Nothing spoils contest goods, such as those won by Jimmy Stewart’s Bill Lawrence in The Jackpot (1950), like Uncle Sam via the IRS.  Bill gives the right answer to a radio-show question and receives the loot the federal government becomes so eager to tax, understandably prompting Bill to loudly inquire whether the “STATE [government]” will be just as grasping.  You got that right, boy.

But it isn’t merely the IRS that is setting traps for Bill.  The winnings eventually shake up his marriage to Amy (Barbara Hale), who sees good reason for jealous suspicion. . . Walter Lang’s playful conservative flick is, like innumerable other Old Hollywood comedies, not very funny but still entertaining.  It is also forgotten—except by YouTube—but why should we forget something that has Jimmy Stewart and two very good-looking women: Barbara Hale and Patricia Medina (as a Frenchie)?  More, it provides the right amount of sentiment for its unmawkish romance.

The Jackpot (Photo credit: Wikipedia)