''I Dood It'' (UK title ''By Hook or by Crook'') is a 1943 American

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

starring

Red Skelton Richard Bernard Skelton (July 18, 1913September 17, 1997) was an American entertainer best known for his national old-time radio, radio and television shows between 1937 and 1971, especially as host of the television program ''The Red Skelto ...

and

Eleanor Powell Eleanor Torrey Powell (November 21, 1912 – February 11, 1982) was an American dancer and actress. Best remembered for her tap dance numbers in musical films in the 1930s and 1940s, she was one of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's top dancing stars durin ...

, directed by

Vincente Minnelli Vincente Minnelli (; born Lester Anthony Minnelli; February 28, 1903 – July 25, 1986) was an American Theatre director, stage director and film director. From a career spanning over half a century, he is best known for his sophisticated innovat ...

, and released by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

. The screenplay is by Fred Saidy and Sig Herzig and the film features Richard Ainley, Patricia Dane,

Lena Horne Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American singer, actress, dancer and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years and covered film, television and theatre. Horne joined the chorus of the C ...

, and

Hazel Scott Hazel Dorothy Scott (June 11, 1920 – October 2, 1981) was a Trinidadian jazz and classical pianist and singer. An outspoken critic of racial discrimination and segregation, she used her influence to improve the representation of Black America ...

John Hodiak John Hodiak ( ; April 16, 1914 – October 19, 1955) was an American actor who worked in radio, stage and film. Early life Hodiak was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Anna (Pogorzelec) and Walter Hodiak. He was of Ukrainian and ...

plays a villain in this production, just his third movie role.

Jimmy Dorsey James Francis Dorsey (February 29, 1904 – June 12, 1957) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer and big band leader. He recorded and composed the jazz and pop standards " I'm Glad There Is You (In This World of Ordinary Peopl ...

and his Orchestra provide musical interludes.

Plot

At a nightclub,

and his orchestra perform "

One O'Clock Jump "One O'Clock Jump" is a jazz standard; a 12-bar blues instrumental, written by Count Basie in 1937. Background The melody derived from band members' riffs—Basie rarely wrote down musical ideas, so Eddie Durham and Buster Smith helped him c ...

", attended by Broadway star Constance "Connie" Shaw and her fiancé Larry West. Shaw's obsessive fan Joseph "Joe" Renolds also attends, having constantly following her across town. After Dorsey's orchestra finishes, Shaw tells her radio audience she is performing a Western rope dance at a nearby theatre. When the performance ends, Connie kisses her attending fans with a ticket, except Joseph who has misplaced it. Before she leaves, Connie spots Larry kissing socialite Suretta Brenton. Joseph finds his ticket, and gets two kisses from Connie and Suretta. Enamored, Joe returns to his tailor shop workplace, and returns the borrowed suit. On a subsequent night, Connie arrives at a nightclub and again sees Larry seated next to Suretta. Enraged with jealousy, Constance sits at Joe's table and pretends to be his date. The two perform a dance together. Later, Joe attends another performance of ''Dixie Lou'', a

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

play starring Connie and Larry. Backstage, Roy Hartwood, an actor performing in the play, is a secret

Axis An axis (: axes) may refer to: Mathematics *A specific line (often a directed line) that plays an important role in some contexts. In particular: ** Coordinate axis of a coordinate system *** ''x''-axis, ''y''-axis, ''z''-axis, common names ...

agent tasked to destroy the theatre, which is next door to a war ammunitions warehouse. He is approached by his handler to exit the theatre tomorrow night so it will be demolished by a capsule bomb. After the play, Kenneth Lawlor, the producer of ''Dixie Lou'', brings Suretta into Constance's dressing room to discuss Suretta being Connie's understudy. Connie immediately notices Suretta's ruby bracelet that Larry had purchased for her. Inflamed with jealousy, Connie destroys her dressing room and storms out. She notices Joseph in the hallway and knowing his infatuation towards her, she impulsively marries him. Sometime later, Connie and Joe return to the nightclub where Connie reveals her marriage, but falsely claims he owns South African gold mines. During their honeymoon, Connie writes a farewell letter and places a sleeping pill inside Joe's champagne glass. However, Joe switches the glasses, and Connie falls asleep. The next morning, Kenneth visits the newlywed couple at their suite with Larry and Suretta, who has discovered Joe's real occupation. His employer Ed Jackson arrives and reveals Joe actually works as a pants presser. Embarrassed, Connie decides to divorce Joseph. Distraught, Joe returns to his workplace where he dreams of Connie performing a hula dance. Having pity on Joseph, Ed forces him to return to the theatre to see Connie again. Back at the theatre, Kenneth shows investors his next musical revue, with performances by

and

. Joe sneaks in, but is thrown out. He then falls into a crevice outside the theatre, dug by Roy Hartwood. Looking for Connie, Joe mistakenly arrives inside Roy's dressing room, where Roy asks him to be his understudy since Joe has memorized ''Dixie Lou''. Joe performs Roy's part but makes several mishaps, infuriating Kenneth and the theatre staff. During the performance, Joe realizes Roy is a saboteur and tries to prevent the bombing. Backstage, Joe fights Roy, and knocks him out. Impressed by his bravery, Connie professes her love towards him. Joe defuses the bomb and becomes the co-producer of Connie's next show ''Star Eyes''.

