The 1983 blockbuster movie Trading Places is often described as a modern version of Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper. But critics and pundits fail to make an additional connection to Mark Twain's cannon.
In The Million Pound Bank Note Henry Adams arrives in London down on his luck, hungry and penniless. His "luck" turns when two brother, in order to settle a £20,000 bet they have made with each other, thrust a million pound note upon him. The story's conflict arises from the difficulty of the predicament; how does a penniless man explain how he lawfully came to possess a million pound note? Through guile and cunning Adams prevails and the brother Gordon wins the bet.
It's my belief that the inspiration for Randolph and Mortimer Duke was based on the brothers from this novella.
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