Main Cast: Bette Midler, Ken Wahl, Rip Torn, Val Avery, Jack Elam
Release Year: 1982
Country: US
Run Time: 103 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Jinxed is an apt name for this disastrous project which, sadly, turned out to be Don Siegel's final film. The film takes place in Reno, where blackjack dealer Willie Brodax (Ken Wahl) becomes an innocent victim of a broken-down gambler named Harold Benson (Rip Torn). Such is Willie's luck that when he sees Benson sit down at his blackjack table, he realizes that he will soon be out of a job. Benson is also giving his girlfriend Bonita Friml (Bette Midler) a difficult time. When she notices Willie and sees how Bensen is putting him through the wringer, she begins to fall for him and gets him involved in a scheme to kill her boyfriend. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
Benson Fong - Dr. Wing; George Dickerson - Tahoe Casino Manager; Kathryn Kates - Miss Nina; Barry Michlin - Talent Booker ("Max"); Read Morgan - Reno Player; Jim Nolan - Father; Kathleen O'Malley - Mother; Woodrow Parfrey - Insurance Agent; F. William Parker - Art; Tom Pletts - Tahoe First Monitor; Jacqueline Scott - Woman Bettor; Ian Wolfe - Morley; Joan Freeman - Woman Agent; Don Siegel - Owner Adult Bookstore; Richard Goodman - The Reinsman; Sterling Swanson - First Bettor; Archie Lang - Tahoe Second Monitor; Cletus Young - Dealer
Credit
Joe Cavalier - Associate Producer, Robert de Mora - Costume Designer, Daniel McCauley - First Assistant Director, Don Siegel - Director, Doug Steward - Editor, Douglas Stewart - Editor, Miles Goodman - Composer (Music Score), Bruce Roberts - Composer (Music Score), Ted Haworth - Production Designer, Vilmos Zsigmond - Cinematographer, Howard Jeffrey - Producer, Herb Jaffe - Producer, Robert R. Benton - Set Designer, Wally Graham - Set Designer, Julie Harmount - Set Designer, Al Overton - Sound/Sound Designer, Frank D. Gilroy - Screenwriter, Bert Blessing - Screenwriter, David Newman - Screenwriter
The movie is noted for a unique collaboration between Siegel and director Sam Peckinpah. An original mentor to Peckinpah, who at this time was banished from the industry due to his troubled film productions, Siegel gave the director a chance to return to filmmaking. He asked Peckinpah if he would be interested in directing 12 days of second unit work on the film. Peckinpah immediately accepted, and his earnest collaboration with his longtime friend was noted within the industry. While Peckinpah's work was uncredited, it would lead to his hiring as the director of his final film The Osterman Weekend (1983).
In Jinxed!, Harold Benson (Rip Torn) and his lounge-singer wife Bonita Friml (Bette Midler) follow a young blackjack dealer Willie Brodax (Ken Wahl) around the U.S. Harold has a jinx on Willie and can't lose to him. Bonita and Willie eventually fall in love and plot to do away with Harold and collect his life insurance.
In addition to Siegel's health problems, Midler and Wahl reportedly fought viciously throughout the filming, making no secret of their open hostility towards one another. Years later, Midler would state that Siegel was also hostile towards her. In turn, Siegel said the experience of working with Midler was extremely unpleasant. The movie was filmed on location in Reno, Nevada and Lake Tahoe.
Jinxed!, released to theaters on Oct. 22, 1982, was a box office failure. Midler was largely blamed, effectively curtailing her career until Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986) was released to critical and commercial success.