Cast

as Joseph Rivington Renolds *

as Constance Shaw * Richard Ainley as Larry West * Patricia Dane as Suretta Brenton *

Sam Levene Sam Levene (born Scholem Lewin; August 28, 1905 – December 28, 1980) was an American Broadway theatre, Broadway, films, radio, and television actor and Television director, director. In a career spanning over five decades, he appeared in over ...

as Ed Jackson *

as Jimmy Dorsey *

Thurston Hall Ernest Thurston Hall (May 10, 1882 – February 20, 1958) was an American film, stage and television actor.Aylesworth, Thomas G. and Bowman, John S. (1987). ''The World Almanac Who's Who of Film''. World Almanac. . Pp. 186-187. Career Stag ...

as Kenneth Lawlor *

as Lena Horne *

as Hazel Scott *

as Roy Hartwood *

Butterfly McQueen Butterfly McQueen (born Thelma McQueen; January 8, 1911December 22, 1995) was an American actress. Originally a dancer, McQueen first appeared in films as Prissy in ''Gone with the Wind'' (1939). She also appeared in the films '' Cabin in the Sky ...

as Annette *

Charles Judels Charles Judels (August 17, 1882 – February 14, 1969) was a Dutch-born American actor. Early years Judels was born on August 17, 1882, in Amsterdam as a third generation in a family of actors. His grandfather owned several theatres throughout ...

as Stage Manager * Lionel Braham as Mr. Gillingham (uncredited) *

Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombone, trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-to ...

as himself * Joe Yule Sr. as theatre doorman (uncredited) * Margaret Seddon as the elderly lady sitting next to Joe (uncredited) *

Bob Eberly Robert Eberly (born Robert Eberle; July 24, 1916 – November 17, 1981) was an American big band vocalist best known for his association with Jimmy Dorsey and his duets with Helen O'Connell. His younger brother Ray was also a big-band singer, m ...

and Helen O'Connell as themselves (singers in Jimmy Dorsey Band)

Production

Powell's most notable performance in the film comes near the beginning when she executes a complex dance routine involving lariats and

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the ''vaquero'' ...

s. Powell, in her introduction to the book ''Gotta Sing, Gotta Dance'', recalled that she knocked herself unconscious while rehearsing a stunt for this sequence involving a rope and ultimately had to don a football helmet to protect herself. The final dance scene with Powell was taken from ''

Born to Dance ''Born to Dance'' is a 1936 American musical film directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring Eleanor Powell, James Stewart and Virginia Bruce. It was produced and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The score was composed by Cole Porter. Plot Wh ...

'' (1936). Many of the physical gags were done by

Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent films during the 1920s, in which he performed physical comedy and inventive stunts. He frequently ...

in the film '' Spite Marriage'' (1929). Keaton had an uncredited role in writing gags for some of Skelton's early MGM films. Skelton and Powell had previously worked together in '' Ship Ahoy'' (1942). In that film, they appeared with

, Jimmy's brother. This was Powell's final starring role at MGM. After this, she would make a cameo appearance in ''

Thousands Cheer ''Thousands Cheer'' is a 1943 American musical comedy film directed by George Sidney and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Produced during the Second World War, the film was intended as a morale booster for American troops and their families. P ...

'', play a lead role in the

United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...

film '' Sensations of 1945'', and return to MGM for a cameo in ''

Duchess of Idaho ''Duchess of Idaho'' is an American musical romantic comedy produced in 1950 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Directed by Robert Z. Leonard, it was the fourth film pairing Esther Williams and Van Johnson. It was filmed at the MGM Studios lot and exterio ...

'' (1950) before retiring from the screen for good. The rather ungrammatical title was from one of Red Skelton's radio

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

s of the day. In 1942 Jack Owens, The Cruising Crooner, wrote a song for Skelton based on it: "I Dood It! (If I Do, I Get a Whippin')", but that song does not appear in this film.

's theme song "Contrasts" appears in the film. He also performs the jazz and pop standard " Star Eyes" which he was the first to release. The film opens with the Jimmy Dorsey orchestra performing

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

's "

". As the tempo and energy of the music increases several couples can be seen dancing in the confined space in front of their theater seats, and other fans leave their seats to stand in front of the band stage. Dance direction in the film was by Bobby Connolly, and the "Western Rope Dance," assisted by Bob Eberly and Jimmy Dorsey's Orchestra, is the second scene in the film. Joe Yule Sr. is Mickey Rooney's father. One bit has somebody making a disparaging remark about Jimmy Dorsey's orchestra behind Joe's back. Joe turns around to find himself face-to-face with Jimmy's brother Tommy. (The two brothers notoriously feuded in real life, though they eventually reconciled).

Box office

According to MGM records the film earned $1,615,000 in the US and Canada and $542,000 elsewhere resulting in a profit of $319,000.

References

External links

*
''I Dood It'' at AllMovie
* * {{Vincente Minnelli 1943 films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films American black-and-white films Films directed by Vincente Minnelli Films scored by Georgie Stoll 1943 musical comedy films 1943 romantic comedy films American musical comedy films American romantic comedy films 1940s romantic musical films American romantic musical films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films English-language romantic comedy films English-language romantic musical films English-language musical comedy films