the bill back to the Montpeliers at the end with Portia by his side.

In The Million Pound Note’s final scene, Oliver and Roderick reveal what had been their bet.  It does not matter who had which side, but one had speculated that the money would open doors, while the other believed that it would be a source of suspicion.  It turns out that they are both correct, but the main issue is how it changed how people treat Henry.  Such a story cannot be talked about in a Catholic context without mentioning the old cliché: money is the root of all evil.  What is interesting about this statement is that is based on a misquoting of Scripture.  The actual verse is 1 Timothy 6:10, which reads, “For the love of money is the root of all evils, and some people in their desire for it have strayed from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains.”  Either way you render these lines, there is something to glean from the film.  Because of this supposed wealth, Henry is nearly beaten to death by a mob on two occasions, and almost misses out on being with the woman he loves.  The nightmares are also not helpful.  If understood in its proper way, though, the verse bears more fruit.  While Henry does enjoy the perks of being thought of as rich, he remains basically honest throughout the story.  It is the others who plot evil on him, trying to take every last penny he might have to offer.  There is nothing wrong with looking for assistance when needed from those who are better off in any respect.  We do not do this often enough because pride, which is also a sin, gets in the way of humility.  Some of us would rather wallow in poverty than to ask for a handout, which has become a pejorative.  In this way, too, Henry exemplifies the right behavior, and for that he should be admired.

Indeed, there is a lot to admire about The Million Pound Note.  It is a decent story and is less than ninety minutes in length.  Between these factors and its moral character, I am not sure there is anything to dislike about it.