It's a Joke, Son!
1947 film by Benjamin Stoloff
- January 15, 1947 (1947-01-15)
Running time
It's a Joke, Son! is a 1947 American comedy film directed by Benjamin Stoloff (in his final directorial role in a film) featuring radio comedian Kenny Delmar as Senator Beauregard Claghorn, a character on Fred Allen's radio program and later the inspiration for the cartoon character Foghorn Leghorn.[3] The film was the first American production for Eagle-Lion Films[4] and although it was produced on a very small budget compared to other Hollywood films,[2] it was a box-office disappointment; one theater chain removed the film after less than a week after it only drew $1,000 in ticket sales.[5]
The film contributed to a multimillion-dollar loss for Eagle-Lion in 1947, and Arthur B. Krim later stated that the studio had overpaid for Delmar and overestimated his bankability.[6] It is in the public domain.
Plot
When the Daughters of Dixie nominate Magnolia Claghorn as a candidate for state senator, the local political machine run by northerners fears that its candidate will be defeated. Through the Claghorns' daughter's boyfriend Jeff, the members of the machine concoct a plan to run Magnolia's husband Beauregard in order to split the anti-machine vote. However, when Beauregard attracts great popularity, they must seek to stop him.
Cast
- Kenny Delmar as Senator Beauregard Claghorn
- Una Merkel as Mrs. Magnolia Claghorn
- June Lockhart as Mary Lou Claghorn
- Kenneth Farrell as Jefferson "Jeff" Davis
- Douglass Dumbrille as Big Dan Healey
- Jimmy Conlin as Senator Alexander P. Leeds
- Matt Willis as Ace, Healey's Henchman
- Ralph Sanford as Knifey, Healey's Henchman
- Daisy as Daisy
- Vera Lewis as Hortense Dimwitty
- Margaret McWade as Jennifer Whipple
- Ida Moore as Matilda Whipple
Soundtrack
- Dixie
- The Bonnie Blue Flag
Notes
- ^ "Eagle Lion axes B product". Variety. September 25, 1946. p. 7.
- ^ a b Labor, Too.Variety (magazine), 19 March 1947, p.6, column 5
- ^ p. 712 Sterling, C. Encyclopedia of Radio Taylor & Francis, 01/12/2003
- ^ p.23 Balio, Tino United Artists: The Company That Changed the Film Industry, Univ of Wisconsin Press, 1987
- ^ "It's a Joke, Son did a folderoo...", at Variety (magazine), 12 March 1947. p.19, column 5
- ^ Balio, Tino. United Artists: The Company That Changed the Film Industry Univ of Wisconsin Press, 1987. p. 24
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to It's a Joke, Son!.
- It's a Joke, Son! at IMDb
- It's a Joke, Son! is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive
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Films directed by Benjamin Stoloff
- In-Bad the Sailor (1924)
- On the Job (1924)
- Roaring Lions at Home (1924)
- Stolen Sweeties (1924)
- Stretching the Truth (1924)
- When Wise Ducks Meet (1924)
- The Heart Breaker (1925)
- Sweet Marie (1925)
- The Canyon of Light (1926)
- The Fighting Tailor (1926)
- The Mad Racer (1926)
- Matrimony Blues (1926)
- The Circus Ace (1927)
- The Gay Retreat (1927)
- Silver Valley (1927)
- A Horseman of the Plains (1928)
- Plastered in Paris (1928)
- Speakeasy (1929)
- Protection (1929)
- Happy Days (1929)
- The Girl from Havana (1929)
- New Movietone Follies of 1930 (1930)
- Soup to Nuts (1930)
- Not Exactly Gentlemen (1931)
- Goldie (1931)
- By Whose Hand? (1932)
- The Night Mayor (1932)
- The Devil Is Driving (1932)
- Destry Rides Again (1932)
- Night of Terror (1933)
- Obey the Law (1933)
- Palooka (1934)
- Transatlantic Merry-Go-Round (1934)
- Swellhead (1935)
- To Beat the Band (1935)
- Two in the Dark (1936)
- Don't Turn 'Em Loose (1936)
- Sea Devils (1937)
- Super-Sleuth (1937)
- Fight for Your Lady (1937)
- The Affairs of Annabel (1938)
- Radio City Revels (1938)
- The Lady and the Mob (1939)
- The Marines Fly High (1940)
- The Great Mr. Nobody (1941)
- Three Sons o' Guns (1941)
- Secret Enemies (1942)
- The Hidden Hand (1942)
- The Mysterious Doctor (1943)
- Bermuda Mystery (1944)
- Take It or Leave It (1944)
- Johnny Comes Flying Home (1946)
- It's a Joke, Son! (1947)
