Brewster’s Millions

Fresh from fighting in Europe, Brewster rushes back to New York City to marry Peggy Gray. He learns that his uncle's fortune is only his if he spends a million before turning 30 on October 13, 1944, and he must do so without keeping any assets. The two-month countdown immediately puts wedding plans on hold as he braces for a surreal test of his will.

A lawyer explains the conditions: Brewster must spend a million before the deadline and must not reveal the arrangement to anyone. He must keep the plan secret, further complicating his personal hopes. The looming deadline sharpens the stakes of every action.

To carry out the spend-down, Brewster forms Brewster & Company and hires his wartime friends Hacky Smith and Noppy Harrison as vice presidents. Peggy Gray becomes his private secretary, binding her to the enterprise. Despite his best efforts to lose money, many of his schemes unexpectedly turn lucrative.

Brewster's spendthrift plan draws him into relationships with Barbara Drew and later Trixie Summers, which Peggy grows increasingly jealous of. He uses these relationships as leverage to finance the schemes, while Hacky and Noppy misinterpret his intent and start thwarting the plans. The tension between his public performance and private motives deepens.

Peggy breaks up with Brewster, worn down by the incessant spending and the burden on their future. Her mother counsels patience and prudence, encouraging Peggy to see Brewster again under different circumstances. Brewster remains determined to prove the plan can still work.

Her mother persuades Peggy to join Brewster on a lavish cruise, along with the cast of a failed play he financed. The voyage is glamorous, but it becomes another stage for his spendthrift gambits. Hacky and Noppy watch the events unfold with mounting concern.

During the cruise, Hacky and Noppy stage a rebellion, confining Brewster to his quarters and ordering the yacht back toward New York. The crisis reveals that Brewster has lost more control over the plan than he realizes. The crew's actions turn a joke into a sea-bound standoff.

A leftover U-boat mine disables the yacht, forcing Brewster to reach the bridge to radio for help. He learns that a tow from a passing Brazilian freighter would cost about $450,000 in salvage fees. The numbers suddenly make the supposed victory seem like a costly trap.

Days pass as Brewster realizes the salvage fee, cruise costs, and losses from the failed play will exhaust the entire million well before counting other expenses. He faces the possibility that his grand scheme may not bring about the fortune after all. The tension between math and luck drives the narrative forward.

Back in New York, Brewster arrives at Peggy's house with receipts proving his spending, convinced he has met the target. Instead, Hacky and Noppy present a recovered sum of $40,012 from his ventures. The revelation reframes the entire spend-down as still incomplete, keeping the deadline in play.

To salvage the situation, Brewster maneuvers to count legitimate, tiny expenses toward the requirement: paying the executor's fee, clearing an old debt, and even a $2 cab fare. Each small payment nudges him closer to exhausting assets without leaving money behind. The clock remains a constant pressure as time runs down.

With the funds finally exhausted in the required way, Brewster learns that he has secured his inheritance. He takes Peggy out to celebrate and insists they marry at the nearest justice of the peace, sealing their future. The improbable fortune's fate hinges on a narrow deadline and a stubborn plan paid off in the end.

As they step toward the justice of the peace, a door-to-door salesman blocks their path, trying to hawk an item for two cents more than its price. Brewster immediately refuses and throws him out, ending the sequence with a sharp, comic note. The moment underscores his stubborn practicality even as the whole plan collapses into a victory.