Film Prosperity

The two leading actresses play longtime matriarchal ladies comically sparring off each other, and trying to control their intertwined lives.

Prosperity
Poster of the film
Directed by	Sam Wood
Screenplay by	Zelda Sears Eve Greene
Story by	Sylvia Thalberg Frank Butler
Produced by	Irving Thalberg (uncredited)
Starring	Marie Dressler Polly Moran Anita Page Norman Foster
Cinematography	Leonard Smith
Edited by	Le Vanway
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date	November 12, 1932 (1932-11-12)
Running time	87 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$628,000
Box office	$1,514,000

Maggie Warren (Dressler) inherited a family bank during the Depression and Lizzie Praskins (Moran) is one of her biggest depositors. Maggie’s son John is engaged to Lizzies's daughter Helen. All kinds of farces happen when the would-be mothers-in-law battle for setting the wedding's protocol including their different preferences of choosing the pastor to perform the ceremony.

As the story goes on, Lizzie has a panic attack based on rumors about the bank going belly-up. She hysterically withdraws all her money causing all other customers in the bank to panic and they in return take out their money. The Warren family bank is forced to close. Maggie’s naive son gets swindled out of his mother’s bonds. As farces go, at the end the swindlers are caught and Maggie’s matriarchal resourcefulness with her wised-up son gets the bank solvent again, and the two matriarchal families are bonded with mirthful resolutions.

• Marie Dressler as Maggie Warren
• Polly Moran as Lizzie Praskins
• Anita Page as Helen Praskin
• Norman Foster as John Warren
• Jacquie Lyn as Cissy
• Jerry Tucker as Buster
• Charles Giblyn as Mayor
• Frank Darien as Ezra Higgins
• Henry Holland as John Roche

According to MGM records the film earned $1,166,000 in the US and Canada and $348,000 elsewhere resulting in a profit of $378,000.