Jinxed!

Jinxed!

Year: 1982

Runtime: 103 mins

Language: English

Comedy

Harold, a slick professional gambler, and his lounge‑singer girlfriend Bonita trail Willie, a young blackjack dealer, across the western United States. Harold believes he’s cursed with a winning streak whenever he’s with Willie. As Bonita and Willie fall for each other, they conspire to eliminate Harold and claim his life‑insurance payout.

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Timeline & Setting – Jinxed! (1982)

Explore the full timeline and setting of Jinxed! (1982). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

1980s

The story unfolds on the late 20th‑century casino circuit, likely the 1980s, when Las Vegas and Reno were famous for flashy entertainment and high-stakes gambling. Neon-lit casinos, show lounges, and aggressive promotions of luck define the era and mood. The plot relies on risk, speed, and the promise of quick riches typical of that period.

Location

Las Vegas, Reno, Nevada

Las Vegas and Reno in Nevada serve as the backdrop, a neon-soaked gambling circuit where fortunes are won and lost on a single hand. The action shifts between gleaming casinos, smoky lounges, and a desert highway that hides a mobile home used for illicit schemes. The cityscape's glossy appeal and the constant hustle of casino life frame the characters' schemes and desires.

🎰 Gambling hub 🏙️ Neon city

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 13:00

Main Characters – Jinxed! (1982)

Meet the key characters of Jinxed! (1982), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Bonita Friml (Bette Midler)

A Las Vegas lounge singer who grows tired of her domineering husband’s gambling churn. She collaborates with Willie to plot Harold’s murder, then tries to control the outcome to secure her share of any windfall. Her charm masks a calculating, survival-focused mindset that drives the film’s deception.

🎤 Singer 💃 Showgirl

Harold Benson (Rip Torn)

A cigar-smoking gambler with an extraordinary winning streak who dominates Bonita and finances. His unrelenting luck triggers Bonita's plan and sets the stage for a cold-blooded murder plot. His eventual despair leads to a suicide that collapses the couple's hopes and sharpens the moral consequences.

🎰 Gambler 💔 Controlling

Willie Brodax (Ken Wahl)

A skilled blackjack dealer whose apparent 'jinx' against Harold makes him targeted by the casino operators. He falls for Bonita and becomes entangled in her plan to kill Harold, but proposes a countercondition: he must beat the jinx before the murder goes ahead. His pragmatism and risk-taking drive much of the film’s tension.

🃏 Gambler 💸 Risk-taker

Milt Hawkins (Val Avery)

A fellow casino worker who colleagues with Willie and implies they should profit from Harold’s loss. He embodies cynicism about the casino world and plays a supporting role in pushing the scheme forward. His pragmatic but amoral stance highlights the atmosphere of cash-driven adjacency to crime.

💼 Confidant 💰 Money-minded

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 13:00

Major Themes – Jinxed! (1982)

Explore the central themes of Jinxed! (1982), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

🎲 Luck vs Jinx

The central premise treats luck as something that can be engineered or broken. Harold's long winning streak and Bonita's insistence on a murder plot hinge on a 'jinx' that characters seek to control. Willie's final blackjack win becomes a focal point showing how luck is manufactured within the casino world. The tension between fate and calculation drives the narrative.

🕵️ Deception in Relationships

Bonita uses charm and fear to steer Willie toward murder, then withholds information to keep the plot alive. The pair's alliance rests on mutual greed and mistrust, and the prospect of insurance money intensifies their manipulation. The relationships are built on calculated moves rather than genuine trust, leading to moral decay.

💰 Greed and Consequences

Greed is the engine that propels both Bonita and Willie, shaping every decision from murder plots to counterplots for insurance. The policy's suicide clause and the later revelation of a lapsed policy reveal how financial schemes hinge on loopholes and timing. The scavenger-hunt ending, driven by money, underscores the ultimate cost of chasing riches.

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 13:00

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Jinxed! Summary

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Jinxed! Summary

Jinxed! Timeline

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Jinxed! Timeline

More About Jinxed!

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