It's a Joke, Son!
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Ben Stoloff
Kenny Delmar
Una Merkel
June Lockhart
Kenneth Farrell
Douglas Dumbrille
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Outside his local grocery store, impassioned Southerner Beauregard Claghorn spouts the evils of importing apples from the North and declares that the North should be eliminated altogether by moving the Mason-Dixon line to the Great Lakes region. Representatives of state senator Leeds approach Claghorn to make speeches for Leeds's campaign, but he adamantly refuses. At home, Claghorn's wife Magnolia hosts a meeting of the "Daughters of Dixie," while Claghorn and a little boy neighbor named William prepare the punch. William mistakenly pours copious amounts of liquor into the punch instead of grape juice, and the old women, firm advocates of temperance, get uproariously drunk. The women nominate Magnolia as the first woman candidate for state senate, and she contributes $1,500 toward the campaign, unaware that Claghorn has given the money--profits from their mint julep patch--to their daughter Mary Lou. Although Magnolia is against the match, Mary Lou hopes to marry Jeff Davis, who needs the money to buy a frozen foods truck for his new business. To repay the Claghorns, Jeff visits the office of Senator Leeds and advises his staff to sabotage Magnolia's campaign by funding a third party, thus splitting the vote. Leeds gives Jeff $3,000 and he advises Claghorn to run against his wife in the election. As Claghorn's popularity rises, Leeds's henchmen abduct him, but their treachery only strengthens his determination to bring down Leeds. The night before the election, Claghorn is abducted again. In order to qualify for the race, he must reach town hall by nine o'clock that night. After Mary Lou chastises her mother for her continual, cruel domination of her husband, Magnolia tells Claghorn over the radio that she has withdrawn from the race to support him. Jeff and Mary Lou search for Claghorn in a truck that carries a band playing "Dixie," while Claghorn's dog, "Daisy," pursues him on foot. Claghorn hears the music, frees himself from his captors, and arrives at town hall just in time. Claghorn wins the election and Leeds's men are put behind bars, but Claghorn is nowhere to be found. He then emerges from Jeff's frozen foods truck in time for the victory parade.
Director
Ben Stoloff
Cast
Kenny Delmar
Una Merkel
June Lockhart
Kenneth Farrell
Douglas Dumbrille
Jimmy Conlin
Matt Willis
Ralph Sanford
Daisy [a Dog]
Vera Lewis
Margaret Mcwade
Ida Moore
George Chandler
Paul Burns
Sarah Edwards
Anthony Sydes
Katherine Sheldon
Irene Marsh
Edna Sturgeon
Margaret Farrell
Betty Evans
John Dehner
Ralph Brooks
Robert Dobson
Herb Wilkins
Dan Borzage
Raymond Largay
John Wald
Clarence Hennecke
Wilbur Mack
Franklin Farnum
Edward Biby
Cathy Dart
Sam Ash
Sam Hayes
Peggy Ann Nilsson
Jane Crowley
Ed Peil Sr.
Billy Engle
June Terry Pickerell
Blyth Daly
Crew
Oleg Cassini
Norman Colbert
Al De Gaetano
Clyde De Vinna
Eunice
Bryan Foy
Irving Friedman
Edward C. Jewell
Robert Kent
Alvin Levin
Armor Marlowe
Frank Mcwhorter
Benny Rubin
Aubrey Schenck
Paul Gerard Smith
Clarence Steenson
Robert Stillman
George Teague
Bud Westmore
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
A written foreword to the film reads: "Senator Beauregard Claghorn is a large body of man entirely surrounded by mint juleps, magnolia blossoms and Southern tradition. So strong is his faith in the old, old South that he is perhaps the only man in all the world who is still buying Confederate Army Victory Bonds. He knows the South did NOT lose the Civil War-it was called on account of darkness." The character of "Senator Beauregard Claghorn," played by Kenny Delmar, originated on the Fred Allen Show radio program, on which Delmar was also the announcer. "Senator Claghorn" became nationally famous in early 1946 as one of the stars of the "Allen's Alley" segment of the program, in which Allen paid visits to a coterie of his friends who lived in a fictitious "alley." This was the Eagle-Lion's first production. A Hollywood Reporter news item noted that the film would not exported because of the American humor and politics in it. The Warner Bros. cartoon character "Foghorn Leghorn," introduced in the 1946 cartoon Walky Talky Hawky was inspired by Delmar's "Senator Claghorn." According to a modern source, Delmar modeled the character after a Texas rancher who, during the Depression, gave him rides in his Model-T Ford and was fond of the expression, "That's a joke, son!"
