''Here We Go Again'' is a 1942 American film, a sequel to ''

Look Who's Laughing ''Look Who's Laughing'' (aka ''Look Who's Talking'') is a 1941 film from RKO Radio Pictures. The film is built around a number of radio stars from the Golden Age of Radio and centers around radio personality Jim Jordan as Fibber McGee from the co ...

''. With

RKO RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheu ...

in financial trouble, with the success of the earlier zany comedy starring a bevy of radio stars, ''Here We Go Again'' put

Fibber McGee and Molly ''Fibber McGee and Molly'' (1935–1959) was a longtime highly popular husband-and-wife team radio comedy program. The situation comedy was a staple of the NBC Red Network from 1936 on, after originating on NBC Blue in 1935. One of the most p ...

in a search for where to celebrate the couple's 20th anniversary. They want to throw a big party but when everyone declines their invitation, they decide to go on a second honeymoon instead. Right on cue, Fibber McGee and Molly's second honeymoon goes awry. Ultimately, the pair bumps into their old friends Edgar Bergen,

Charlie McCarthy Charlie McCarthy is Edgar Bergen's famed ventriloquist dummy partner. Charlie was part of Bergen's act as early as high school, and by 1930, was attired in his famous top hat, tuxedo, and monocle. The character was so well-known that his popularit ...

and the Great Gildersleeve (

Harold Peary Harold "Hal" Peary (July 25, 1908 – March 30, 1985) was an American actor, comedian and singer in radio, films, television, and animation. His most memorable role is as Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve, which began as a supporting character on r ...

), along with others. With the anniversary party on again, the only problem is, how will Fibber McGee (

Jim Jordan James Daniel Jordan (born February 17, 1964) is an American politician currently serving in his ninth term in the U.S. House of Representatives as the representative for since 2007. A member of the Republican Party, he is a two-ti ...

) pay for all of this?

Plot

celebrate their 20th anniversary, they throw a large shindig, but everyone declines their invitation to the Silver Tip Lodge at Lake Arcadia. Discouraged, the McGees decide to have their own celebration—to relive their first honeymoon night at the Ramble Inn. Fibber and Molly are again discouraged upon finding that the inn has gone to ruin. Still, they decide to stay the night. The next morning, the McGees leave Ramble Inn and Fibber insists, despite their finances, that they head to Lake Arcadia and spend at least one night at the Silver Tip Lodge. As Fibber checks into the lodge Molly bumps into her old beau, Otis Cadwalader (

Gale Gordon Gale Gordon (born Charles Thomas Aldrich Jr., February 20, 1906 – June 30, 1995) was an American character actor perhaps best remembered as Lucille Ball's longtime television foil—and particularly as cantankerously combustible, tightfiste ...

). When Fibber, naturally jealous, has to be cordial to Cadwalader, he replies, "I've got bad news for you...I'm fine!" Also at the lodge, the McGees meet up with some old acquaintances: ventriloquist Edgar Bergen, his puppet, Charlie McCarthy, Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve (

) and Abigail Uppington (

Isabel Randolph Isabel Randolph (December 4, 1889 – January 11, 1973) was an American character actress in radio and film from the 1940s through the 1960s and in television from the early 1950s to the middle 1960s. Early life She was born in 1889 in Ch ...

). Fibber, not admitting he is broke, rents the bridal suite and chooses to have their once cancelled anniversary party held at the lodge. Still in the lobby, Cadwalader asks Fibber and offers to pay him if he can convince Bergen to invest in a synthetic gasoline formula developed by inventor Wallace Wimple ( Bill Thompson). Fibber is able to visit Wimple and see his formula in action; he agrees to partner with Cadwalader. Meanwhile, Bergen and Charlie have been asked by an institute to find a rare silk-spinning moth. During a search, they are met by Gildersleeve's sister, Jean (

Ginny Simms Virginia Ellen SimmsSleeve notes from ''Ginny Simms – I'd Like To Set You To Music'', Jasmine JASCD 118, 2001. (May 25, 1913 – April 4, 1994) was an American popular singer and film actress. Simms sang with big bands and with Dinah Shore, ...

), and her troop of girl guides. Bergen successfully finds a specimen and rushes back to the lodge to phone the institute, leaving Charlie to flirt with the girls. At the McGee's party that night, Fibber arranged for bandleader

Ray Noble Raymond Stanley Noble (17 December 1903 – 2 April 1978) was an English jazz and big band musician, who was a bandleader, composer and arranger, as well as a radio host, television and film comedian and actor; he also performed in the United ...

to provide the musical accompaniment. Charlie continues romancing the girl guides and Fibber talks to Bergen about Cadwalader's scheme. Bergen agrees to write Fibber a check on the condition that it not be cashed until he has a chance to investigate Cadwalader. As soon as Bergen leaves, however, Cadwalader snatches the check out of Fibber's hands. As the party progresses, Abigail Uppington, dressed as an Indian, begins to recite "

The Song of Hiawatha ''The Song of Hiawatha'' is an 1855 epic poem in trochaic tetrameter by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow which features Native American characters. The epic relates the fictional adventures of an Ojibwe warrior named Hiawatha and the tragedy of his l ...

