Sweepstakes Winner

{{short description|1939 film by William C. McGann}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Infobox film | name = Sweepstakes Winner | image = File:Sweepstakes Winner.jpg | director = William C. McGann | producer = Bryan Foy | screenplay = John W. Krafft | story = Hugh Cummings Albert DeMond | starring = Marie Wilson Johnnie Davis Allen Jenkins Charley Foy Jerry Colonna Frankie Burke | music = Howard Jackson | cinematography = Arthur Edeson | editing = Frank Magee | studio = Warner Bros. Pictures | distributor = Warner Bros. Pictures | released = {{Film date|1939|5|20}} | runtime = 59 minutes | country = United States | language = English }}

'''''Sweepstakes Winner''''' is a 1939 American comedy film directed by William C. McGann, written by John W. Krafft, and starring Marie Wilson, Johnnie Davis, Allen Jenkins, Charley Foy,{{sfn|The American Film Institute|1999|page=255}} Jerry Colonna and Frankie Burke.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b76f5eb|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161002010510/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b76f5eb|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 2, 2016|title=Sweepstakes Winner|work=British Film Institute|location=United Kingdom|accessdate=September 17, 2016}}</ref><ref name="Sweepstakes Winner">{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/2066/sweepstakes-winner#credits |archive-url=https://archive.today/20260113083325/https://web.archive.org/web/20140310124052/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/2066/Sweepstakes-Winner/%23credits |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 10, 2014 |title=Sweepstakes Winner|work=Turner Classic Movies|publisher=Turner Broadcasting System (Time Warner)|location=Atlanta|accessdate=October 2, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Sweepstakes Winner (1939)|url=https://www.fortunecoins.com/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260113082708/https://www.csfd.cz/en/film/144289-sweepstakes-winner/overview/|archive-date=2026-01-13|access-date=2026-01-13|website=ČSFD.cz}}</ref> It was released by Warner Bros. Pictures on May 20, 1939.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/2066/sweepstakes-winner|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140310124052/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/2066/Sweepstakes-Winner/|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 10, 2014|title=Sweepstakes Winner (1939) - Overview |work=Turner Classic Movies|publisher=Turner Broadcasting System (Time Warner)|location=Atlanta|access-date=September 3, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/112410/Sweepstakes-Winner/overview|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222183647/http://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/112410/Sweepstakes-Winner/overview|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 22, 2015|title=Sweepstakes-Winner - Trailer - Cast - Showtimes|location=New York City|department=Movies & TV Dept.|work=The New York Times|author=Sandra Brennan|date=2015|accessdate=September 3, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://catalog.afi.com/Film/6703-SWEEPSTAKES-WINNER|title=Sweepstakes Winner|work=American Film Institute|location=Los Angeles|accessdate=October 2, 2022}}</ref>

==Plot== A naive girl, Jennie, inherits $1,000 from her grandfather, who tells her to buy a particular racehorse with it. His instructions send her to two broke bookies. They tell her she need $5,000 to buy the horse and offer to bet it for her on a 5 to 1 horse in a race that day. That horse wins, but one of the bookies, Jinx Donovan, followed a bad tip and instead bet $500 on a loser. Rather than admit he lost the money, he arranges to have her robbed just after he returned the remaining $500 to her in a wad to look like the $5,000. Down to her last few dollars, Jennie gets a job as a waitress. The bookies eat a meal at the restaurant. Too broke to pay for it, they sell her an Irish Sweepstakes ticket for $10 and the meal. The ticket wins the first round, meaning she would win a huge cash prize if her horse won the sweepstakes race. She is offered cash for the ticket, but decided to rely on her luck instead.

== Cast == * Marie Wilson as Jennie Jones * Johnnie Davis as Mark Downe * Allen Jenkins as Xerxes 'Tip' Bailey * Charley Foy as 'Jinx' Donovan * Sam McDaniel as Mose * Jerry Colonna as Nick * Frankie Burke as Chalky Williams * Vera Lewis as Mrs. McCarthy * Granville Bates as Pop Reynolds * Eddie Kane as Mr. Blake * Bert Hanlon as Poolroom Guard * George Lloyd as Dutch * Sidney Bracey{{sfn|Palmer|1988|page=53}} as Mr. Simpkins * Charles Irwin as English Radio Announcer * Bernice Pilot{{sfn|McCann|2009|page=266}} as Martha (Uncredited)

==References== {{reflist}}

===Sources=== {{Refbegin}}

* {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e024jm9X7gQC&q=Sweepstakes+Winner+1939+film&pg=PA255|title=The 1941-1950: American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States: Feature Films (The AFI Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States)|author=The American Film Institute|publisher=University of California Press|location=Oakland, California |year=1999 |isbn=978-0520215214 |edition=3 Volume set|page=255}} * {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SPps6d210zYC&q=Sweepstakes+Winner+1939+film&pg=PA53|title=A Who's Who of Australian and New Zealand Film Actors:The Sound Era|first=Scott|last=Palmer|publisher=Scarecrow Press|year=1988|location=Lanham, Maryland|isbn=978-0810820906|page=53}} * {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7ZYsnTPIhwC&q=Sweepstakes+Winner+1939+film&pg=PA266|title=Encyclopedia of African American Actresses in Film and Television|first=Bob|last=McCann|year=2009|publisher=McFarland & Company|location=New York City|isbn=978-0786437900|page=266}}

==External links== * {{IMDb title|0031997}} * {{TCMDb title|2066}} * {{AFI film|6703}}

Category:1939 films Category:1939 comedy films Category:American black-and-white films Category:American comedy films Category:Films directed by William C. McGann Category:American horse racing films Category:Warner Bros. films Category:1939 English-language films Category:1939 American films Category:English-language comedy films Category:Films scored by Howard Jackson (composer)