Una Merkel

A plain, repressed spinster falls for a dashing young medical student who prefers the wilder life, until it's too late. Since childhood, spinster Alma Winemiller has loved handsome young Dr. John Buchanan, Jr.. But John has fallen hard for Rosa Zacharias, the town's sultry vamp, and descends into a seamy nightlife while ignoring Alma's dreams of romance and possible marriage. —alfiehitchie It's the early 1910s in the small town of Glorious Hill, Mississippi. Alma Winemiller, of an age when most women would be married, has an affected manner, which she attributes to assuming the role usually undertaken by a minister's wife after her mother long ago suffered a mental breakdown. Also being a minister's daughter has led to Alma having a repressed view of sex and sexuality. She has long harbored a secret love toward the Winemullers' next door neighbor, Dr. John Buchanan, Jr., he following in his father's footsteps. That occupation is the only thing connecting the two generations of Buchanan men, the younger known as the town's bad boy in his wild behavior, largely taking place when he is away, he usually only coming home in the summer. This summer, he pursues equally wild Rosa Zacharias, new to town as the daughter of the new owner of the Moon Lake Casino located on the outskirts of town. Regardless, John is aware of Alma's attraction to him, he, in return, intrigued in noticing in her something seething somewhere below the surface. The question then becomes if Alma and John will ever be able to come together both emotionally and sexually. —Huggo

Melvin, a photographer for "Look" magazine, meets Judy and wants to marry her. Her father is against that and as a last resort, Melvin promises to get Judy's photo on the cover of the next issue, a task easier said than done. Melvin Hoover, a budding photographer for "Look" magazine, accidentally bumps into a young actress named Judy LeRoy in the park. They start to talk and Melvin soon offers to do a photo spread of her, but his boss has no intention of using the photos. Melvin wants to marry Judy, but her father would rather she marry dull, dependable Harry Black. As a last resort, Melvin promises to get Judy's photo on the cover of the next issue of "Look"--a task easier said than done. —Daniel Bubbeo <dbubbeo@cmp.com>

When the Daughters of Dixie nominate a candidate for State Senator, the local political machine run by Northerners fears its candidate will be defeated, and chooses her husband as a candidate in order to split the anti-machine vote. The first Eagle-Lion film stars Kenny Delmar as Senator Beauregard Claghorn, his "Allen's Alley" resident-character heard on Fred Allen's radio program. Claghorn was a blustery, one-man-Chamber-of-Commerce for all things Southern, who had no tolerence for anything north of the Mason-Dixon line, although he made allowances for South Philly. The character inspired the creation of one of the most popular of the Warners' cartoon characters, Foghorn Leghorn, who re-worked most of the originals material and style. The title of this movie is a stock line- "it's a joke, son"---he would feed a befuddled Fred Allen each week. In the film, Claghorn gets into some financial difficulties and is forced by a machine-political gang to enter a race for state senator against his wife (Una Merkel) who appears to have a good chance to beat the political hack backed by the machine. Claghorn is in to siphon votes and ensure his wife's opponent will win and is expected to run a campaign that will defeat himself and his wife. But, he runs to win and the machine's henchies abduct him. —Les Adams <longhorn1939@suddenlink.net>

In 1917 during World War I, song-and-dance man Jerry Jones (George Murphy) is drafted into the US Army, where he stages a revue called Yip Yip Yaphank. It is a rousing success, but one night during the show orders are received to leave immediately for France: instead of the finale, the troops march up the aisles through the audience, out the theater's main entrance and into a convoy of waiting trucks. Among the teary, last-minute goodbyes Jones kisses his newlywed bride Ethel (Rosemary DeCamp) farewell. In the trenches of France, several of the soldiers in the production are killed or wounded by shrapnel from a German artillery barrage. Jones is wounded in the leg and must walk with a cane, ending his career as a dancer. Nevertheless, he is resolved to find something useful to do, especially now that he is the father of a son. Sgt. McGee (Alan Hale, Sr.) and Pvt. Eddie Dibble (Charles Butterworth), the troop bugler, also survive. 25 later in present day 1943, World War II is raging in Europe. Jerry's son Johnny (Ronald Reagan) enlists in the Army shortly after Pearl Harbor. He tells his sweetheart Eileen Dibble (Joan Leslie) that they cannot marry until he returns, since he doesn't want to make her a widow. Johnny reluctantly accepts an order to stage another musical, following in his father's footsteps. The drag show goes on tour throughout the United States and eventually plays Washington, D.C., in front of President Roosevelt (Jack Young), and an audience including a boy who is reminded of the soldiers seen "in the newsreels". Note: the bulk of the film features the musical production numbers nearly back-to-back with the backstage drama going on. The musical numbers are listed as in 'Yip Yip Yaphank': "It's Your Country and My Country" "My Sweetie" "Poor Little Me" "We're On Our Way to France" "Goodbye, France" "God Bless America" (sung by Kate Smith) The 'This is the Army' musical numbers are: "What Does He Look Like" "This Is The Army, Mr. Jones" "I'm Getting Tired So I Can Sleep" "Mandy" "Ladies of the Chorus" "That's What the Well Dressed Man in Harlem Will Wear" "How About a Cheer for the Navy" "I Left My Heart at the Stage Door Canteen" "With My Head in the Clouds/American Eagles" "Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning" "This Time" "My British Buddy" (sung personally by Irving Berlin) During the show it is announced that this is the last performance: the soldiers in the production have been ordered back to their combat units. Eileen, who has joined the Red Cross auxiliary, appears backstage. During a break in the show she brings a minister and convinces Johnny that they should marry now - which they do, in the alley behind the theater, with their fathers acting as witnesses.

