''Pot o' Gold'' is a 1941 American romantic

musical comedy film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...

starring

James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality h ...

and

Paulette Goddard Paulette Goddard (born Marion Levy; June 3, 1910 – April 23, 1990) was an American actress notable for her film career in the Golden Age of Hollywood. Born in Manhattan and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, Goddard initially began her career a ...

, directed by

George Marshall George Catlett Marshall Jr. (December 31, 1880 – October 16, 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the US Army under Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry ...

, and based on the radio series '' Pot o' Gold''. The film was released April 3, 1941, eight months before the NBC radio series came to an end. Paulette Goddard's singing voice was dubbed by Vera Van. The film was known as ''The Golden Hour'' in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and was re-released in 1946 by

Astor Pictures Astor Pictures was a motion picture distribution company in the United States from 1930 to 1963. It was founded by Robert M. Savini (29 August 1886 – 29 April 1956). Astor specialized in film re-releases. It later released independently m ...

as ''Jimmy Steps Out''.

Plot

James Stewart-Paulette Goddard in Pot o' Gold

Jimmy Haskell is the owner of a

music store A music store or musical instrument store is a retail business that sells musical instruments and related equipment and accessories. Some music stores sell additional services, such as music lessons, music instrument or equipment rental, or re ...

. His uncle, C.J. Haskell, dislikes music and has long wanted Jimmy to join him in his

health food A healthy diet is a diet that maintains or improves overall health. A healthy diet provides the body with essential nutrition: fluid, macronutrients such as protein, micronutrients such as vitamins, and adequate fibre and food energy. A healt ...

business. Jimmy agrees only after his music store closes. When Jimmy arrives at his uncle's place, he is confronted by members of the McCorkle family, who play in Heidt's band and often practice near C.J.'s business. C.J. is infuriated and attempts to stop the band using the police. Jimmy unintentionally throws a tomato at him, which makes a good impression on the band and the McCorkles, who do not know his true identity. Molly McCorkle falls in love with him. When Jimmy substitutes for C.J. on his radio program, two band members find out who he is. They devise a scheme to persuade C.J. to take a vacation. In the meantime, Jimmy takes over the operation of the business and invites Heidt's band to play on the show. Molly learns Jimmy's identity, and in anger, she says on-air that the Haskell program will give away $1000 every week. To protect her from prosecution, Jimmy claims the idea is his. He then has to find a way to give away the cash; a federal investigator informs him that there are many legal restrictions that make every scheme Jimmy and his associates can think up illegal. Jimmy finally comes up with a method just before the show airs. He gets a bunch of

telephone book A telephone directory, commonly called a telephone book, telephone address book, phonebook, or the white and yellow pages, is a listing of telephone subscribers in a geographical area or subscribers to services provided by the organization that ...

s and steals a carnival wheel to select first the telephone book, then the page in it and finally the entry on the page to determine the winner. The giveaway is immensely popular, with advertisers clamoring to sign up. This reconciles the Haskells and McCorkles, paving the way for Jimmy and Molly to get married.

Cast

as James Hamilton "Jimmy" Haskell *

as Molly McCorkle *

Horace Heidt Horace Heidt (May 21, 1901 – December 1, 1986) was an American pianist, big band leader, and radio and television personality. His band, Horace Heidt and his Musical Knights, toured vaudeville and performed on radio and television during the 19 ...

as Himself *

Charles Winninger Charles J. Winninger (May 26, 1884 – January 27, 1969) was an American stage and film actor, most often cast in comedies or musicals. Life and career Winninger was born in Athens, Wisconsin, the son of Rosalia (Grassler) and Franz Winninger ...

as Charles "C.J." Haskell * Mary Gordon as Mom McCorkle * Frank Melton as Jasper Backus *

Jed Prouty Jed Prouty (born Clarence Gordon Prouty; April 6, 1879 – May 10, 1956) was an American film actor. Biography Born as Clarence Gordon Prouty in Boston, Massachusetts, Prouty was a vaudeville performer before becoming a film actor. Mostly app ...

as J.K. Louderman *

Charles Arnt Charles E. Arnt (August 20, 1906 – August 6, 1990) was an American film actor from 1933 to 1962. Arnt appeared as a character actor in more than 200 films. Arnt was born in Michigan City, Indiana, the son of a banker. He graduated fr ...

as Parks (butler) *

Dick Hogan Dixon Howard "Dick" Hogan (November 27, 1917 – August 18, 1995) was an American actor of the 1930s and 1940s. During his 12-year career he appeared in over three dozen films, in roles which varied from unnamed bellhops to featured and starring ...

as Willie McCorkle * James Burke as Police Lt. Grady * Donna Wood as Donna McCorkle * Larry Cotton as Larry Cotton, Vocalist *

Art Carney Arthur William Matthew Carney (November 4, 1918 – November 9, 2003) was an American actor and comedian. A recipient of an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and six Primetime Emmy Awards, he was best known for his role as Ed ...

as Radio Announcer (uncredited)

Background

''Pot o' Gold'' was radio's first big-money giveaway program, garnering huge ratings within four weeks of its 1939 debut. The program's success prompted production of the film. The premise of the radio program, created by Ed Byron, was that any person who picked up the telephone when host

called would automatically win $1000. Phone numbers were chosen by three spins on the Wheel of Fortune: (1) choice of phone directory, (2) page number and (3) the line on the page. The series ran on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

from September 26, 1939 to December 23, 1941 and later a new show by the same name from October 2, 1946 to March 26, 1947 on ABC.

Soundtrack

* Various characters - "Hi, Cy, What's A-Cookin'?" (Written by Henry Russell and Louis Forbes) * Paulette Goddard (dubbed by Vera Van) with Horace Heidt & His Musical Knights - "Pete the Piper" (Written by Henry Russell) * James Stewart - "When Johnny Toots His Horn" (Written by Hy Heath and Fred Rose) * Horace Heidt & His Musical Knights - "A Knife, a Fork and a Spoon" (Written by

Dave Franklin Dave Franklin (September 28, 1895 – February 2, 1970) was an accomplished American songwriter and pianist. A member of Tin Pan Alley, Franklin co-wrote "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down", which was adopted as the theme song to the '' Looney Tune ...

) * Larry Cotton with Horace Heidt & His Musical Knights - "Do You Believe in Fairy Tales?" (Music by Vee Lawnhurst, lyrics by

Mack David Mack David (July 5, 1912 – December 30, 1993) was an American lyricist and songwriter, best known for his work in film and television, with a career spanning the period between the early 1940s and the early 1970s. David was credited with writing ...

) * Paulette Goddard (dubbed by Vera Van) with Horace Heidt & His Musical Knights - "Broadway Caballero" (Written by Henry Russell)

Reception

Stewart later referred to the film as the worst one he ever appeared in.page 186 Nine years later, Stewart did another movie about a big-money radio show, ''

The Jackpot ''The Jackpot'' is a 1950 American comedy film directed by Walter Lang, with James Stewart and Barbara Hale in the lead roles. It features a young Natalie Wood. The screenplay was based on a John McNulty article, "The Jackpot", in ''The New York ...

'' (1950).

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pot o' Gold 1941 films 1941 musical comedy films 1941 romantic comedy films American musical comedy films Films based on radio series American romantic comedy films American romantic musical films 1940s English-language films American black-and-white films Films directed by George Marshall United Artists films 1940s romantic musical films 1940s American films