It's a Joke, Son!

Last updated
It's a Joke, Son!
It's a Joke, Son! FilmPoster.jpeg
Original film poster
Directed by Benjamin Stoloff
Written by Robert E. Kent
Paul Gerard Smith
Produced by Aubrey Schenck
Starring Kenny Delmar
Una Merkel
June Lockhart
Jimmy Conlin
Douglas Dumbrille
'Daisy' the Dog
and introducing
Kenneth Farrell
Cinematography Clyde De Vinna
Edited byNorman Colbert
Music by Alvin Levin
Production
company
Distributed by Eagle-Lion Films
Release date
  • January 15, 1947 (1947-01-15)
[1]
Running time
63 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$650,000 [2]

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]

Contents

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

It's a Joke, Son!

Soundtrack

Notes

  1. "Eagle Lion axes B product". Variety. September 25, 1946. p. 7.
  2. 1 2 Labor, Too.Variety (magazine), 19 March 1947, p.6, column 5
  3. p. 712 Sterling, C. Encyclopedia of Radio Taylor & Francis, 01/12/2003
  4. p.23 Balio, Tino United Artists: The Company That Changed the Film Industry, Univ of Wisconsin Press, 1987
  5. "It's a Joke, Son did a folderoo...", at Variety (magazine), 12 March 1947. p.19, column 5
  6. Balio, Tino. United Artists: The Company That Changed the Film Industry Univ of Wisconsin Press, 1987. p. 24

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