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The Jackpot

  • 19501950
  • PassedPassed
  • 1h 25m
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
1.1K
YOUR RATING
James Stewart and Barbara Hale in The Jackpot (1950)
Comedy
Bill Lawrence wins a jackpot of prizes worth $24,000 on a radio quiz program. His happiness, and that of his family, is short-lived after he discovers he'll be compelled to sell the prizes i... Read allBill Lawrence wins a jackpot of prizes worth $24,000 on a radio quiz program. His happiness, and that of his family, is short-lived after he discovers he'll be compelled to sell the prizes in order to pay an amount of $7,000 income tax on them.Bill Lawrence wins a jackpot of prizes worth $24,000 on a radio quiz program. His happiness, and that of his family, is short-lived after he discovers he'll be compelled to sell the prizes in order to pay an amount of $7,000 income tax on them.
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
1.1K
YOUR RATING
    • Walter Lang
    • John McNulty(New Yorker article)
    • Phoebe Ephron(screenplay)
    • Henry Ephron(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • James Stewart
    • Barbara Hale
    • James Gleason
    • Walter Lang
    • John McNulty(New Yorker article)
    • Phoebe Ephron(screenplay)
    • Henry Ephron(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • James Stewart
    • Barbara Hale
    • James Gleason
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 24User reviews
    • 4Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Photos17

    James Stewart and Barbara Hale in The Jackpot (1950)
    Natalie Wood in The Jackpot (1950)
    James Stewart, Dulce Day, Ann Doran, Robert Dudley, Estelle Etterre, and Barbara Hale in The Jackpot (1950)
    James Stewart and Patricia Medina in The Jackpot (1950)
    James Stewart and Barbara Hale in The Jackpot (1950)
    James Stewart, Barbara Hale, and Tommy Rettig in The Jackpot (1950)
    James Stewart and Barbara Hale in The Jackpot (1950)
    James Stewart, Natalie Wood, Barbara Hale, Patricia Medina, and Tommy Rettig in The Jackpot (1950)
    James Stewart, Natalie Wood, Barbara Hale, and Tommy Rettig in The Jackpot (1950)
    James Stewart and Barbara Hale in The Jackpot (1950)
    James Stewart in The Jackpot (1950)
    James Stewart and Barbara Hale in The Jackpot (1950)

    Top cast

    Edit
    James Stewart
    James Stewart
    • William J. 'Bill' Lawrence
    Barbara Hale
    Barbara Hale
    • Amy Lawrence
    James Gleason
    James Gleason
    • Harry Summers
    Fred Clark
    Fred Clark
    • Mr. Andrew J. Woodruff
    Alan Mowbray
    Alan Mowbray
    • Leslie
    Patricia Medina
    Patricia Medina
    • Hildegarde Jonet…
    Natalie Wood
    Natalie Wood
    • Phyllis Lawrence
    Tommy Rettig
    Tommy Rettig
    • Tommy Lawrence
    Robert Gist
    Robert Gist
    • Pete Spooner
    Lyle Talbot
    Lyle Talbot
    • Fred Burns
    Dorothy Adams
    Dorothy Adams
    • Watch Saleswoman - Store Employee
    • (uncredited)
    Walter Baldwin
    Walter Baldwin
    • Watch Buyer
    • (uncredited)
    Jay Barney
    • Police Detective
    • (uncredited)
    Robert Bice
    Robert Bice
    • Policeman in Bookie Raid
    • (uncredited)
    John Bleifer
    • Bookie Parlor Clerk
    • (uncredited)
    Frances Budd
    • Saleslady
    • (uncredited)
    Harry Carter
    Harry Carter
    • Card Player
    • (uncredited)
    Ken Christy
    • Man
    • (uncredited)
      • Walter Lang
      • John McNulty(New Yorker article)
      • Phoebe Ephron(screenplay)
      • Henry Ephron(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The scene where Tommy's head becomes trapped in the railings of the staircase was inspired by a similar incident involving Delia Ephron, daughter of the film's screenwriters' Henry Ephron and Phoebe Ephron.
    • Goofs
      The shadows of trees and other objects on the street in front of the Lawrence home face the same direction in both the opening-shot of the movie, which is set in the morning, and in the scene late that afternoon when Bill comes home from work.
    • 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!"

    • Connections
      Referenced in HBO First Look: The Making of 'You've Got Mail': A Conversation with Nora Ephron (1998)
    • Soundtracks
      Ain't We Got Fun
      (uncredited)

      Music by Richard A. Whiting

      Lyrics by Ray Egan and Gus Kahn

      Sung by an off-screen chorus during the opening credits

    User reviews24

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    Unobtrusive attack on consumerism or the Midas Touch
    Beneath an innocuous story about a quiz show prize, there is a comic attack on a consumer society and the quest for more wealth.

    Jimmy Stewart plays the man making around 7 grand a year (talk about inflation!) and hopes to win the.radio prize of 24 grand. Oddly his friends think he would never have to work a day in his life, though I'm not sure how far that 24 grand would have gone even in 1950. After all he's making just over 7 grand a year and has a few hundred in the bank so that award money would finance his and his family's life or less than 4 years!

    Even worse, he doesn't even win the money but an absurd list of prizes. That's where the movie began to lose me. The entire radio sequence was ridiculously overdone. It's true old prize shows such as Queen for a Day did have a plethora of prizes, but they were relevant to the winner's needs, not just absurd awards like a pony or a maid or portrait artist, etc.

    Despite its flaws this is one of the most interestingly plotted movies I know of. It goes all over the place and often om unexpected place.

    The extended ratio sequence certainly diminishes the movie for me. But otherwise it was rather entertaining with a doze of originality.

    What can one say about James Stewart, in my view the greatest actor in the history of the Hollywood cinema. I love Brando, but I can't imagine even Brando successfully handling the range of parts that Stewart played.

    Barbara Hale, later of Perry Mason TV series, was a strong presence in the movie, though a very young Natalie Wood seemed unrecognizable.as the daughter. One would never have guessed she would shine as a beauty queen in adult roles. Tommy Rettig, who played the son, later got the part of the boy in the Lassie TV series.

    Fred Clark, who later was the second best Harry. Morton in the Burns and Allen series seems to have been ubiquitous in films of this era, and always successfully so.

    I wish I had paid more attention to the music score; but, oddly, I don't recall a single underscore cue in the entire film. I'll have to see the movie again to check the accuracy of that statement.

    In sum, even apart from the interesting plotting of the story, and despite the longueurs of the radio sequence, any Jimmy Stewart is foolproof.
    helpful•2
    0
    • rockymark-30974
    • Jan 26, 2022

    Details

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    • Release date
      • November 1, 1950 (United States)
      • United States
      • English
    • Also known as
      • 20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Twentieth Century Fox
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 25 minutes
      • Black and White

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