1931: Le Million

Michel, a poor painter, has won a million in the lottery, but to collect his winnings, he needs the ticket, which is in his jacket, which his financé gives to a man who is fleeing from the police, who sells it to an opeara singer, and so on and so forth: Soon, it seems, tout Paris is chasing the jacket, and director René Clair makes this comic musical a charming little film not dissimilar to the best-know Marx Brothers movies. It starts with a great tracking shot over the roofs of Paris, which are obviously models and look all the better for it, and Le Million is a genuinely early sound film in that Clair, much like Fritz Lang in M, leaves the dialogue unheard when he doesn't need it and seems more conscious of the way sound can be used to great effect than the directors of most contemporary films. Somewhat famous is the fade-in of the roar of a sports stadium crowd when a variety of men fights over the jacket in a rugby-like manner; and when Michel's friend Prosper hears his conscience, it is a whole choir singing to him from the off. Is there a social psychological theory in there? I say yes. (7.5)

Link: Matthew Dessem's essay on the film. Contains lots of spoilers, but they don't really spoil. It's not exactly a mystery, you know.