Stranded in Africa, Chuck and his pal Fearless have comic versions of jungle adventures, featuring two attractive con women. Chuck and his pal Fearless flee an African carnival after their sideshow causes a fire. Following several similar escapades, they've finally saved enough to return to the USA, when Chuck spends it all on a lost diamond mine. But that's only the beginning; before long, a pair of attractive con women have tricked them into financing a comic safari, featuring numerous burlesque jungle adventures. —Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>

Destry rides again! Thomas Jefferson Destry, Jr. (Jimmy Stewart) is the deputy sheriff without a gun. He believes the law and public opinion is the answer to outlaws and gunfights. Bottleneck is a lawless town run by bad guys and gunslingers. Kent (Brian Donlevy), a host of gunslingers, the corrupt Judge Slade (Samuel S. Hinds), crooked gamblers and dishonest saloon gal Frenchy (Marlene Dietrich) were cheating, stealing, and forcing farmers to sell them their land against their will in order to have control of all the land when the railroad comes through the territory. The outlaws kill the old sheriff because he is wise to their game. In order to keep law and order out of Bottleneck, Judge Slade appoints the town drunk and apparently incompetent Washington Dimsdale (Charles Winninger) to be the new sheriff. Charles sobers up and is shocked by the news, but steps up to the challenge. Before he was a drunk he had been deputy for Sheriff Tom Destry Sr., who was the roughest, toughest sheriff of all time. Destry Sr. used his fists and his guns to clean up the lawless town, and was Sheriff there until gutless outlaws shot him in the back. Sheriff Dimsdale wires for the younger Destry, the most crack-shot Sheriff of Bottleneck since Destry, Sr. The towns villains hear about Destrys reputation and decide to meet his stagecoach in Bottleneck, and give him a not-quite-warm welcome. When the stage arrives, to everyones surprise, Destry is carrying a birdcage and parasol because he is helping a female passenger - a sweet Bottleneck girl he fancies - debark from the stage. The entire town roars with laughter at the sight of the new deputy who appears to fall short of the lawman ideal. The new sheriff is agreeable and unconcerned about the mocking. Later, he goes to the saloon and attends unarmed: I dont believe in guns, he tells the astounded locals. This prompts more ridiculing from the outlaws. Destry then meets Frenchy, who has a cat fight with a Russians wife who has come to claim her husbands pants after Frenchy won them in a fixed poker game earlier. Destry stops the fight, pouring a bucket of water on Frenchy. Naturally, this enrages the theatrical lady, but her scrap with the new sheriff sparks a romantic interest between Destry and Frenchy. Destry then makes the Russian a deputy; Bottlenecks new triumvirate then decide to trick the outlaws to find out who killed the previous sheriff and why. They make an arrest. The outlaws and people of Bottleneck soon learn that there is more to their laughable deputy sheriff than friendly talk, especially after his friend Dimsdale gets shot in the back while guarding the new prisoner. It is revealed that Frenchy was implicit in Dimsdales death, and she deliberately distracted Destry whilst Dimsdale is murdered and the imprisoned outlaw is freed. Destry straps on his guns and goes looking for those responsible. A large brawl erupts, and Frenchy changes her allegiances once more, catching a bullet for the otherwise doomed deputy. Destry, as formidable as his father, vanquishes the outlaws and cleans up Bottleneck. The Russian finally gets his pants, Destry falls in love with a girl from the stage, Bottleneck is saved, and Destry rides again!