''Best Man Wins'' is a 1948 American historical

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

John Sturges John Eliot Sturges (; January 3, 1910 – August 18, 1992) was an American film director. His films include ''Bad Day at Black Rock'' (1955), '' Gunfight at the O.K. Corral'' (1957), '' The Magnificent Seven'' (1960), '' The Great Escape'' (19 ...

and starring

Edgar Buchanan William Edgar Buchanan II (March 20, 1903 – April 4, 1979) was an American actor with a long career in both film and television. He is most familiar today as Uncle Joe Carson from the ''Petticoat Junction'', ''Green Acres'', and ''The ...

Anna Lee Anna Lee, MBE (born Joan Boniface Winnifrith; 2 January 1913 – 14 May 2004) was a British actress, labelled by studios "The British Bombshell". Early life Anna Lee was born Joan Boniface Winnifrith in Ightham, (pronounced 'Item'), Kent, th ...

and

Robert Shayne Robert Shayne (born Robert Shaen Dawe, October 4, 1900 – November 29, 1992) was an American actor whose career lasted for over 60 years. He was best known for portraying Inspector Bill Henderson in the American television series '' Adven ...

. It was produced and distributed by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

. It it based on the story ''

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" is an 1865 short story by Mark Twain. It was his first great success as a writer and brought him national attention. The story has also been published as "Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog" (its orig ...

'' by Mark Twain.

Plot

The year is 1853 when inveterate gambler Jim Smiley (

) returns to his hometown of Dawson's Landing in Missouri after being away for a decade from his wife and son. He brings a jumping frog which he calls Daniel Webster with him, and immediately upon his arrival to the town hotel makes a bet with Sheriff Dingle (

Stanley Andrews Stanley Andrews (born Stanley Martin Andrzejewski; August 28, 1891 – June 23, 1969) was an American actor perhaps best known as the voice of Daddy Warbucks on the radio program ''Little Orphan Annie'' and later as "The Old Ranger", the first ...

) and a few others, that the frog can jump when told to do so. He wins the bet and is able to pay for his stay at the hotel with the money. Next he visits his wife Nancy (

), who turns out to be his ex-wife and is about to marry the town judge, Leonidas K. Carter (

). He still gets to meet his son, Bob ( Gary Gray), who he has never met before. To make amends and win the boy's heart, he intends to buy him a racing Greyhound. Jim manages to gather a sum of $300 to buy a certain dog that Bob has set his eyes on, Andrew Jackson III, and Bob trains it to race it in an upcoming contest. But Bob is made fun of by one of the judge's own spoiled sons, Monty ( Bill Sheffield), and Jim becomes determined to win back both his son and his wife from the snobby Leonidas. Jim begins by renouncing gambling altogether and getting a job at the local hotel. He relapses however, by placing a bet on the judge's prize runner to win the race. Instead Bob's dog wins the race, and Jim feels guilty over having lied to Nancy and let his son down by not believing in him. Since Nancy believes he is a reformed man she agrees to marry him again. When the wedding day comes, Jim still feels bad about his lies, when he discovers that Bob and Monty are betting. He tries to teach his son about the perils of gambling, but his guilty conscience makes him cancel the wedding. The judge also tries to stop the wedding by challenging Jim's ability to pay for the ceremony, which costs about $1,000. The challenge turns into a bet, where Jim stakes $1,000 that his frog will beat his friend Amos' (

Hobart Cavanaugh Hobart Cavanaugh (September 22, 1886 – April 26, 1950 ) was an American character actor in films and on stage. Biography He was born in Virginia City, Nevada on September 22, 1886. Cavanaugh attended the University of California. He worked in ...

) leaper, Martha Washington. Jim goes on to fix the race, but refuses to accept his prize money when he wins. In doing so, he restores his dignity in front of Nancy. Jim layer confesses to Nancy about the bet on the previous dog race, but she is still happy about his new honest behaviour and agrees to remarry him anyway.

Cast

as Jim Smiley *

as Nancy Smiley *

as Judge Leonidas K. Carter * Gary Gray as Bob Smiley *

as Amos *

ad Sheriff Dingle * George Lynn as Mr. Crow * Bill Sheffield as Monty Carter * Marietta Canty as Hester

References

External links

* * * {{John Sturges 1948 films Columbia Pictures films Films directed by John Sturges Films about gambling Films based on short fiction Films based on works by Mark Twain Films set in 1853 Films set in Missouri American historical drama films 1940s historical drama films American black-and-white films 1948 drama films 1940s American films 1940s English-language films