Singin' in the Corn (1946) User Reviews

Judy in Nevada

[magicshadows-90098 · 6/10 · 2 November 2016]

Judy plays a fortune teller who owns a magic whisky jug which foretells the future. Allen Jenkins plays her partner and it's his job to keep her out of trouble. A telegram arrives stating Judy's grandfather has died. His lawyer (Charles Halton) requests her presence in McCoys Gulch, a ghost town near Reno, Nevada. Halton informs Judy she has inherited $250,000 but there is one stipulation. She must return McCoy's Gulch to the natives who originally owned the land.

Judy's quest to acquire her inheritance will not be easy. Halton is in cahoots with a gambler (Alan Bridge), who wants to turn the ghost town into a casino. Bridge plans to foil Judy's quest by making the natives believe McCoy's Gulch is haunted so they'll want nothing to do with the land.

There are some interesting little side plots. The native elders are portrayed as the traditional Hollywood character, but the youngsters speak and act like any American and play in a swing band. Guinn Williams plays Bridge's henchman, but he finds Judy irresistible and switches allegiances. Robert Dudley plays Judy's grandfather, who is beckoned from Heaven on many occasions to help Judy out of jams.

It's all pleasant nonsense. The plot is fairly slim and there are not enough laughs during the 65 minutes. But as one would expect the cast is very good. My favorite bit has Jenkins disguised as a Mexican tycoon wanting to invest in the casino.

7 is extremely generous!

[JohnHowardReid · 7/10 · 16 April 2018]

Director: DEL LORD. Screenplay: Isabel Dawn, Monte Brice. Additional dialogue: Elwood Ullman. Screen story: Richard Weil. Photography: George Meehan. Film editor: Aaron Stell. Art director: Sturges Carne. Set decorator: Bill Calvert. Music director: George Duning. Songs (all Canova): "I'm a Gal of Property", "Pepita Chiquita", "An Old Love Is a True Love" - all by Doris Fisher and Allan Roberts: "Ma, He's Making Eyes at Me", lyrics by Sidney Clare, music by Con Conrad. Producer: Ted Richmond.

Copyright 26 December 1946 by Columbia Pictures Corp. No recorded New York opening. U.S. release: 26 December 1946. U.K. release: June 1947. Australian release: 7 August 1947. 5,904 feet. 65½ minutes. U.K. release title: GIVE AND TAKE.

SYNOPSIS: A carnival girl inherits a ghost town.

COMMENT: In this off-beat little item, director Del Lord even exhibits a few traces of style (the long shot and angle shots of the hotel). He has a much larger budget than usual to play around with and the ghost town (presumably a standing set on Columbia's back lot) is quite impressive. The script has the usual number of weak puns ("They certainly played with spirit!"), but it has enough off-beat elements to make it passably appealing (in fact, it was later re-made as an Elvis Presley vehicle, Tickle Me).

We liked Miss Canova's crack about the invisible band. The pace is brisk and there is an agreeable chase climax. Miss Canova's vehicles were generally not much, but this is certainly one of her better ones. Nevertheless, it's certainly not worth 8.4!

Judy sings while the corn pops!

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 18 August 2018]

O.K., so that was a "corny" way to start my review, but if you can't do that for a Judy Canova film, where can you do it? Judy, a carnival fortune teller, inherits a ghost town which is rumored to be haunted. However, veteran bad man Al Bridge wants to get his hands on it so he arranges for it to appear haunted so Judy can't return it to the Indians as her grandfather wanted. Ghostly visits from grandpa do help her, as does brother Allen Jenkins.

An amusing second string Columbia musical comedy where the gags fly as fast as the tumbleweed's. Judy sings a very funny version of Eddie Cantor's hit "Ma, He's Makin' Eyes at Me" and a few other novelty songs, including one disguised as a sultry Mexican senorita. It's a pleasant time filler that won't make you feel you've wasted any of it. Judy took a break from filmmaking, but the films she did upon her return pale in comparison to the ones she did in the mid 1940's at Columbia, rivaling fellow funny girl Joan Davis with their plain spoken, deadpan deliveries.