''Barnyard Follies'' is a 1940

Republic Pictures Republic Pictures is currently an acquisition-only label owned by Paramount Pictures. Its history dates back to Republic Pictures Corporation, an American film studio that originally operated from 1935 to 1967, based in Los Angeles, California ...

musical

B movie A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second ...

directed by Frank McDonald with music directed by Cy Feuer and dance choreography by Josephine Earl. In the rural

American West The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is census regions United States Census Bureau As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the mea ...

, a small-town orphanage struggles to become self-supporting through its

4-H Club 4-H is a U.S.-based network of youth organizations whose mission is "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development". Its name is a reference to the occurrence of the initial letter H four times ...

projects. The screenplay, written by Dorrell McGowan and Stuart E. McGowan, is based on a story concept by Robert T. Shannon. Released on October 6, 1940, the film stars Mary Lee, Harry Cheshire, Rufe Davis, 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 near the village of Farmdale. Pappy has loaned $5,000 of community-provided funding to the orphans for their new

4-H 4-H is a U.S.-based network of youth organizations whose mission is "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development". Its name is a reference to the occurrence of the initial letter H four times ...

Club projects so that the orphanage will become self-supporting. Believing this to be 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 has died and left Pappy $20,000, Bubbles Martin, one of the teenage orphan girls, tells Pappy about his good fortune. The inheritance includes the Peep Inn, a nightclub that Pappy and Bubbles visit in the city. Pappy plans to close the club, sell the building and use the proceeds for the orphanage. He approaches the Peep Inn's group of musicians, dancers and their director Jeff Hill to settle their contracts for their release. The entertainers refuse the offer and Pappy insists that they come to Farmdale to work for him for the remainder of their contract. When Jeff and his troupe arrive at the orphanage, he 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 back the community. Jeff wants to stage a show called the Barnyard Follies to earn enough money to solve the financial problem, but Dolly and the other dancers quit when they learn of the plan. Bubbles convinces the orphans to do the show with the help of Jeff. The fire inspector prevents the show from taking place. Under pressure from Hiram and Sam, Pappy leaves the orphanage. A haystack goes up in flames, and a fire truck becomes 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 orphans' 4-H Club animals are to be auctioned. Mrs. Uppington accuses Hiram and Sam of political graft as their motive for driving Pappy to leave. Hiram and Sam flee the scene. Jeff and Louise are arm in arm by the end of the film.

Cast

* Mary Lee (Mary Lee Wooters) as Bubbles Martin * Rufe Davis (Rufus Davidson) as Bucksaw Beechwood * June Storey as Louise Dale *

Jed Prouty Jed Prouty (born Clarence Gordon Prouty; April 6, 1879 – May 10, 1956) was an American film actor. Biography Born as Clarence Gordon Prouty in Boston, Massachusetts, Prouty was a vaudeville performer before becoming a film actor. Mostly appe ...

as Sam Spitz *

Victor Kilian Victor Arthur Kilian (March 6, 1891 – March 11, 1979) was an American actor who was Hollywood blacklist, blacklisted by the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood movie studio bosses in the 1950s. Early life, career, and homicide Born in J ...

as Hiram Crabtree * Joan Woodbury as Dolly * Carl Switzer as Alfalfa *

Robert Homans Robert Edward Homans (November 8, 1877 – July 28, 1947) was an American actor who entered films in 1923 after a lengthy stage career. Life and career Robert Homans was born November 8, 1877, in Malden, Massachusetts. Although he studied ...

as Fire Inspector *Dorothy Harrison as Queen of Dairyland *"Pappy" Cheshire (

Harry Cheshire Harry V. Cheshire (August 16, 1891 – June 16, 1968), originally from Emporia, Kansas, was an American character actor who appeared in over 100 films, mostly playing small roles. He was also a stage actor and performed on a St. Louis radio ...

) as Pappy Cheshire *The Cackle Sisters (Mary Jane and Carolyn DeZurik, a.k.a. The DeZurik Sisters) as the Cackle Sisters *Jim Jeffries (

James J. Jeffries James Jackson Jeffries (April 15, 1875 – March 3, 1953) was an American professional boxer and List of world heavyweight boxing champions, world heavyweight champion. He was known for his enormous strength and stamina. Jeffries fought out of ...

) as Jimmy Jeffries, the radio announcer and auctioneer *The Kidoodlers (Bill Kearns, Paul Cordner, Bob Remington, and Ed Lewis) as the Kidoodlers * Ralph Bowman (a.k.a. John Archer) as Jeff Hill * Isabel Randolph as Mrs. Uppington ("Uppy") Wooters was 15 and in her first leading role and eighth screen appearance. Her 11-year-old sister Norma Jean appears in an uncredited role as an orphan girl.

Lillian Randolph Lillian Randolph (December 14, 1898 – September 12, 1980) was an American actress and singer, a veteran of radio, film, and television. She worked in entertainment from the 1930s until shortly before her death. She appeared in hundreds of radi ...

also appears in an uncredited role in the film's opening scene at 3:25. ''Barnyard Follies'' drew on cast members who had been recently dropped from Hal Roach's ''

Our Gang ''Our Gang'' (also known as ''The Little Rascals'' or ''Hal Roach's Rascals'') is an American series of comedy short films chronicling a group of poor neighborhood children and their adventures. Created by film producer Hal Roach, who also pr ...

'' series of comedy shorts, such as

Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer Carl Dean Switzer (August 7, 1927 – January 21, 1959) was an American child actor, comic singer, dog breeder, and guide. He was best known for his role as Alfalfa in the ''Our Gang'' series of short subjects, short-subject comedies. Switz ...

Soundtrack

* "I'd Love to Be a Cowboy (But I'm Afraid of Cows)" * "Home on the Range" * "Lollipop Lane" * "Big Boy Blues" * "Mama Don't Allow It" * "To the Concert We Will Go" * "Poppin' the Corn" * "Barnyard Holiday"

External links

''Barnyard Follies''
at the

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...

* * {{tcmdb title, 68138, Barnyard Follies 1940 films American musical comedy films 1940 musical comedy films Republic Pictures films Films directed by Frank McDonald Films scored by William Lava American black-and-white films Films scored by Paul Sawtell 1940s English-language films 1940s American films Films about inheritances Films set in orphanages English-language musical comedy films