Ok...i may have a stumper...i know pinkfreud is awesome at
these...but...don't know if i even remember enough to jog her memory.

I saw this movie in the early 80's..but..it's an oldie...black and
white.  I've looked through lots of old Cary Grant movies & none look
right...this is what i remember:

A Cary Grant "type" character (in my brain its Cary Grant..but..since
i was young, i could have made him Cary grant when it wasn't).  He is
a very wealthy man & he goes around helping people in his town in
desperate financial need.  But, no one knows he's wealthy & they only
thing he asks from the people he helps is that they NEVER tell who
helped them.  In other words he wanted no credit for his good
deads...from anyone.  I think at the end he dies & thats when it comes
out that he's done all these things for so many.

I think its stuck with me through the years because our society is all
about credit...its rarer today to see donations as
"anonymous"....we're all so ego driven that we want others to know how
"good" we are and what we've done.  Through the years as my own pride
& ego would boast about different things, this movie would come to
mind...what if I did things in secret...not for any earthy praise or
rewards.

I would love to find this movie & see it as an adult...strange the
things that stay with you as a child & you pull out of the memory
banks so many years later.

Thanx everyone!!

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 26 Sep 2005 13:33 PDT

Sure it wasn't the TV show, The Millionaire?


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047758/

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Clarification of Question by nfpolaris-ga on 26 Sep 2005 13:51 PDT

Pink!!!!!!!  Yipee!!!!  Thank you!!!!!  At f irst I wasn't
sure....neither one sounded exactly right...."magnificent obsession"
isn't black & white....but the story sounded right...."The amazing
Adventure" is black & white..but the story didn't sound right. 
But...Magnificent sounded so right I kept searching for something that
would jog my memory.....I found this & it all clicked:

http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/movie.html?v_id=30853

It's not black & white...but...either I saw the 1935
original...or...the 50's early color movies are so muted in their
color...not "truely" color..so in my child like memory i could have
thought it black & white.

Either way....i'm positive thats it (surprised it was Rock Hudson). 
I'm excited to see it again...very cool!

Go ahead & officially answer the question....as usual...Pink, you're
the best...God Bless!!

Thanks for accepting my suggestion of "Magnificent Obsession." This is
one of those classic melodramas that stays in one's memory. It must be
forty years or more since I saw it, yet it sprang to mind immediately
when I read your description.

In case you're interested in purchasing this film, there are DVD and
VHS editions offered on Amazon:

Amazon: "Magnificent Obsession" DVD
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000BCDNWO/qid=1127768511/sr=8-4/ref=pd_bbs_4/104-1623761-3898368?v=glance&s=dvd&n=507846

Amazon: "Magnificent Obsession" VHS
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/6300183890/qid=1127768511/sr=8-3/ref=pd_bbs_3/104-1623761-3898368?v=glance&s=video&n=507846

I'm glad to have been able to help. Old movies are my guilty passion.
For a long time, I thought that my headful of trivia was useless: then
Google Answers came along, and finally I found my purpose in life!

Best,
Pink

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Clarification of Answer by pinkfreud-ga on 27 Sep 2005 11:25 PDT

Here is something rather interesting: there was an earlier, black &
white version of "Magnificent Obsession." This one starred Robert
Taylor. I wonder if this might be the version that you remember:

Internet Movie Database
http://imdb.com/title/tt0026667/

As usual, she pulls the answer out of the hat....Thanx a million.
You are right...you found your purpose...and you touch a lot more
peoples lives that you even know...till next time....

In "Magnificent Obsession," Rock Hudson (looking rather Cary
Grant-ish) plays a multimillionaire who starts out as a cad, and later
undergoes a change of heart that leads him to acts of philanthropy,
under the condition that he remain anonymous. Could this be your
movie?

"Chatting with a local workman, Merrick learns that the fellow just
lost a child, that his wife is still in the hospital, and that the
bills are stacking up. Merrick gives his good-byes, starts to walk
off, then realizes (duh) that this is the perfect opportunity to begin
his new way of life. He tosses the guy a wad of cash, under the
conditions that he tell no one about this and that he never try to
repay him. (Of course, a guy with four million bucks can give a lot of
people three hundred dollars without really getting pinched.)"

http://www.jabootu.com/mo.htm

The Cary Grant movie "The Amazing Adventure" is a remote possibility.
It involves a rich man who acts as if he isn't rich. The philanthropy
angle isn't a big deal in this one:

"The plot of the movie revolves around a rich young man who has
inherited a tremendous fortune. He finds himself becoming ill and
seeks the help and advice of a doctor. The doctor tells him that he is
physically fit, but is affected by the disease of money. He places a
bet with the young man, challenging him to work for one year by his
own means and not by using his inherited fortune. What follows is the
"amazing adventure" as Grant moves from one job to the next, learning
lessons of humility, and falling in love."

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005YUNA

Nfpolaris, 

Thank you so very much for the five stars, the nice tip, and the kind words!

~Pink

hey Pink,

  look at this:

http://www.turnerclassicmovies.com/ThisMonth/Article/0,,102793%7C102794%7C72536,00.html

the picture for the movie is black & white?  but..that is rock
hudson....weird...i thought it was a color movie..hmm....but...the
good news is, its on soon & i can tape it & actually see it (can't
find it at the video store).  Just fyi...

Nannette

Very interesting! Maybe this is one of those movies that was made in
color, but the TV prints are in black & white because of the
deterioration of the master.