Puddin' Head
Cast & Crew
Joseph Santley
Judy Canova
Francis Lederer
Raymond Walburn
Slim Summerville
Astrid Allwyn
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
On the day that United Broadcasting System's new $3,000,000 building is dedicated, bumbling vice-president Harold L. Montgomery, Sr. discovers that because he gave the wrong survey to the builders, the new structure runs one foot onto land that is not theirs. With his equally scatterbrained son Junior, Harold goes to Withering Heights, a small community in the Ozarks, to convince the land's owners, Judy Goober and her uncle Lem, to sell the property to UBS. A misunderstanding results in Harold buying the Goobers' general store, however, and soon Judy and Lem, who have always wanted to leave Withering Heights and move to the big city, are ensconced in the decrepit old house standing on their land. When the Goobers repeatedly refuse Harold's offers to buy the property, he follows the advice of his sister Matilda, UBS's president, and invites them to spend the weekend at the Montgomery country estate in an effort to "de-Gooberize" them. Another of Harold's houseguests is an impoverished but handsome Austrian, Prince Karl, whom Harold pays $5,000 to get Judy to sell the land. After Judy and Lem return to their home, Karl hires his friend Herman to don a skeleton costume and scare the Goobers on a stormy night. The next day, Lem and Judy are on the verge of returning to the country when Herman unwittingly reveals the scheme, and Karl tells Judy that he did it in order to hear her sing, as she always sings when scared. Karl plots with station manager Kincaid and the Montgomerys to offer Judy a thousand dollar-a-week singing contract, which they will cancel after Karl has helped her accrue debts. Judy eagerly accepts the contract and, not realizing that she is singing into a dead microphone, believes that she is becoming a big radio star. Karl manuvers her into overspending on luxury items, and when Kincaid cancels her contract, the Goobers are overwhelmed with debts. Realizing that they have been tricked, a dispirited Judy and Lem prepare to return to Withering Heights when they learn that all of their friends are coming to the city to hear Judy perform on her radio show. Touched by Judy's persistent belief in him, Karl arranges with Lem to hook up a microphone in the barn that will broadcast into the house, where the visiting hillbillies will be listening. On the night of Judy's performance, however, Lem accidentally taps into UBS's cable and Judy is indeed broadcast on the Puddin' Head Baking Powder Show . While the UBS engineers frantically try to locate the foreign signal's source, the show's sponsor hears Judy and is delighted with her. After the sponsor signs Judy on, Lem gives Matilda the land as thanks for making his niece a star.
Director
Joseph Santley
Cast
Judy Canova
Francis Lederer
Raymond Walburn
Slim Summerville
Astrid Allwyn
Eddie Foy Jr.
Alma Kruger
Hugh O'connell
Chick Chandler
Paul Harvey
Nora Lane
Gerald Oliver Smith
Wendell Niles
Vince Barnett
The Sportsmen
William Newell
Crew
George Blair
Eddie Cherkose
Albert J. Cohen
Cy Feuer
Milt Gross
John Victor Mackay
Jack Marta
Sol Meyer
Ernest Nims
Adele Palmer
Walter Scharf
Murray Seldeen
Howard Snyder
Jule Styne
Jack Townley
Jack Townley
Hugh Wedlock Jr.
Al Wilson
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
According to a Hollywood Reporter news item, this picture was to have a budget of $750,000, the largest for a Judy Canova film to that date, and to employ 1,500 extras. Hollywood Reporter also noted that production on the film was postponed briefly when Canova was suspended by Republic after she wanted director approval and script and casting supervision. Emmett Lynn and The King's Men were to be in the cast, according to Hollywood Reporter news items, but their appearance in the completed film has not been confirmed. It has also not been confirmed that Peggy Carroll, who Hollywood Reporter stated would be providing the picture's dance direction, contributed to the released film. According to Hollywood Reporter and Film Daily, Buster Keaton was to play Canova's boyfriend, and while he is included in the first two Hollywood Reporter production charts, he was not in the released film. Parts of the picture were shot on location in Pasadena, CA.
