Fifty Million Frenchmen
| Fifty Million Frenchmen | |
|---|---|
| Music | Cole Porter |
| Lyrics | Cole Porter |
| Book | Herbert Fields |
| Productions | 1929 Broadway |
Fifty Million Frenchmen is a musical comedy with a book by Herbert Fields and music and lyrics by Cole Porter. It opened on Broadway in 1929 and was adapted for a film two years later. The title is a reference to the hit 1927 song "Fifty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong" by Willie Raskin, Billy Rose, and Fred Fisher, which compared free attitudes in 1920s Paris with censorship and prohibition in the United States. The musical's plot is consistent with the standard boy-meets-girl plots of musical comedies of the first half of the twentieth century.
Fifty Million Frenchmen was the first of seven Porter musicals to have the book written or co-written by Herbert Fields. This was also the first musical directed by Monty Woolley.
Peter Forbes, a young American millionaire, journeys to Paris and bets his friends Billy Baxter and Michael Cummins that he can live without his money for a month and, while doing so, get engaged to Looloo Caroll, a young woman he adores. She is in Paris with her parents and her best friend Joyce. The catch is that Peter has one month, until July 4, to throw their engagement party at the Chateau Madrid. Trying to woo Looloo while penniless, he endures humiliation. His first job is as a tour guide, but much to his dismay, he has caught the eye of Violet Hildegarde, a fur-buyer who sends risqué French postcards to her children ("Where Would You Get Your Coat?"). An aspiring singer, May DeVere, also becomes interested in Peter. Since Peter has no time, Looloo and Billy have begun flirting.
Everyone goes to the racetrack, where Louis Pernasse tells Peter that the race is fixed and Toujours Moi will win, and he takes Peter's and May's money to place a bet. It appears that the horse has lost and Peter tears up his ticket, but the winner is disqualified and he has won. However, Looloo thinks he is being selfish in not sharing his winnings (since she had lent him some money) and leaves him ("You Don't Know Paree").
In another week, Pernasse is preparing a party for Looloo's mother, who plans to match her with a poor but titled Grand Duke ("The Queen of Terre Haute"). Mr. Carroll, distressed at the cost, gets drunk, and Looloo does not attend, as she has no desire to marry the Grand Duke.
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