The Happiest Millionaire (1967)

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Approved
2h 21min
Comedy, Family
10 Jul 1968 (USA)
Movie

6.5 (2,431)

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Clever yet hapless new butler John Lawless manages a Philadelphia household for quirky and joyful millionaire Anthony Drexel Biddle, his unflappable wife, Cordelia, and their spitfire daughter, Cordy.

Director:

Norman Tokar

Writers:

Stars:

Awards:

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 nomination.
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Reviews:

Photos and Videos

Still of Fred MacMurray in The Happiest Millionaire (1967)

Still of Joyce Bulifant and Gary Menteer in The Happiest Millionaire (1967)

Still of Lesley Ann Warren, Hermione Baddeley, Fred MacMurray and Tommy Steele (I) in The Happiest Millionaire (1967)

Still of Lesley Ann Warren and John Davidson (II) in The Happiest Millionaire (1967)

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26 photos

Cast verified as complete

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	Fred MacMurray	...	Anthony J. Drexel Biddle - the Father
	Greer Garson	...	Mother
	Gladys Cooper	...	Aunt Mary
	Geraldine Page	...	Mrs. Duke
	Tommy Steele	...	John Lawless
	Hermione Baddeley	...	Mrs. Worth
	John Davidson	...	Angier Duke
	Lesley Ann Warren	...	Cordy
	Paul Petersen	...	Tony
	Eddie Hodges	...	Livingston
	Joyce Bulifant	...	Rosemary
	Sean McClory	...	Police Sgt.
	Jim McMullan	...	Lt. Powell
	William Wellman Jr.	...	Lt. Grayson
	Aron Kincaid	...	Walter Blakely
	Larry Merrill	...	Charlie Taylor
	Frances Robinson	...	Aunt Gladys
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
	Leon Alton	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
	Don Ames	...	Waiter (uncredited)
	Walter Bacon	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
	Frank Baker	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
	Robert Beecher	...	First Man (uncredited)
	Gary Bohn	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
	Danny Borzage	...	Barfly (uncredited)
	George Boyce	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
	Paul Bradley	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
	Tex Brodus	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
	Loren Brown	...	Well-Wisher (uncredited)
	Buddy Bryan	...	Dancer / Barfly (uncredited)
	George Calliga	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
	James J. Casino	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
	Charles Cirillo	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
	Robert Cole	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
	Bill Coontz	...	Barfly (uncredited)
	Jaye Durkus	...	Barfly (uncredited)
	Frank Ellis	...	Barfly (uncredited)
	Joe Evans	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
	Jerry Gatlin	...	Barfly (uncredited)
	Rudy Germane	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
	Kenneth Gibson	...	Waiter (uncredited)
	James Gonzalez	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
	Norman Grabowski	...	Joe Turner (uncredited)
	Jim Gurley	...	Marine lieutenant (uncredited)
	Ed Haskett	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
	Chester Hayes	...	Barfly (uncredited)
	Jimmie Horan	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
	Charles Horvath	...	Barfly (uncredited)
	Bruce Hoy	...	Dancer / Barfly (uncredited)
	Casse Jaeger	...	Dancer at Party (uncredited)
	Kenner G. Kemp	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
	Gene LeBell	...	Barfly (uncredited)
	Maurice Marks	...	Well-Wisher (uncredited)
	Joan Marshall	...	Maid (uncredited)
	Bert May	...	Dancer / Barfly (uncredited)
	Rod McGaughy	...	Barfly (uncredited)
	Gary Menteer	...	Dancer at Party (uncredited)
	Barbara Morrison	...	Mdme. LaFarge (uncredited)
	Lou Nova	...	Bill O'Brien (uncredited)
	Ray Pourchot	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
	Frank Radcliffe	...	Dancer / Barfly (uncredited)
	Tony Regan	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
	Al Roberts	...	Barfly (uncredited)
	John Roy	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
	Jay Sheffield	...	Roger FitzSimmons (uncredited)
	Milan Smith	...	Barfly (uncredited)
	Robert Thompson	...	Dancer / Barfly (uncredited)
	Arthur Tovey	...	Well-Wisher (uncredited)
	Jack Tygett	...	Barfly (uncredited)
	Marc Wilder	...	Dancer / Barfly (uncredited)

Directed by

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Norman Tokar

Written by

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Kyle Crichton	...	(play)

Cordelia Drexel Biddle	...	(book) and
Kyle Crichton	...	(book)

AJ Carothers	...	(screenplay)

Produced by

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Bill Anderson	...	co-producer
Walt Disney	...	producer (uncredited)

Cinematography by

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Edward Colman

...

director of photography

Editing by

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Cotton Warburton

Art Direction by

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Carroll Clark
John B. Mansbridge

Set Decoration by

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Emile Kuri
Frank R. McKelvy

Costume Design by

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Bill Thomas

Makeup Department

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Gordon Hubbard	...	makeup artist
Vivienne Walker	...	hair stylist (as Vivienne Zavitz)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

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Paul Cameron

...

assistant director

Sound Department

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Robert O. Cook	...	sound supervisor
Lyndsey Schenk	...	foley mixer
Dean Thomas	...	sound mixer

Special Effects by

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Peter Ellenshaw	...	special effects
Eustace Lycett	...	special effects

Stunts

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Jerry Brutsche	...	stunt performer (uncredited)
Gene LeBell	...	stunt coordinator (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department

