The Jackpot **** (1950, James Stewart, Barbara Hale, Natalie Wood, Tommy Rettig, James Gleason, Fred Clark, Alan Mowbray, Patricia Medina) – Classic Movie Review 5192

James Stewart is on his most entertaining, relaxed and appealing form in director Walter Lang’s extremely pleasing, little-known 1950 satirical comedy with the movie industry clearly enjoying taking sideswipes at its then enemy – radio! Barbara Hale, Natalie Wood, Tommy Rettig, James Gleason, Fred Clark, Alan Mowbray and Patricia Medina co-star, all of them effective and enjoying making the most of their good opportunities.

Stewart stars as the previously happy and fulfilled Bill Lawrence, who finds out that suddenly becoming a rich star is a big problem when he wins a radio quiz jackpot of $24,000. His house is taken over with prizes, his wife (Barbara Hale) and kids (Natalie Wood, Tommy Rettig) are upset, his cosy belongings are kicked out, he can’t pay the taxes on the prizes and he ends up having to sell the prizes, jobless and spending the night in prison.

The particularly witty satirical script is by the talented Phoebe Ephron and Henry Ephron writing team, based on a New Yorker article by John McNulty.

Stewart is also backed up by an enormously effective character actor support cast: Robert Gist, Lyle Talbot, Charles Tannen, Bigelow Sayre, Dick Cogan, Jewel Rose, Eddie Firestone, Walter Baldwin, Jay Barney, Robert Bice, John Bleifer, Frances Budd, Harry Carter, Ken Christy, George Conrad, Dulcie Day, Robert Dudley, Sam Edwards, Estelle Etterre, June Evans, Fritz Feld, Elizabeth Flournoy, Jerry Hausner, Harry Hines, Marjorie Holiday, Billy Lechner, Caryl Lincoln, Valerie Mark, Jack Mather, Joan Miller, Bill Nelson, Peggy O’Connor, Tudor Owen, Franklin Parker, Milton Parsons, John Qualen, Jack Roper, John Roy, Carol Savage, Syd Saylor, Kathryn Sheldon, Kim Spaldiing, Claude Stroud, Andrew Tombes, Minerva Urecal, Philip Vam Zandt, Colin Ward, Guy Way and Billy Wayne.

It runs 87 minutes, is produced and released by 20th Century Fox, is shot in black and white by Joseph LaShelle, is produced by Samuel G Engel, is scored by Lionel Newman and is designed by Lyle R Wheeler and Joseph C Wright.

Barbara Hale died on 26 January 2017, aged 94.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 5192

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