Barnyard Follies

Barnyard Follies

Original 1940 Lobby Card
Directed by Frank McDonald
Produced by Armand Schaefer
Screenplay by Dorrell McGowan
Stuart E. McGowan
Story by Robert T. Shannon
Starring Mary Lee
Rufe Davis
Harry Cheshire
June Storey
Ralph Bowman
Joan Woodbury
Jed Prouty
Victor Kilian
Isabel Randolph
Music by William Lava (uncredited)
Cy Feuer, director
Cinematography Ernest Miller
Edited by Charles Craft
Production
company
Distributed by Republic Pictures
Release dates
  • October 6, 1940 (1940-10-06)
Running time
 68.5 minutes
Country United States
Language English

Barnyard Follies is a 1940 Republic Pictures musical comedy drama B movie directed by Frank McDonald with music directed by Cy Feuer and dance choreography by Josephine Earl. Set in the rural American West, a small-town orphanage struggles to become self-supporting through its 4-H Club projects. The screenplay, written by Dorrell McGowan and Stuart E. McGowan, is based on a story concept by Robert T. Shannon. Released October 6, 1940, the film stars Mary Lee, Rufe Davis, Harry Cheshire, June Storey, Ralph Bowman, Joan Woodbury, Jed Prouty, Victor Kilian, and Isabel Randolph.

Plot

Pappy Cheshire, his assistant Louise Dale, and farmhand Bucksaw Beechwood manage an orphanage at the village of Farmdale. Pappy has loaned $5000 of community provided orphanage funding to the orphans for their new 4-H Club projects so the orphanage will become self-supporting. Of the opinion this is a ridiculous idea, community leaders Hiram Crabtree, Sam Spitz, and Mrs. Uppington pressure Pappy to return the money within 30 days.

Hearing on the radio that Pappy's long lost brother, Henry, died and left Pappy $20,000, Bubbles Martin, one of the teenage orphan girls, tells Pappy about his good fortune, part of which turns out to be a nightclub, The Peep Inn, that Pappy and Bubbles visit in the city. Pappy plans to close the place, sell the building, and use the proceeds for the orphanage. He approaches The Peep Inn's group of musicians, girl dancers, and their director, Jeff Hill, to settle their contract at 50 cents on the dollar for their release. The entertainers refuse the offer and Pappy insists they get on the train and come to Farmdale to work for him for the remainder of their contract.

When Jeff Hill and troupe arrive at the orphanage, Jeff is immediately smitten with Louise but she gives him the cold shoulder. Receiving a check for only $900 from his brother's estate after taxes and expenses, Pappy is unable to pay the community back. Jeff wants to put on a show, "The Barnyard Follies", to earn enough money to solve the financial problem but Dolly and the other girl dancers quit when they learn of the plan. Bubbles gets the orphans to do the show with the help of Jeff.

The Fire Inspector prevents the show from taking place. Under the pressure of Hiram and Sam, Pappy Cheshire leaves the orphanage. When the haystack goes up in flames the Fire Department comes. As the Fire Department begins to leave, one of the fire trucks gets stuck on the bridge in the driveway at the orphanage. With the entire Fire Department now at the orphanage waiting for the fire truck to be freed, the Mayor of Farmdale allows the show to proceed. Pappy returns when he hears on the radio that the orphan's 4-H Club animals are going to be auctioned off. Mrs. Uppington accuses Hiram Crabtree and Sam Spitz of political graft as their motive for driving Pappy Cheshire to leave. Hiram and Sam flee the scene. All ends well and Jeff and Louise are arm in arm by the end of the movie.

Lots of fun, good story, great music, and dancing to enjoy.

Cast

Barnyard Follies cast in order as presented in the opening credits:

with

and Radio's Popular Entertainers

Barnyard Follies at 27:01 - Clockwise from upper left: Harry Cheshire, Rufe Davis, Mary Lee Wooters, unidentified boy, Norma Jean Wooters, unidentified girl. (Click on the image to enlarge.)

Barnyard Follies presents Mary Lee (Mary Lee Wooters) at age fifteen in her first leading role, her eighth screen appearance. With her initial appearance being in early 1939 at Warner Brothers in Nancy Drew... Reporter, Mary Lee's second screen appearance came in late 1939 in South of the Border at Republic Pictures where she went on to appear in a total of 21 films, including nine Gene Autry films, two Roy Rogers films, seven other feature films, and three shorts. In her first five Autry films she appeared as "Patsy", the younger sister of June Storey's character. However, Barnyard Follies would be Mary Lee's last screen appearance with June Storey who began to diversify into other film genres.

In her first screen appearance, eleven year old Norma Jean Wooters (uncredited) as one of the orphan girls is first seen where she says "What's up?" to Pappy Cheshire as he walks into the barn, pats her on the head, and says "Hello Honey". Next, she is found in the haystack scene with Bucksaw (Rufe Davis). Also visible in other scenes, she is eventually identified at 40:34 as "Buckshot" by Jeff Hill (Ralph Bowman). Later known as "Buckie Tibbs" on Cliffie Stone's Hometown Jamboree radio and television shows and as "Bucky Tibbs" on Capitol record labels,[1] Norma Jean was the younger sister of Mary Lee Wooters.

