The Jackpot (1950)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Walter Lang

Writers:

John McNulty (New Yorker article)
Phoebe Ephron (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

1 November 1950 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

He had a wife, two kids, a home of his own, a job with a future and then POOR JIMMY WON THE $24,000 RADIO JACKPOT!

Plot:

Bill Lawrence wins a slew of prizes on a radio quiz program. His happiness is short-lived when he discovers...

Plot Keywords:

Washing Machine | Radio | Taxes | Pony | Radio Program

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

James Stewart	...	William J. 'Bill' Lawrence
Barbara Hale	...	Amy Lawrence
James Gleason	...	Harry Summers
Fred Clark	...	Mr. Andrew J. Woodruff
Alan Mowbray	...	Leslie
Patricia Medina	...	Hildegarde Jonet aka Hilda Jones
Natalie Wood	...	Phyllis Lawrence
Tommy Rettig	...	Tommy Lawrence
Robert Gist	...	Pete Spooner
Lyle Talbot	...	Fred Burns

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Iceland:L | USA:Approved (PCA #14685) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Pete Spooner's suggested answer to the radio show's "tortoise and hare" qualifying question is "Middleground and Your Host". This is a reference to two famous racehorses of the day. Your Host was favored to win the 1950 Kentucky Derby but faded badly and lost to Middleground.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): At one point after Bill wins the jackpot, the radio show host refers to him as "Mr. William Glenville of Lawrence, Indiana" instead of "Mr. William Lawrence of Glenville, Indiana".

Quotes:

Lawyer: "They might detatch your salary."
William: "Then I'll quit my job and live on soup."
Lawyer: "They might detach this house."
William: "Then I'll burn down the house!"

Soundtrack:

Charleston

Lighthearted comedy, excellently executed

"The Jackpot" is a fluffy, domestic comedy in the same vein as "Father of the Bride" (1950) and "The Long, Long Trailer" (1953). The story, involving a radio game show, is somewhat dated, but the stars do an excellent job making the most of the material. Jimmy Stewart, as the exasperated husband, and the always wonderful James Gleason, as his crusty journalist friend, steal the show. The other leads -- Barbara Hale as Jimmy Stewart's wife, Fred Clark as his boss, an almost unrecognizable Natalie Wood as his daughter, and the rest -- are all perfect as well.

If you want to relax and have some good laughs, without thinking too hard or being repeatedly hit with crudity, this movie is just the thing.