Jinxed! (1982)

Harold, a professional gambler, and his girlfriend Bonita, a lounge singer, follow Willie, a young blackjack dealer, around the western U.S. Harold has a jinx on Willie and can't lose with ... See full summary »

Director:

Don Siegel

Writers:

Frank D. Gilroy (screenplay) (as Bert Blessing), David Newman (screenplay)

Stars:

Bette Midler, Ken Wahl, Rip Torn

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bette Midler	...	Bonita Friml
Ken Wahl	...	Willie Brodax
Rip Torn	...	Harold Benson
Val Avery	...	Milt Hawkins
Jack Elam	...	Otto
Benson Fong	...	Mr. Wing
Jacqueline Scott	...	Woman Bettor
F. William Parker	...	Art
Ian Wolfe	...	Morley
George Dickerson	...	Tahoe Casino Manager
Cletus Young	...	Dealer
Tom Pletts	...	Tahoe First Monitor
Archie Lang	...	Tahoe Second Monitor
Kathryn Kates	...	Miss Nina
James Nolan	...	Father (as Jim Nolan)

Storyline

Harold, a professional gambler, and his girlfriend Bonita, a lounge singer, follow Willie, a young blackjack dealer, around the western U.S. Harold has a jinx on Willie and can't lose with him. Bonita and Willie meet and fall for each other and plot to do away with Harold and collect on his life insurance.

---

Plot Keywords:

woman smokes a cigar | cigar smoking | lingerie slip | gambling | luck | 

---

Taglines:

America's favorite tootsie is on a roll.

---

Genres:

Comedy

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 October 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

Jinxed

Filming Locations:

26th St. and Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$13,400,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,209,311, 24 October 1982, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$2,869,638

Company Credits

Production Co:

Herb Jaffe, Pacific Bay Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie was based on the 1980 novel "The Edge" by Frank D. Gilroy. He sold the film rights to The Ladd Company at Warner Brothers, intending to direct. Ladd then sold the project to Herb Jaffe at United Artists for three hundred thousand dollars and Jaffe hired David Newman to re-write it. A United Artists production executive suggested Bette Midler for the lead, and she asked for Don Siegel to direct. The script was re-written by Jerry Blatt, Carol Rydall, Bette Midler, and Don Siegel. During development, it was also known as "The Jackpot" and "Hot Streak". Gilroy had his name removed from the film, and was credited as "Burt Blessing".

---

Goofs

When Willie starts to carry Harold over his shoulder, Harold's arm is sticking straight out. Before they go through the door, Harold crooks his arm which is surprising since he's dead.

---

Quotes

Willie Brodax: Actually Ma'am, you DO need a vacuum cleaner, but I ain't selling any.

---

Connections

Referenced in Difficult People: Bernie and Blythe (2017)

---

Soundtracks

No Jinx
Music and lyrics by Bruce Roberts, Allee Willis and Brock Walsh
Performed by Bette Midler
Produced by Bruce Roberts

User Reviews

One Of my All Time Favorites

Harold,(Rip Torn) a professional gambler, and his girlfriend Bonita,(Bette Midler) a lounge singer, follow Willie,(Ken Wahl)a young blackjack dealer, around the Reno Tahoe area. Harold has a jinx on Willie and can't lose with him. Bonita and Willie meet and fall for each other and plot to do away with Harold and collect on his life insurance. Thats when the movie gets really good, do not quite understand the negative comments of this movie. fun for all I moved to the Reno area a few months after its filming and finally watched the movie years later its one of my favorites

Harold leaves a scavenger hunt for Bonita to find so she would'not be left flat after he dies For years I have used the same scavenger hunt for my kids

loads of fun!