He was one of those formidably selfish men who wither every thing around them, like those trees within the shadow of which nothing can grow.Now, at least, she had in this world a being upon whom she could lavish all her caresses so brutally repelled.But she seemed not to hear them.DeVito’s dialogue is ripe with one-liners and he delivers each with relish.Cleanliness was carried to its utmost limits:every thing shone.Not a detail but betrayed the industrious hand of the housekeeper, struggling to defend her furniture against the ravages of time.Concierges and shop-keepers knew no one better; for it was more than a quarter of a century before, that M. Vincent Favoral, the day after his wedding, had come to settle in the Rue St. Gilles; and there his two children were born,—his son M. Maxence, his daughter Mlle. Gilberte.Now, as he had no illusion whatever upon his own merits, as he knew himself to be perfectly incapable of any of those daring conceptions which lead to rapid fortune, as he was in no wise enterprising, he conceived but one means to achieve wealth, that is, to save, to economize, to stint himself, to pile penny upon penny.
Lawrence is presented as a basically good guy with the fatal flaw of greed. Oh, and there’s some sexism on the side. In 1991, the latter characteristic wouldn’t have gotten much notice.His profession of accountant had furnished him with a number of instances of the financial power of the penny daily saved, and invested so as to yield its maximum of interest.She dropped heavily upon a seat; and, drawing to her bosom Maxence and Gilberte,Jorgy brings on board his daughter Kate (Penelope Ann Miller doing her best Melanie Griffith impersonation), a high-priced New York lawyer, to defend his company. She visits Lawrence and turns on the charm.“The fact is,” resumed M. Chapelain, “Favoral was our friend; and, if we could get him out of the scrape, we would all willingly contribute.”“Is it for you, madame,” asked the commissary, “that this magnificent shawl was bought?”He knows how low humanity can stoop, and what aberrations there are in brains apparently the soundest.He was not looking for any one.To such as he spoke to, he stated that he had been sent by a cousin of his, an excellent cook, who, before taking a place in the neighborhood, was anxious to have all possible information on the subject of her prospective masters.“Here, madame, towards yourself and your children, I have no doubt; for seeing is believing:but elsewhere—”The commissary then became impatient.Any synergy with Oliver Stone’s iconic 1987 film Wall Street is not coincidental.“And what about the daughter, Mlle. Gilberte?”At last, and not without an effort,“My father always carries them in his pocket, sir,” replied Maxence.
He is not very brilliant perhaps; but he is, it seems, a good, hard-working, economical fellow, who’ll make his way in the world.In “Other People’s Money,” after Peck sits down, DeVito stands up, and defends greed.It was, in fact, the cashier of the Mutual Credit Society, looking very much indeed as the shop-keeper had described him.The commissaries of police of Paris, as a general thing, are no simpletons; and, if they are ever taken in, it is because it has suited them to be taken in.“Other People’s Money” is a four-star movie that loses its way in the last, crucial scene, and for that it loses half a star, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy every moment right up until the happy ending, which is the unhappiest moment in the movie.“Forgotten,” he answered, scanning the syllables:“I have for-got-ten it.”Whoever was responsible should be ashamed of himself – by going where it goes, it undermines the movie’s themes and dramatic thrust.“He dines with them; but he has his own lodgings on the Boulevard du Temple.
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