Adapted from the novel by Paul Lafitte, Rothchild is not, as might be assumed, the story of the famed European banking family. Harry Baur stars as a hobo who happens to share the same name as the eminent Rothchilds. By claiming a familial relationship to the legendary financiers, Baur is able to enjoy privileges and luxuries which he might otherwise be denied. Even so, Baur is far more honest than some of the people he's fleecing, and by film's end he has exposed the shady business activities of the "respectable" Monsieur Barsac (Pauley). Unfortunately, filmclips from Rothchild were later used out of context by Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels as examples of "Jewish decadence." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi