On Feb. 27, 1941, James Stewart took home an Oscar® for The Philadelphia Story (1940). About five weeks later, a new Stewart movie arrived in theaters: Pot o' Gold (1941). It not only has the distinction of being one of the most minor films on his resume, but it's the picture Stewart himself once called his worst.

There are still some interesting reasons to take a look at the movie. Stewart's always worth watching, and here he even sings, for the second and final time in his career. (The first was Born to Dance, 1936.) Pot o' Gold also bears the name "Roosevelt" prominently in its credits. James Roosevelt, FDR's oldest son, had previously produced some short subjects, and Pot o' Gold was his first produced feature. It wound up being his only feature, as he soon left Hollywood to take part in WWII and later entered politics, serving as a Democratic Congressman from California. Stewart was under contract to MGM, and Roosevelt, making this film for United Artists, asked Louis B. Mayer for a loanout. Mayer, no dummy, plainly saw that Pot o' Gold wasn't exactly the best vehicle with which to capitalize on Stewart's newfound Oscar® heat. But he also knew the usefulness of having good relations with the Roosevelt family, and he agreed to loan his star. Though initially reluctant, Stewart too was ultimately charmed by Roosevelt into going along with the fledgling producer's debut film.

Pot o' Gold's title comes from an NBC radio program of the era in which $1000 was given away every week. The program featured the Horace Heidt Orchestra, who are third-billed in the movie. Stewart plays the owner of a music store who meets the daughter (Paulette Goddard) of a boarding house owner. She's as smitten with music as he is - especially with the Horace Heidt Orchestra, which rehearses at the boarding house. Stewart and Goddard concoct a plan to start a radio show featuring Heidt's band and promoting food products owned by Stewart's wealthy uncle.

Stewart and Goddard had never before worked together, and the studio publicists had a field day trying to generate the impression that there were sparks flying between the two. The truth was the polar opposite. Goddard thought Stewart too boyish, even though he had a reputation around Hollywood as a real ladies' man. She also dismissed his acting, saying "anyone can swallow." Stewart didn't think much of Goddard's talent either and said she had to fall back on a wisecracking tone to get by. In any event, there were definitely no romantic shenanigans going on after hours. (Besides, Goddard was at this time married to Charlie Chaplin.) Goddard is today remembered more for her stunning beauty than for her acting chops, but the fact is she was nominated for an Academy Award just two years after Pot o' Gold, for So Proudly We Hail! (1943).

The critics weren't kind to the picture. The New York Times found Goddard "pretty but rigid" and concluded that overall, "this Pot o' Gold is full of wooden nickels." A Boston reviewer was even harsher: "This picture proves that Jimmy Roosevelt can't produce, Jimmy Stewart can't sing and Horace Heidt can't act. George Marshall can direct, and keeps the pace lively, but this gifted director, with his finely tuned comic sense in other films, was wasting his time here. And MGM ought to be ashamed of itself, throwing its recent Oscar® winner to the dogs in this throwaway."

Immediately following Pot o' Gold, Stewart made the MGM musical Ziegfeld Girl (1941), this time in a non-singing role, and then was drafted by the army for WWII service, taking a five-year break from movie screens.

Art Carney makes his film debut here as a radio announcer.

Producer: James Roosevelt
Director: George Marshall
Screenplay: Haydn Roth Evans, Robert Brilmayer, Andrew Bennison, Monte Brice, Harry Tugend, Walter DeLeon
Cinematography: Harry Jackson, Hal Mohr
Film Editing: Lloyd Nosler
Art Direction: Hans Peters
Music: Louis Forbes, Hy Heath, Fred Rose
Cast: James Stewart (Jimmy Haskell), Paulette Goddard (Molly McCorkle), Horace Heidt (Himself), Charles Winninger (C.J. Haskell), Mary Gordon (Ma McCorkle), Frank Melton (Jasper Backus).
BW-86m.

by Jeremy Arnold