Active in 4-H and the 1940 Wisconsin Dairy Queen, Dorothy Harrison was from Oregon, Wisconsin.[2] Where she is seen cranking the cream separator at 3:06, on the wall to the right of the door is a poster that says "VOTE FOR DOROTHY HARRISON - OUR 4H CLUB CANDIDATE FOR QUEEN OF DAIRYLAND". In the Big Boy Blues scene Dorothy Harrison is seen twirling her baton and riding on the haywagon.

Where Rufe Davis as Bucksaw says "Howdy folks, I'd like ta do you all immitation of Rufe Davis singin' Mama Don't Allow.", it may be Smiley Burnette that we hear singing the song. Rufe Davis appeared in 14 of the Three Mesquiteers series films at Republic Pictures during the early 1940s.

Darwood Kaye (uncredited), known for his role of Waldo from 1937 through 1940 in the Our Gang comedy shorts, is identified as "Waldo" by Pappy Cheshire (Harry Cheshire) at 4:50. He is found in a number of scenes in Barnyard Follies with his trademark large, round, black horn-rimmed spectacles. Born Darwood Kenneth Smith in 1929, after graduating from Hollywood High School in 1946,[3] he served in the army, then went on to La Sierra University, and eventually became a Seventh-day Adventist pastor. His life story is told in the biography "Finding Waldo".[4]

Eugene "Porky" Lee (uncredited) from Our Gang, seen sitting between Mary Lee and Darwood Kaye at 16:15, is identified by Jeff Hill (Ralph Bowman) at 38:55. Later known as Eugene Gordon Lee, he became an alternative school teacher at Broomfield High School in Colorado.

Seen with the basket of laundry in Barnyard follies, Lillian Randolph (uncredited) also appeared in the opening scene at 3:25. Born Castello Randolph in 1898, she came to Hollywood in 1934 from WXYZ radio Detroit and enjoyed a long career in motion pictures, radio, and television as a character actor.

Barnyard Follies at 3:19 - Pete the Pup and unidentified boy. (Click on the image to enlarge.)

It is Robert McKenzie (uncredited) who plays the role of the Mayor of Farmdale.

The dog (uncredited) seen in Barnyard Follies was the second generation "Pete the Pup" from the Hal Roach Our Gang series and is identified in the haystack scene at 25:25 as "Pete" by Bubbles (Mary Lee). Born 6 Sep 1929, owned and trained by Harry S. Lucenay (1887-1944), Pete was AKC and UKC registered as an American Pit Bull Terrier named "Lucenay's Peter".[5] With the first generation Pete the Pup having died in 1930, Lucenay's Peter debuted in Pups is Pups (1930). His last Our Gang appearance was in The Pooch (1932) after which time various other unrelated dogs were used in the series as a result of Lucenay and Roach having parted ways. Lucenary's Peter died in 1946. Theodore Lucenay (1925-2004), son of Harry, remembered Pete in an interview in 2001 for the Waco Tribune-Herald: "He was a gentle, playful and warm dog. He would sleep at the foot of my bed. He was just the regular family dog. I really miss him."[6]

It is very likely that there are other Our Gang cast members yet to be identified in Barnyard Follies.

On the original 1940 Barnyard Follies lobby card we see at the left along the wall The Cackle Sisters, Dorothy Harrison with baton, Norma Jean Wooters in front of the horse collar hanging on the wall, in the center Mary Lee wearing dark slacks, to the right June Storey and Ralph Bowman, and The Kidoodlers at the far right.

Soundtrack

Barnyard Follies soundtrack musical selections in order of occurrence in the film:

Technical details

Runtime: 1:08:29 (68 min, 29 sec)

Sound system: RCA mono

Format: 35mm, 1.37:1, black and white

Laboratory: Consolidated Film Industries, Hollywood, California

Studio: Republic Pictures, Hollywood, California

External links

References

  1. ↑ Tennessee Ernie Ford with Bucky Tibbs and Cliffie Stone's Orchestra, "Hambone", Capitol mx 9776, issue 2017, recorded circa Feb 1952, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ezu84U3Hr8Q> (Click on the link to listen.)
  2. ↑ FindAGrave, Dorothy L. Harrison Sirny,<http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=133618456> (Click on the link to view.)
  3. ↑ W'46 Poinsettia, Hollywood High School, winter 1946, p. 9, http://www.classmates.com/siteui/yearbooks/132983?page=11 (Click on the link to view.)
  4. ↑ Smith, David B., "Finding Waldo", Pacific Press Publishing Association, Nampa, Idaho, 2009
  5. ↑ Lucenay's Peter, UKC 022-558, APBT-Online, <http://www.apbt.online-pedigrees.com/modules.php?name=Public&file=printPedigree&dog_id=67627> (Click on the link to view.)
  6. ↑ Minor, Christina, "Pooch Pete still alive to fans of Our Gang", Waco Tribune-Herald, Waco, Texas, 9 Apr 2001, <http://nokillnow.com/PitBullPetey.html> (Click on the link to view.)
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