Plot Snowball Express

johnny baxter (dean jones) @ corporate middle class job when probate attorney (david white) tells him deceased uncle, jacob barnesworth, has left him sole ownership of lucrative grand imperial hotel in fictional town of silver hill, colorado. letter written barnesworth claims hotel brings in more $14,000 per month. baxter, chafing under dehumanizing conditions @ office, views golden opportunity.

baxter quits job in grand spectacle , moves family colorado take proprietorship of hotel. family finds immense ramshackle building no heat , colorful old codger, jesse mccord (harry morgan), living in shed. initially, baxter inclined turn mccord out appeared breaking , entering until pressured family—mainly children—to allow mccord stay. mccord offers services bartender, baxter assigns him job of bellhop, mccord takes characteristically easygoing nature.

some time later, baxter , wife walking on hills behind hotel, trying decide hotel. no real attractions nearby, unsure what, if anything, property until chance meeting wally, local boy employed gas station, out ride on snowmobile. apologizes making tracks in baxter s snow , leave when baxter stops him ask meant. wally explains grand imperial sits on huge amount of property, far can see, puts it. baxter realizes hilly terrain attraction hotel needs; can turn hill adjacent hotel ski lodge.

baxter attempts secure funding plans. local banker martin ridgeway (keenan wynn) expresses great interest in baxter s daring idea, offers buy lodge in order convert boys school in honor of deceased uncle. baxter declines. ridgeway, in turn, declines give baxter loan, citing him bad collateral risk , pointing out baxter has no experience in hotel or restaurant management, making business venture failure. during exchange, ridgeway s secretary appears quite agitated, not speak up. baxter leaves bank without loan, determined find one.

baxter searches funding elsewhere , finds friendly banker in next town named mr. wainwright (george kirkpatrick) interested in baxter s venture. wainwright agrees meet baxter @ ski lodge — baxter, not willing make same mistake did ridgeway admitting knows nothing hotels or skiing, claims avid skier. wainwright, taking baxter @ word, takes him black diamond run called nightmare alley. faking injury, baxter convinces wainwright start without him. however, after knocking down ski rack, baxter shoved irate skier, sending him down run anyway. after quite few close calls, not mention downing more few other skiers, baxter ends crashing tree. sensational story picked local press, gives chaos , injuries caused baxter s run fair amount of coverage.

while recovering, martin ridgeway gives baxter check $3,000, taking feigned pity on him. baxter starts making list of repairs lodge. meanwhile, local bumpkin wally perkins (michael mcgreevey) works jesse repair hot water heater. water heater explodes, tearing hole in kitchen wall. ridgeway s check covers repair, leaves nothing ski lift baxter had in mind. jesse comes rescue pulling old donkey engine out of mothballs, tying rope around it, , using makeshift ski lift.

the restored hotel opens little fanfare, receiving few customers several days. when wally dynamites tree stump ground, explosion sets off avalanche, blocking passing train carrying several hundred skiers. baxters shuttle skiers resort.

all goes until wally commences ski training classes. having never taught skiing before, wally loses balance , skis down steep mountain, dangling on ledge while clinging pine tree. using donkey engine , rope lower john baxter down mountain rescue wally, jesse accidentally jostles loose piece of lit firewood onto 1 of ropes anchoring engine in place. baxter rescues wally, suffers broken arm. burning rope tears, setting donkey engine free. slides down mountain baxter in tow, still roped machine after having rescued wally. engine plows through hotel. of guests check out, leaving baxters out of money once again.

john baxter sheepishly goes ridgeway, asking extension on loan, ridgeway flatly refuses. baxter notices sign silver hills snowmobile race, $5,000 prize, prize has been won ridgeway last several runs of race. though baxter has never used snowmobile, assumes wally can drive slapdash snowmobile. unfortunately, wally s broken arm skiing accident prevents involvement. baxter decides drive snowmobile himself, jesse partner. baxter s wife, furious risk own safety , health , lodge has become obsession has eclipsed duties family, threatens leave.

the day of race, 75-year-old jesse has second thoughts partaking in race aboard wally s decrepit snowmobile (dubbed mighty mongrel ). baxter reveals wife has indeed left children, denver. after rocky start, baxter , mccord end passing of pack, series of unfortunate turns , 1 unexpected shortcut ends breaking 1 of snowmobile s skis. heading town both in lead , under full power due broken throttle, baxter plows snowbank, breaking other ski. ridgeway makes same mistake, , 2 end on final stretch seconds apart. though come close, baxter , mccord narrowly miss finish line. ridgeway wins first place, , baxter ends riding snowmobile hours not shut off or stop. returns town after dark, snowmobile towed horse, finds wife waiting him.

the next day, ridgeway brings deed transfer papers lodge baxter sign. impassioned plea baxter extension again denied, , when baxter presses issue, ridgeway threatens begin foreclosure process, offers buy resort baxter practically nothing, again mentioning jacob barnesworth school boys plan. ridgeway s secretary miss wigginton (mary wickes) happens present during exchange, , blows stack in front of ridgeway, telling truth: property includes several hundred acres of pine timberland donated local indian tribes barnesworth long tribe inhabited land. tribe has moved away or died out, land reverts estate. ridgeway wants buy resort in order log highly valuable timber located on property. jesse adds land town built on granted jacob farnsworth on condition several buildings erected, including 2 hospitals (one animal hospital) , library. baxter s son notes has not seen library, and, in genuine confusion, asks why land has not reverted baxter. wigginton realizes absolutely right, , silver hill in violation of grant, meaning entire town built on land owned baxter — including ridgeway s bank. ridgeway, finding himself on foot, finds himself being pressed baxter extension on loan, granted. baxter pushes advantage, , ridgeway agrees loan baxter money necessary not repair expand resort.