spoiler movie about a man who start out a a sweeper or clean up man at the chicago cub ballpark wrigley field and end up corner the world match market . that until all his sleazy back room wheeling and dealing finally catch up with him . paul kroll be anything but modest in his achievement even when he be sweep cigarette butt and spent match a a sweeper in chicago wrigely field . kroll take over his family small match factory in sweden that be about to go bankrupt and turn it into a world wide conglomerate that cover some 40 country with over 250 match factory . become the undisputed match king of the world kroll be always a step ahead of his creditor in pay off his bill and amount to over 150 million dollar and in a number of ponzie scheme that he dream up . in the film the match king we see what a smooth operator kroll be not only in the world of business but the world of romance as well . always out to get what he after kroll turn his sight on german actress marta molnar and and despite her wanting to have nothing to do with him and finally end up get her to fall in love with him . kroll do this by get marta favorite entertainer gypsy violinist trino to cancel his concert appearance in order to serenade her and as well a himself and wherever she go . always look to be king of the hill in the match business kroll go a far and have the socially mind and somewhat naive chemist christian hobe commit into a mental institution because he invent a match that be self sustaining and would never burn out . this would have put kroll and his world wide match empire out of business as well a put him back in friendly confines of wrigley field sweep up the match that his and by then close down and match factory once manufacture . spoiler it be after the stock market crash of 1929 that kroll unbroken string of luck suddenly run out . afer get italian financial crook scarlatti to sell him 50 million dollar worth of forged italian bond note kroll have him kill and in a staged boat accident and so he wouldn not have to pay him and something like penny on the dollar and for them as well have have scarlatti not in the position of blackmail him . this all backfire on kroll in that with scarlatti not be around to cover up the truth about the fraudulent italian bond it soon come to light that and with the bond show to be fake and he do not have the money to pay off the bank whom he be deeply in debt to . the final nail in the coffin for the by now desperate kroll be that his love of love and and he have many of them in the film and marta molnar leave him for another man . that man turn out to be non other then the gypsy violinist trino that kroll himself introduce her to . with the wall closing in all round him all that be leave for kroll be to go back be the gutter from where he and in his job a a clean up man in good old chicago wrigley field and come from . and that exactly where he end up . p and s the movie be base on the real match king ivar kreuger who and after get wipe out in the crash of 1929 and blow his brain out in his paris hotel on march 12 and 1932. which happen just eight month before the movie the match king be release .