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Calvin A. Maehl

...

gaffer

Costume and Wardrobe Department

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Chuck Keehne	...	costumer
Neva Rames	...	costumer
Joan Joseff	...	costume jeweller (uncredited)

Music Department

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Marc Breaux	...	stager: musical numbers
Jack Elliott	...	conductor / music arranger / music supervisor
Evelyn Kennedy	...	music editor
Richard M. Sherman	...	music and lyrics by
Robert B. Sherman	...	music and lyrics by
Dee Dee Wood	...	stager: musical numbers
Dean Elliott	...	music composer (uncredited) / music conductor (uncredited)
Jack Elliott	...	composer: additional music (uncredited) / orchestrator (uncredited)
Ethmer Roten	...	musician: flute (uncredited)

Additional Crew

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Marc Breaux	...	choreographer
Walt Disney	...	presenter
Howard Erskine	...	produced on the New York Stage by
Joseph Hayes	...	produced on the New York Stage by
Tom Leetch	...	assistant: producer
Alan Maley	...	title designer
Dee Dee Wood	...	choreographer
Ted Derby	...	animal trainer: alligators (uncredited)
Dennis Grisco	...	animal trainer: alligators (uncredited)
Ralph Helfer	...	animal supervisor: Africa U.S.A. [us] (uncredited)
Toni Helfer	...	animal supervisor: Africa U.S.A. [us] (uncredited)
Frank Inn	...	animal trainer: alligators (uncredited)
Juanita Inn	...	animal trainer: alligators (uncredited)
Frank Lamping	...	animal trainer: alligators (uncredited)

Crew verified as complete

Production Companies

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Walt Disney Productions

Distributors

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Buena Vista Distribution Company (1967) (United States) (theatrical)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (1967) (Australia) (theatrical)
Triangel Produksjon A/S (1968) (Norway) (theatrical)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1969) (West Germany) (theatrical)
Walt Disney Home Video (West Germany) (VHS)
Disney Channel (1984) (United States) (tv) (as The Disney Channel)
Roadshow Home Video (1985) (Australia) (VHS) (under "Walt Disney Home Video" label)
Anchor Bay Entertainment (United States) (DVD)
Buena Vista Home Entertainment (2004) (United States) (DVD)
Disney+ (2021) (United States) (video) (VOD)

Special Effects

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Other Companies

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Western Costume Company (costumes)

Storyline

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Plot Summary	A happy and unbelievably lucky young Irish immigrant, John Lawless, lands a job as the butler of an unconventional millionaire, Biddle. His daughter, Cordelia Drexel Biddle, tires of the unusual antics of her father--especially since the nice young men around town all fear him. Wouldn't you fear a father-in-law that keeps alligators for pets and teaches boxing at his daily Bible classes? Cordelia decides to run off to boarding school and promptly finds the man of her dreams. Unfortunately, his family doesn't approve of Biddle's outrageous antics, either. A Disney musical punctuated by snappy songs and an energetic debut by Tommy Steele. This is reportedly one of the last live- action films Walt Disney personally oversaw. Written by Tim Kretschmann Plot Summary
Plot Keywords	horse-drawn-ice-cart first-aid-kit dancing-a-tango male-singer song-and-dance See All (75) »
Taglines	It's the happiest musical of the year! See more »
Genres	Comedy Family Musical Romance
Parents Guide	View content advisory »
Certification	Australia:G Canada:G (video rating) Finland:S France:Tous publics Iceland:L Japan:G New Zealand:G Norway:7 Norway:A (recommended rating) Sweden:Btl United Kingdom:U United States:Approved United States:G West Germany:6 (nf)

Additional Details

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Also Known As	Le plus Heureux des milliardaires (France) El más feliz millonario (Spain) A legboldogabb milliomos (Hungary) Ο πιο ευτυχισμένος εκατομμυριούχος (Greece) Der glücklichste Millionär (West Germany) See more »
Runtime	141 min
Official Sites	Official site
Country	United States
Language	English
Color	Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio	1.66 : 1 See more »
Sound Mix	Stereo (RCA Sound Recording)
Filming Locations	Walt Disney Studios, 500 South Buena Vista Street, Burbank, California, USA See more »

Did You Know?

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Trivia	Richard M. Sherman had reservations about whether Fred MacMurray was right for the part of Anthony J. Drexel Biddle, but Walt Disney overruled him. See more »
Goofs	In the opening scene, the camera appears to look East on Walnut Street, past Rittenhouse Square, with the tower of Philadelphia City Hall in the distance. Cars are shown on a drive in the square. No such drive ever existed. City Hall is on Market Street and the tower would have been outside the frame of this shot. See more »
Movie Connections	Featured in The Disney Legend (Continued) (1967). See more »
Soundtracks	Fortuosity See more »
Crazy Credits	The opening credits alone are 5 minutes long. See more »
Quotes	John Lawless: [to camera] To have your alligators thaw out and your daughter forgive you all in the same bright morning, that's fortuosity. Anthony J. Drexel Biddle: [peering quizzically into the camera] John? John Lawless: Sir? Anthony J. Drexel Biddle: Who are you talking to? John Lawless: No one, sir. Anthony J. Drexel Biddle: Well you know what they say about people who talk to themselves. [starts to walk away then turn and peers at the camera again] [winks at the camera] See more »

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