Chatterbox
Cast & Crew
Joseph Santley
Joe E. Brown
Judy Canova
Rosemary Lane
John Hubbard
Gus Schilling
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
B. O., the president of Mammoth Pictures, is determined to make a motion picture star out of famed radio cowboy Rex Vane, despite the fact that he has never been west of Chicago or ridden a horse. Rex is thrilled at the opportunity and tells his dubious manager, Roger Grant, that he has studied all of Roy Rogers' pictures and is sure that he can be as successful. Upon their arrival at the Victory Dude Ranch, where the film is to be shot, Rex and Roger are greeted by an adoring crowd. Among the many reporters is noted columnist Carol Forrest, who urges Rex to pose for a photograph on a horse. Rex clambers upon a nearby steed and is holding on for dear life when the enthusiastic yodeling of ranch worker Judy Boggs scares the animal. Rex is sent flying but is saved from being trampled by the strong Judy, who holds up the horses' forelegs. Carol gets her photograph, and the resulting notoriety exposes Rex as a phony cowboy. Rex's radio show is canceled, and while Rex and Roger bemoan their fate, Sebastian Smart, the director of Rex's upcoming movie, looks forward to being relieved of the unwanted assignment. Much to Smart's chagrin, B. O. orders him to proceed with the project and sign Judy as Rex's co-star. Meanwhile, Rex has sought inspiration from his old radio scripts and tells Roger that his reputation will be restored if he can make a daring, public rescue of an endangered Judy. As they are mulling over the problem, Judy, who has been fired by ranch manager Wilfred Peckinpaugh for being such a nuisance, apologizes to Rex. Using his charm and an old script, Rex then asks the reluctant Judy to help his career by becoming his co-star, telling her that his aged mother will be forced into a poorhouse if she refuses. Judy agrees, but her atrocious acting wreaks havoc upon Rex when he insists on doing his own stunts while Judy flubs take after take. The film's writer, George Gillie, is at his wit's end, but Smart tells him to rewrite the picture as a comedy in which Rex's physical ineptness and Judy's silliness can shine. Smart then orders Gillie not to leave his room until he concocts an idea for Rex's fake rescue of Judy. Inspiration finally strikes when Gillie sees a construction crew working on nearby Mt. Pocki. The crew is using dynamite to demolish Mt. Pocki, and Gillie arranges for a Hollywood special effects team to set up an impressive looking but totally safe explosion on neighboring Mt. Hocki, from which Rex will rescue Judy. While the men are setting the plan into motion, Judy learns that Rex is an orphan, and accuses him of lying about his poor mother. Desperate to placate Judy, Rex dresses up as an old lady and pretends to be his own mother, but Judy is baffled when Gillie and Smart also appear in costume as Mother Vane. Dismissing Judy's sighting as nerves, Rex convinces her to stay, and the next day, hosts a big barbeque party for the press. Carol finds out about the fake rescue, however, and switches the direction signs for Mt. Pocki and Mt. Hocki. Carol tells Smart that she has foiled his scheme and is then horrified to learn that the explosions on Mt. Pocki are real. Rex, who has sent Judy up to a cabin on the mountain, makes sure that the reporters are watching as he dashes to save her from the demolition. Rex is terrified when the cabin is actually dynamited and the trapped couple are sent sliding down the mountain, but he soon rescues Judy for real. The story is front-page news, and with Rex's career saved, he marries his adoring Judy.
Director
Joseph Santley
Cast
Joe E. Brown
Judy Canova
Rosemary Lane
John Hubbard
Gus Schilling
Chester Clute
Anne Jeffreys
Emmett Vogan
George Byron
Billy Bletcher
The Mills Brothers
Spade Cooley
Art Whitney
Frank Melton
Gary Bruce
Matty Kemp
Ray Parsons
Mary Armstrong
Dee "buzzy" Henry
Ruth Robinson
Robert Conway
Pierce Lyden
Jack Rockwell
Earle Hodgins
Roy Barcroft
Ben Taggart
Dickie Dillon
Nora Lane
Joe Phillips
Edward Earle
Herbert Heyes
Sam Flint
Gordon Demain
Maxine Doyle
Jane Starr
Judy Clark
Mary Kenyon
Pat Starling
Jane Weeks
Blanche Grady
Muriel Barr
Marie Windsor
Charles Williams
Crew
Harry Akst
George Carleton Brown
Dick Charles
Albert J. Cohen
Frank Gill Jr.
Kenneth Holmes
Russell Kimball
Howard Lydecker
Larry Markes
Sol Meyer
Ernest Miller
Ernest Nims
Adele Palmer
Leon René
Otis René
Walter Scharf
Otto Siegel
Film Details
Technical Specs
