Jinx Inherits a Million

Chorus girl Gloria Carroll (Jinx Falkenburg) discovers she's been left one million dollars by Herbert J. Dinwiddie, an older man with whom she had become friends. Not surprisingly, all heck breaks loose. Her boss, Ned McLane (Don Beddoe) wants her to produce a new revue; the criminals from whom Mr. Dinwiddie stole the money want it back, and the gentleman's two sisters, Annabelle (Elizabeth Patterson) and Hettie (Adele Rowland) want a piece of the action. This week, our film is Lucky Legs (1942).

A pleasant little B movie with an adequate cast (and one outstanding performance), Lucky Legs is a short (64 minutes) film with a little bit of music, several lovely young ladies, and a plot that has been done before but still manages to be amusing. The lead role is filled by Jinx Falkenburg, an unassuming actress who is reasonably pleasant as the heiress. One rather likes her portrayal of Gloria, a common-sense kind of woman who gets swept up the mania surrounding her surprise inheritance.

Ms. Falkenburg started as a model, and was the first "Miss Rheingold" in New York (Rheingold was a local beer). While her success as an actress was fleeting (she never made it beyond B pictures, though she had a cameo appearance in Cover Girl and spent a good deal of the war doing USO shows), her career after films was impressive.  In 1945, she married journalist John "Tex" McCrary. The following year, they launched a radio show Hi Jinx, followed by The Tex and Jinx Show which is credited with being the forerunner of the radio talk show. (You can hear an episode, featuring guest  star Nancy Walker here).  They branched out into television as well, with At Home and The Tex and Jinx Show.  Though the McCrary's never divorced, they did separate in 1980; however they remained close friends. Ms. Falkenburg died in 2003 (one month after her husband's death) in the hospital that she and Tex had helped to found. This opinion piece by William Safire on Jinx's career as a talk radio pioneer was published shortly after her death.

The real star of the film is the delightful Elizabeth Patterson. She sparkles as the mystery loving, Annabelle.  She's funny and upbeat, and the viewer looks forward to her scenes.  An actress with extensive credits on Broadway (26 plays between 1913 and 1954), Ms. Patterson appeared in over 100 films, including Colonel Effingham's Raid (1946) and Remember the Night (1940). She's also remembered for her role as Mrs. Tumbull on I Love Lucy. Ms. Patterson died at the age of 91, in 1966.

It's believed that the story for Lucky Legs was based on a real incident, in which millionaire William Guggenheim  willed a million dollars to four showgirls. And though the film was shot between April and October of 1942, it's notable that not one mention of World War II is made.  (AFI catalog). Regardless, it's a cute film; it might not be first on your list, but it's good fun for a night in which you want a smile.