Pot o’ Gold feels like many movies jammed into an 86-minute feature, a very short runtime. It’s about a guy who meets a poor family with (get ready) a heart of gold. It’s about an old grumpy man who learns a lesson. It’s about a young guy who solves a tricky problem. It’s a romance. Many of the characters are not fleshed out well or developed as much as they should. Over the course of several different movies, you’d think character development would come up.
The protagonist, James, played by James Stewart, is the best part of the movie. James is still inconsistent in his decision making and opinions, but he’s enjoyable. His opinion on his uncle changes every other scene, though. This can be quite jarring. Despite the film wanting you to, James doesn’t come off like the character to sympathize with, it’s his uncle, C.J., played by Charles Winninger. Sure, he’s rude, he’s stuck-up, he doesn’t like music, but he just wants some relaxation. There’s no malintent and debatably no mal-action. He could and should handle the situations at hand better, but that still doesn’t give the other characters the right to harass him and try to knock him down a peg when they can. He’s from a different mindset, he’s not doing anything substantial, unlike another character… The main female lead, Molly, does what she wants, even to the detriment of others. She’s very difficult with people and she’s apparently the heroine.
SPOILERS
When Molly finds out that James is the nephew of the grumpy uncle, she immediately thinks he has a devious scheme planned and announces on the uncle’s radio show that he’ll give away $1000 a week. She only did this because she was upset. Keep in mind that $1000 in the early 1940s was a lot of money. She could have ruined their lives by bankrupting them or at least getting them into controversy. Only a few minutes later, she suddenly likes James again. Very little provoked her to like him other than that this is a romance flick and it’s supposed to happen. Neither of these two seem good for the other. They’re constantly on each other’s nerves in the movie.
People are constantly messing with C.J., like when James tricks him into going to Canada or when Molly says he’ll give up money or when she takes his radio show or when they get him unjustly thrown in jail. How does he react to these things? He’s upset, but gets over it quickly. What? Why is he so forgiving? And C.J. is supposed to be the one we dislike! He’s got every right to be upset. At worst, he’s an Ebenezer Scrooge that’s partway changed his ways.
OVERVIEW
None of the three leads are three dimensional, none give me a reason to remember them or the film. The characters are mostly unlikeable, unless you’re supposed to dislike them. This film is a mess with a well-performed lead by the famous James Stewart.
The Filme Diary 