." Bergen notices a branch Uppington has clutched in her hand. It is covered with silkworm cocoons. Bergen asked where to find those branches; he is directed by puppet Mortimer Snerd, to an Indian reservation. Bergen sneaks into the reservation as an Indian squaw, and Charlie as his papoose. When the Indians threaten Bergen, he uses his ventriloquism to throw his voice at a totem pole. The chief of the tribe is fearfully impressed at the speaking totem. As Bergen searches for the cocoons, Charlie makes advances to the other Indian squaws, angering the Indians. Fleeing from the reservation, Bergen and Charlie return to their laboratory with the cocoons. Back at the Silver Tip Lodge, Fibber tells Molly about his business deal with Cadwalader. However, when Wimple confides that his formula doesn't work, Molly approaches Cadwalader about returning Bergen's money. Meanwhile, Bergen informs Jean of his disappointment when he discovers that the cocoons are too brittle to unweave. Soon after, Fibber arrives with a sample of the formula and the bad news about Wimple's discovery. In the rush of everything that is happening, Charlie accidentally spills the formula on the cocoons. To their delight, Jean and Bergen discover that the formula releases the silk threads. Returning to the lodge, Bergen, Jean, Charlie, and Fibber learn that Molly has driven off in a carriage with Cadwalader. Bergen and Fibber pursue the carriage on a wagon loaded with dynamite while Jean and Charlie follow by car. The chase ends when Molly pulls the carriage off the road, and the wagon is caught on a cliff. All ends happily as Bergen offers to buy the formula, Molly tells Fibber that she wasn't running away with Cadwalader but was driving him out of town to avoid a scandal. Molly and Fibber, Jean and Bergen embrace to the sound of exploding dynamite, leaving Charlie to say, "Wow! ... Anybody wanna adopt an orphan?"

Cast

as Fibber McGee *

Marian Jordan Marian Irene Driscoll Jordan (April 15, 1898 – April 7, 1961) was an American actress and radio personality. She was most remembered for portraying the role of Molly McGee, the patient, common sense, honey-natured wife of Fibber McGee on the NB ...

as Molly * Edgar Bergen as Himself *

as Himself *

as Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve *

as Otis Cadwalader *

as Jean Gildersleeve *

as Abigail Uppington * Bill Thompson as Wallace Wimple *

as Himself *

Jerry Maren Jerry Maren (born Gerard Marenghi; January 24, 1920 – May 24, 2018) was an American actor who played a Munchkin member of the Lollipop Guild in the 1939 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film '' The Wizard of Oz.'' He became the last surviving adult Munchki ...

(Stand-in for Charlie McCarthy) *

Patti McCarty Lois Patricia McCarty (February 11, 1921 - July 7, 1985) was an American actress. Biography Baker was born in Bakersfield, California, and grew up in Healdsburg. She graduated from Covina High School in Covina, California, and she attended Los ...

as girl guide (uncredited)

Production

The principal photography on ''Here We Go Again'' took place from late May to mid-July 1942."Original print information: 'Here We Go Again' (1942)."
''TCM'', 2019. Retrieved: June 25, 2019.

Reception

''Here We Go Again'' made RKO a profit of $228,000.Jewell 2016, p. 11. Film historians Richard Jewell and Vernon Harbin in ''The RKO Story'' (1982) considered ''Here We Go Again'', "provided sorely needed profits for the beleaguered studio."Jewell and Harbin 1982, p. 176. The film historians did identify the main failing of ''Here We Go Again'', "Faced with dreaming up a story that would make use of the various comedians and other divergent talents, Paul Gerard Smith gave in to his most preposterous impulses, which was just fine with audiences ..."

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Craddock, Jim, ed. ''VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever 2001''. Detroit: Gale/Cengage Learning, 2001. . * Jewell, Richard B. ''Slow Fade to Black: The Decline of RKO Radio Pictures''. Berkeley, California: University of California, 2016. . * Jewell, Richard B. and Vernon Harbin. ''The RKO Story''. New York: Arlington House, 1982. .

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Here We Go Again (Film) 1942 films 1942 comedy films American comedy films Films scored by Roy Webb Films based on radio series Films directed by Allan Dwan RKO Pictures films American black-and-white films 1940s American films 1940s English-language films