He then has to find a way to give away the cash; a federal investigator informs him that there are many legal restrictions that make every scheme Jimmy and his associates can think up illegal.

Pot o' Gold was radio's first big-money giveaway program, garnering huge ratings within four weeks of its 1939 debut.

The premise of the radio program, created by Ed Byron, was that any person who picked up the telephone when host Horace Heidt called would automatically win $1000.

Many of the earliest Soundies films are very handsomely mounted, because they used many of the same sets, costumes, musicians, and dancers from Pot o' Gold, then in production.

Motion Picture Herald reported: "Basic and proven ingredients artfully mixed and beaten to a light froth, with the final seasoning done exactly to a turn.

The result is as satisfying as that achieved by a superb cook with ordinary kitchen ingredients.”[4] "The story as a whole is light and frothy," agreed Film Daily, "and the picture as a whole is good entertainment for any and all audiences.

"[5] The New York World-Telegram review called the film a “fast-moving comedy, abounding in tuneful numbers, speed, and good gags.

It aspires to entertain and this it does with great success.” Boxoffice wrote: "Tailored for mass appeal, it should prove an impressively profitable exhibitor venture."

Because the film was produced independently — copyrighted by James Roosevelt personally and not owned or controlled by a studio — it became available for reissue in late 1943.

James Stewart, despairing of the film's omnipresent availability, was ashamed of its overexposure and referred to Pot o' Gold as the worst picture he ever appeared in.

He was then a musician and comedian with the Horace Heidt orchestra, and Pot o' Gold was his only film credit for more than 20 years.