| The Jackpot | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Walter Lang |
| Written by | Henry Ephron Phoebe Ephron |
| Produced by | Samuel G. Engel |
| Starring | James Stewart Barbara Hale James Gleason Natalie Wood |
| Cinematography | Joseph LaShelle |
| Edited by | J. Watson Webb Jr. |
| Music by | Lionel Newman |
| Color process | Black and white |
Production company | 20th Century Fox |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release date |
|
Running time | 87 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1,525,000[1][2] |
The Jackpot is a 1950Americancomedy film directed byWalter Lang, withJames Stewart andBarbara Hale in the lead roles. It features a youngNatalie Wood.
The screenplay was based on aJohn McNulty article, "The Jackpot", inThe New Yorker (February 19, 1949), about the true experiences of James P. Caffrey ofWakefield, Rhode Island who won $24,000 worth of merchandise on August 28, 1948, from theCBS radio quiz program,Sing It Again.[3][4]
The film is mostly forgotten today, but was a successful vehicle for Stewart at the time. A radio adaptation, broadcast April 26, 1951, onNBC'sScreen Directors Playhouse, received much press coverage because Stewart's co-star wasMargaret Truman, making her debut as a radio actress for a fee of $2,500. She received mixed reviews, and noted thather father "enjoyed it".[5]
Bill Lawrence, employed at a department store in theMidwestern United States, supports a wife and two kids on an annual salary of $7,500. Answering a phone call, he wins $24,000 worth of merchandise from a radio quiz program and is overwhelmed by prizes which range from the useful to the absurd, including a side of beef, 7,500 cans of soup, 1,000 fruit trees, aPalomino pony, a portable swimming pool, a diamond ring, a French maid, an interior decorator, and portrait painter Hilda Jones.
All is well until Lawrence is told he must sell the prizes in order to pay an income tax of $7,000. When he tries to raise the money by selling the merchandise at the department store, his boss fires him. When he tries to fence the diamond ring in Chicago, he's arrested. Complicating matters, his wife suspects him of having an affair withGreenwich Village artist Hilda. Dealing with these problems, he gets help from reporter Harry Summers, who had been writing newspaper articles about Lawrence and his winnings. BandleaderHarry James made an uncredited appearance as a radio vocalist.
ScreenwritersHenry andPhoebe Ephron, the parents of future writer/directorNora Ephron, were nominated for aWriters Guild of America Award.
The film was released toDVD via themanufacture on demand (MOD) 20th Century Fox Cinema Archives on December 6, 2012.