Radiomania

I have a question that goes beyond the one that's in this movie - Who is the Mystery Husband? (and by the way, I recognized his voice) - WHAT was THE James Stewart doing in a B movie? Did he owe Fox a film or what? That to me is the most intriguing question.

Stewart doesn't raise this film to A status, but having him in it certainly brings it up a notch. He plays husband and father Bill Lawrence - maybe George Bailey 20 years hence "It's A Wonderful Life" had it not been for Clarence - who's bored with the routine and, in middle age, realizing that the house, the wife, the kids, the job, - this is it. As he puts it, he's not going to the North Pole. Then he gets a call from the Federal Broadcasting System to make sure he's home that evening to get a call from a quiz show. If he can answer the question correctly, he'll get $24,000 in prizes.

Bill answers correctly, and then the trouble begins. Where to put the fully-dressed quarter ton of meat, the 7,000 soups, the three years of frozen foods, the old furniture since the house is being made over, the pony, etc. And who's going to pay the taxes on all that stuff. These aren't the only headaches. Bill's wife (Barbara Hale) is jealous of the dishy dame (Patricia Medina) hired to paint Bill's portrait, so his marriage is going down the tubes.

This is a cute movie that does have some amusing bits in it, plus good backup from James Gleason and Fred Clark. The best for me was Bill deciding they need to sell stuff to pay taxes, and trying to do it on the sly in the department store where he works, waylaying customers like a guy who drags you into a back alley. Stewart is wonderful, as if he could ever be anything but, and Barbara Hale is lovely. But give me a break. This could have been a sit-com episode. I can't imagine what gun Darryl Zanuck held to Jimmy's head to get him to do this movie. Zanuck must have had dirt on him that no one else knew.

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!!

The Jackpot features James Stewart in another incarnation of his George Bailey, Mr. Average Man persona. Like Bailey, Jimmy Stewart is the average man with a wife and two kids. Only his Mr. Potter is his boss Fred Clark at the department store where he's a Vice President. But like Bailey he's feeling stuck in a rut in his small town.

That all changes when he gets a call from the Name the Mystery Husband quiz show and with a little help from James Gleason he gets the right answer. He wins $24,000.00+ in prizes, but no one tells him of the complications that go with it.

Barbara Hale steps nicely into Donna Reed's shoes and Natalie Wood and Tommy Rettig are the two children. Best in the supporting cast are Lyle Talbot, the department store's other vice president and one slobbering bootlicker and Alan Mowbray as an officious interior decorator.

Mowbray is playing a part and playing it well that another 20th Century Fox star, Clifton Webb would have eaten for breakfast. I wonder if the part in fact was offered to Webb. Maybe he turned it down because at that point he was a big name box office draw and the part of the obviously gay interior decorator might have been too close to home for those times.

The Jackpot is an enjoyable family comedy. Director Walter Lang got good performances out of his very talented cast.

Hadn't heard of this Stewart title before catching it during a recent run on the Fox movie channel. It's well worth a watch. It does a nice job of capturing the post WWII atmosphere in America as families turned their attention away from the war and the pre-war depression and forward to new economic prosperity and growth. It is in this atmosphere that an average family living a simple life in small town Indiana answers a radio contest question and wins a $24,000 prize, which today probably amounts to 10 times as much. The resulting humorous complications that arise both at home and at work for Stewart and his family after he becomes a prize winner are hilarious.

From the movie description, you would think this is the kind of plot line that the writers would give cursory treatment, but I was surprised at the quality of the writing. I should have known better since James Stewart is not likely to agree to take a lead role in a poorly written work. Stewart has a solid surrounding cast who also all deliver ably - Barbara Hale, Fred Clark, James Gleason, Bob Gist and others, including young Natalie Wood. This is a nice romp and worth viewing.

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.