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Two
Dollar Bettor
Genre: Drama
Released: 1951
Directed by: Edward
L. Cahn
Starring: John
Litel, Steve Brodie, Marie Windsor
Alfalfa portrays:
Chuck Nordlinger, an All-State high-school fullback
Alfalfa's screen time:
4:03
Lines of dialogue spoken by Alfalfa: 26
John Hewitt is a conservative and respected
banker, and a widower with two teenage daughters. One day he gets
talked into placing a small bet while at the racetrack for a social
call. He wins, then quickly gets hooked on the ponies. His obsession
becomes so bad that he embezzles money from the Comptroller's Fund
at the bank to cover his debts, and even winds up involved in a
murder.
The first time we see Alfalfa, Mr. Hewitt has just returned home
on the day of his very first winning wager. His daughters, Nancy
and Diane, are holding a teenage shindig. Among the guests is Alfalfa.
Mr. Hewitt makes some small talk with his daughters as Alfalfa looks
on. Finally, he steps forward:
Alfalfa: I guess nobody's gonna
introduce us, Mr. Hewitt...
Diane: Oh, I'm sorry, Chuck—Daddy, this is Charlie Nordlinger,
he's captain of our—
Hewitt [cutting her off]: You don't have to tell me,
howdy Chuck, how are you? [shakes Alfalfa's hand vigorously]
Alfalfa: Aw, I'm fine, thanks!
Hewitt: I saw you catch that pass to win the championship
for Langston High last year.
Alfalfa: You did?
Diane: Northwestern and Illinois want him now.
Another guest: And a couple of colleges on the west coast!
Alfalfa: Not to mention a couple
more back east!
Hewitt then asks his daughters the status
of their car, in for repairs. Diane says that it's still not ready,
but not to worry: she can continue taking the bus.
Alfalfa:
The heck you can! [sweetly] You can use my crate anytime
you want, Diane...
Alfalfa's participation in the rest of the
film is as a kind of fifth wheel. He eagerly tries to impress Diane,
but she usually hooks up with somebody else, either a family friend
returned from college, or an old boyfriend who's back in town. In
Alfalfa's second scene, a dental student returns from college, and
immediately starts examining Alfalfa's bicuspids.
Chester
the dental student gives Alfalfa's teeth the once-over.
Alfalfa: Bicuspidders? [gestures to the ladies
present, as if they will be embarrassed by such language] Please!...
"Two Dollar Bettor" is not a bad
little film. Although containing its share of mid-century Hollywood
melodrama, by the time Mr. Hewitt has laid down his last "one
big bet" which will help him pay off his bookie and then swear
off the ponies for good, we are drawn in by some genuinely effective
suspense.
Alfalfa is around strictly for comic relief. His portrayal of genial
but moaxy Chuck Nordlinger could probably be characterized as part
Jethro Beaudine, part Ed Norton. And the folks at 4alfalfa.com find
it hard to believe that anybody with Alfalfa/Chuck's stated football
credentials would ever have trouble getting a date. But that's another
story...
 
Representative
Alfalfa moments from "Two Dollar Bettor".
Barbara Billingsley appears briefly as Mr.
Hewitt's secretary, about eight years before she would become known
forever as June Cleaver (she is listed in the credits as "Barbara
Billinsley"). Her appearance in "Two Dollar Bettor"
completes Alfalfa's "Cleaver Connection": Hugh Beaumont
(Ward Cleaver) appeared briefly as a policeman in the MGM Little
Rascal entry "Good Bad Boys"—Alfalfa's third-to-last
Rascals film.
Barbara
Billingsley as John
Hewitt's
secretary.
John Litel, who played John Hewitt in "Two
Dollar Bettor", was an interesting fellow. Not only did he
appear in more than 200 films throughout his career, he enlisted
in the French army during World War I when he grew impatient for
the U.S. to enter the conflict. He received two awards for bravery
from the French army before returning to the United States after
it formally entered the war. Litel also appeared in the Alfalfa
film "Henry and Dizzy" as Henry's
father Mr. Aldrich. He played this role in seven other Aldrich family
films.
Opening
credits from "Two Dollar
Bettor". Note misspelling of
Barbara Billingsley's name.
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