The second film in RKO's Great Gildersleeve series could be titled 12 Blustery Men. In this outing, the lovable small-town blowhard played by Harold Peary ends up called for jury duty. It's an open and shut case in everybody's mind but his, so he becomes the sole jury hold out in the trial of noted crook Douglas Fowley. Unknown to Gildersleeve, Fowley's associates have sent him a note offering a bribe to vote "not guilty." When the waylaid note comes to light, Peary has to clear his name while also coming up with a way to bring the crook, whom he's helped set free, back to justice. Returning with Peary from the first film are Jane Darwell as his Aunt Emma, Nancy Gates and Freddie Mercer as his young wards, Lillian Randolph as his housekeeper Birdie and Charles Arndt as his nemesis, a temperamental judge. The film also adds Richard LeGrand as druggist and jury member J.W. Peavy. Like Peary and Randolph, LeGrand had also appeared in the radio series. He would stay with the film series until the final picture in 1944. Look closely and you'll spot Barbara Hale making her film debut with a bit as a party guest.

By Frank Miller