La fortuna si diverte

"The Jackpot" is a story about Bill Lawrence, an ordinary man with a lovely wife, two growing kids, a regular job and a good group of friends. But this ordinary man thinks his life is too ordinary, too boring. Then one night he has an opportunity to answer a question on a radio quiz show. Once he gives the correct answer and begins to receive the prizes, his life is no longer boring or ordinary. Of course he soon wishes things were back to normal. Jimmy Stewart is such a pleasure to watch as he runs through a whole gamut of emotional upheavals. He goes from his routine life to the stress of trying to win the contest, to the euphoria of winning, to the turmoil when the prizes arrive, and then to the shocking discovery that he'll have to pay taxes on them. Barbara Hale is wonderful as his patient wife, who gets a little fed up with him as he laments his life decisions. James Gleason is also noteworthy as Bill's friend and adviser. While the story in itself isn't top notch, the acting more than makes up for it.

Where did this movie come from and who has been hiding it for all these years? Was it you, Ruppert Murdoch? This was on Fox Movie Channel today and what a surprise it is! When you view a film which has been up until "the moment" unheard of, it's like viewing a New Jimmy Stewart starring vehicle.

THERE is also a distinction between a "Movie" and a "Film". Sure, the two terms are interchangeable and virtually synonymous; yet there seems to be a definite distinction in usage. To us regular old fun, adventure, action and strictly escapist entertainment type of Motion Pictures are "Movies"; whereas any production which is of a Grand Scale, represents an Accurate Historical Portrayal, is highly Cinematic in Style or is otherwise considered to be a "Major Motion Picture" is considered a "Film". (This includes most Biopics and Musical Adaptations from the Legitimate Broadway Stage.)

OUR fondest recollections of Mr. James Stewart's work is mainly (if not totally) made up of celluloid works that would have to be most certainly Film. Starting with a pair of Frank Capra's gems as in MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (Columbia, 1939) and IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (Liberty Pictures/RKO Radio, 1946). First rate productions of Film Biographies were his strong suit, also; with examples aplenty. Jimmy starred as tragic Chicago White Sox Pitcher, Monty Stratton in THE STRATTON STORY (MGM, 1949), the title role in THE GLENN MILLER STORY (Universal, 1953) and as 'Lucky Lindy'(Himself), Charles Lindbergh in THE SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS (Leland-Wilder Productions/Warner Brothers, 1957).

FURTHERMORE, other typical roles for Mr. Stewart (other than the occasional Comedy or Farce) were usually very strong, heroic types; such as: Chicago Newspaper Man, P.J. McNeal in CALLING NORTHSIDE 777 (20th Century-Fox, 1948), THE STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND (Paramount Pictures Corporation. 1955) and as Tenderfoot 'Pilgrim' Attorney, Ransom Stoddard in John Ford's THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE (John Ford Productions/Paramount, 1962).

SMALL wonder then that a lot of moviegoers & film buffs tend to dismiss a Comedy/Farce such as THE JACKPOT (20th Century-Fox, 1950) as being a production that was below Jimmy's talents and stature as a true, Box Office stuffing, Red Blooded, All-American type and Movie Star to boot! JACKPOT is, after all, not really much of a story; being suggested by a story published in The New Yorker Magazine about the Radio Industry and some of the idiosyncrasies of the Game Shows & Giveaways of the period.

With it's simple and straight forward scenario, THE JACKPOT may well have been an old 2 Reel Comedy of the Late Silent or Early Talkie Eras. It could easily be built on starring a young Harold Lloyd, 'Baby-Faced' Harry Langdon or Stan Laurel (in his pre-Laurel & Hardy teaming). The story, as thin as it is, exists for our laughter and enjoyment.

OUR STORY……………………….....In the proverbial Nut Shell, regular old average working American, Bill Lawrence (Mr. Stewart) answers a Radio Quiz Show' Jackpot Question (Hence the title; get it, Schultz?) and wins $24,000.00+ as the prize; well, not exactly! The prize is worth that (retail?), but it comes in the form of Goods and Services, rather than in Cold Ca$h Dollar$, in the Currency of the U$A, it is made up of a Crazy Quilt of disconnected items such as a Quarter Ton of Beef, Hundreds of Cases of Canned Soups, a real Pony, a House Trailer and many items of Jewelry such as multiple wristwatches and a Diamond Ring.

OTHER prize items include a Home Remake by famous Interior Decorator, 'Leslie' (Alan Mowbry) and a Portrait Painting by equally famous Painter, Hilda Jones (Patricia Medina).

THE story unfolds with the Story of Mr. Bill Lawrence's win making Front Page News, especially in this small, Indiana Town. All of the complications and unintended consequences that follow make up the action on the screen. Plain and simple, straightforward occurrences that upset the heretofore happy lives of Bill & Amy Lawrence (Barbara Hale-Woo,woo,woo,woo! Della Street never looked so good!), their kids, Phyllis (a young Natalie Wood-Woo,woo,woo,woo, too!) and an even younger and shorter Tommy (Tommy Rettig, "LASS-IEEE!").

A fine supporting cast is present and includes James Gleason, Fred Clark, Lyle Talbot, Billy Nelson, Phillip Van Zandt, John Qualen, Robert Gist, Frances Budd, Dulcie Day, Fritz Feld, Ann Doran, Estelle Etterre, June Evans, Walter Baldwin and many more faces we know. (…. But the names?) THE JACKPOT is meant to let us sit back, let our hair down and enjoy the laughter; even if some of them are kinda obvious and we can see 'um a comin'.

JUST ENJOY!!

POODLE SCHNITZ!!

One of Jimmy Stewart's most overlooked films. This picture is pure 1950's. Stewart is an overworked family man, (Similar to his role in Mr. Hobbs Takes A Vacation, but The Jackpot is a much better picture.) who wins a radio game show. Prizes range from the useful to the absurd. Everything is fine until he finds out he's got to pay taxes on all of his loot. Probably as much pure fun as any Jimmy Stewart picture.

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.

Amusing little programmer that may be dated, but moves along nicely. Department store exec Jimmy Stewart has a suburban home, two cute kids, and a dutiful wife (Barbara Hale). He's a little bored but otherwise okay. That is, until he wins a yard full of dubious prizes (fruit trees, 1000 cans of soup, et. al.) from a radio show. That's sort of okay too, until he finds out he's got to pay $7000 in taxes on loot they really can't use. Now the happy home turns upside down and into a sales bazaar as Stewart tries to raise the tax money and get his life back to normal. However, the complications pile up almost as fast and furiously as the chuckles.

Clever script from the Ephrons (Henry & Phoebe), along with a number of nice touches from ace comedy director Walter Lang. Note how he has a card-playing guest humorously peek at the cards while others are distracted by the radio show-- that had to be an inspiration of the moment. Stewart, of course, brings his usual brand of amiable befuddlement to the comedy mix, and who better to play his department store boss than that 50's curmudgeon of big business, baldy Fred Clark, (I hope there's a special place in Hollywood heaven for unsung performers like him).

I remember the mystery-guest quiz shows that the movie portrays. They were popular and fascinating for an audience trying to unravel the riddle of the celebrity guest (eg. Jack Benny as the "Walking Man"). I don't know, but I'll bet that those shows started paying the taxes on prizes after this movie was released. This is a good example of the kind of family comedy that soon migrated to 50's sit-com (Ozzie & Harriet; Leave it to Beaver). Probably it would not have been produced 5 years later, quiz-show premise or not. Nonetheless, there's enough human interest and clever comedy set-ups to overcome the period limitations and keep you entertained.