Pot o' Gold (1941)

Fantastic!

Dreadfully Boring

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

I have a soft spot for this one. Paulette Goddard is that spot. She looks great and this is one of the first times I have seen a movie where she sings. The plot is pretty much a standard musical type of plot.Jimmy Haskell (Stewart) has a music store which is going out of business. (Only time I have seen Jimmy carrying a banjo). His Uncle, C.J.Haskell offers him a chance to earn a Pot O'Gold after he goes under with his health food business. So Stewart comes to town and meets Molly McCorkel (Goddard) her ma (Mary Gordon) and family orchestra to find his Uncle. Well, it turns out the Uncle is in a feud with the McCorkles and Jimmy tosses his way into it with a tomato (no, not Goddard, a real one from the produce stand).From here, the plot goes into overdrive with lots of music and harping from CJ who dislikes music. Because of the independent production company -James Roosevelt Productions -the sound track in mono is quite crude sounding. The spirit of the story and the talent of the cast makes this an okay film. This is the first uncredited role of Art Carney, who would go on from here to become a famous sewer worker.The music slows the plot at times, but at less than 90 minutes at least it does not stop things and the music is good despite the sound and Stewart and Goddard do their own music - here are the credits - Hi, Cy, What's A-Cookin'? (uncredited) Written by Henry Russell and Louis Forbes Performed by various characters Pete the Piper (uncredited) Written by Henry Russell Performed by Paulette Goddard with Horace Heidt & His Musical Knights When Johnny Toots His Horn (uncredited) Written by Hy Heath and Fred Rose Performed by James Stewart A Knife, a Fork and a Spoon (uncredited) Written by Dave Franklin Performed by Horace Heidt & His Musical Knights Do You Believe in Fairy Tales? (uncredited) Music by Vee Lawnhurst Lyrics by Mack David Performed by Larry Cotton with Horace Heidt & His Musical Knights Broadway Caballero (uncredited) Written by Henry Russell Performed by Paulette Goddard with Horace Heidt & His Musical Knights It is a bit of a mystery where this was filmed, but all the shots appear to be inside a studio.

Any movie star, even the greatest, under contract to a studio had his or her share of duds. But this is one I have trouble understanding. How did James Stewart, an actor who probably is in the top 10 of all-time great stars, land in this film? Especially after just winning the Oscar."Pot o' Gold" appears to have been an independent production by one James Roosevelt, FDR's son, and it was distributed through United Artists. It's about a young man, James Hamilton Haskel, who runs his dad's music store. The store isn't doing well, and his Uncle Charley (Charles Winninger) wants him to be part of his big health food business. James accepts for financial reasons. Uncle Charley is going crazy with the swing music being played next to his factory by the McCorkle family and Horace Heidt's band. Ma McCorkle and Uncle Charley hate one another. Without knowing that he's related to Uncle Charlie, the daughter, Molly (Paulette Goddard) falls for James. This leads to all sorts of complications, culminating on a radio show, the Haskel Happiness Hour.This is a mid-level musical at best, with Jimmy doing some of his own singing, though he's also dubbed, and Paulette Goddard, who came close to being Scarlett O'Hara, is dubbed all the way through. The band music is very good."Pot o' Gold" has a low-budget look to it, and supposedly James Stewart hated this film. I can't blame him. I just don't know how or why he and Goddard became mixed up in it.

This is a truly amazing film. Jimmy Stewart had just won the Oscar for his performance in PHILADELPHIA STORY and then he was loaned out to a poverty row studio to make this low-budget mess! Surely you would have thought he merited material better than this terrible film! Jimmy plays an idealistic musician--an odd bit of casting, but hey--it's Hollywood. Anyways, trying to live this life as a music instructor isn't easy and it's obvious he won't get rich, but he staunchly refuses to join his uncle (Charles Winninger) in business. The rest of the plot and how they brought Paulette Goddard into this mess of a film is really irrelevant--as there are so many distracting and forgettable songs that it seems less of a movie and more of a long series of music videos strung along by a tenuous plot! What a waste to make a film like this when you have Jimmy Stewart! In fact, after a while, I was so tired of this dull film that I really had to struggle to watch--it was that bad. I recommend this film only for film historians and people who insist on seeing EVERY Stewart film!

I was surprised by this movie. Pleasantly surprised, but surprised. I bought this for $2 expecting an early, unpolished Jimmy Stewart. However, made after 'It's a Wonderful Life', 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington', 'Philadelphia Story' and other Stewart classics, this movie gives us the Jimmy Stewart we all know and love. In terms of the rest of the movie, the plot is thin, and doesn't quite deliver on the comedic mayhem for which this story certainly has the potential. The dialogue isn't quite as quick and witty as one would like, because this is where Jimmy Stewart shines the brightest in films like 'Harvey', 'Philadelphia Story', and 'Destry Rides Again' with his slow drawl and deadpan delivery. The musical numbers are generally well integrated with good music, until the Caballero song towards the end which drags on too long and seems to suffer from Busby Berkeley envy. But then again, who doesn't?Overall, this is a quality film, especially for devoted fans of Mr. Stewart.