Editing Ray Milland (section)

===Back in the US and ''Bolero''===
Then, in 1933, Roosevelt's reforms to the U.S. banking sector led to a temporary weakness in the dollar, allowing Milland to afford a return to the United States.<ref>Milland (1974), pp. 155–57</ref> He returned to California, and found a small flat on Sunset Boulevard, promising Muriel that he would buy a home once he was financially stable.

With little prospect of finding acting work, Milland took on menial jobs, including working for a [[bookie]]. He decided to find regular employment and through connections made during his time in the UK, he was offered the job of assistant manager of a Shell gas station on Sunset and Clark.<ref>Milland (1974), p. 162</ref>

On his return from his successful Shell interview, he passed by the gates of Paramount Pictures, where he was approached by casting director Joe Egli. Paramount was filming the [[George Raft]] picture ''[[Bolero (1934 film)|Bolero]]'' (released in February 1934), but an injury to another British actor had left the studio looking for an urgent replacement.<ref name="los"/> Egli offered Milland a two-week contract, at ten times the salary the assistant job would pay. Milland took the acting role.

After completing ''Bolero'', Milland was offered a five-week guarantee by [[Benjamin Glazer]] to work on an upcoming screwball comedy starring Bing Crosby and Carole Lombard entitled ''[[We're Not Dressing]]'' (also 1934). During filming, he appeared in a scene with [[George Burns]] and [[Gracie Allen]], which Milland recalls as falling into an "ad-libbed shambles" that he felt was better than the original script. The film's director [[Norman Taurog]] was so impressed, he rang the chief production executive and suggested that Milland be placed on a long-term contract. After a short meeting, Milland was offered a seven-year deal with Paramount starting at $175 a week. The contract gave Milland a secure income, and Muriel and he moved into an apartment on Fountain Avenue.<ref name="los" />

Milland later said "It all happened by luck and I was just there at the right place at the right time."<ref name="cut"/>