Down Missouri Way

Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC) made a lot of low budget, low quality movies, but Down Missouri Way (1946) is one of the best things they did. Being from a small Missouri town just north of the Ozarks, I may be a bit biased but I really like this pleasant little film.

College professor Jane Colwell (Martha o'Driscoll) has a scientifically trained mule named Shirley. A Hollywood movie company descends on their small town. They need Shirley to be the star of their movie. Producer Thorny Dunning encourages director Mike Burton (William Wright) to get friendly with Jane to ensure her cooperation with Shirley. But the movie's leading lady, Gloria Baxter (Renee Godfrey) sees Mike as her personal property. All sorts of misunderstandings and conflicts occur. Will Jane agree to let Shirley be in the movie? And more importantly, does Shirley want to be a movie star? Some great singing and fine songs to keep the viewer entertained.

Soon to be singing cowboy star Eddie Dean displays his fine voice as Mortimer. Mabel Todd plays Cindy, and shows off her unique voice. Both Martha O'Driscoll and Renee Godfrey demonstrate truly entertaining singing with memorable songs. Even John Carradine gets to sing in his deep voice. Country singing groups the Tailor Maids and the Notables also help keep the music fest moving along. Shirley is the real star of the show, though. She is one smart mule and steals every scene that she is in.

Down Missouri Way (1946) is also known as Missouri Hayride. It shows up on The Westerns Channel every now and then. It's a very pleasant way to spend 70-75 minutes so watch it if you can. It's one PRC movie that you will enjoy and remember.

A PRC production means that whatever the premise, it's going to get bottom of the barrel treatment. Actually, the premise here of a movie-making crew worming their way onto an Ozark location shoot is a good one. So it could be Hollywood sophistication versus hillbilly guile if handled correctly. There's some of that, but mostly its forgettable songs (except for the title tune) and dumbed down humor. Also, about every hillbilly stereotype makes an appearance, including Mabel Todd as a Judy Canova-type rural clown.

Then too, the movie's concept of a performing mule (Shirley!), may have inspired the highly successful series of the 1950's, 'Francis, the Talking Mule'. But I confess to rather liking the movie, warts and all. There's an underlying good feeling to the nonsense, along with the best joyful hayride sequence that I've seen. Sure, it's bottom of the barrel production values, but the 70-minutes does manage a dollop of charm despite itself. Besides, where else can you catch that cadaverous menace John Carradine actually warble a few notes in his graveyard baritone.

That doesn't mean this isn't a terrible movie, though. Carradine gives a (deliberately) hammy performance as a film director trying to make a hillbilly movie in the Ozarks. (He seems to be doing a spot-on imitation of his mentor/idol, John Barrymore.) Just about everything else in this mess is done poorly, though there are a couple of songs that are tolerable (at least, the first time they're sung--the best of them is repeated about four times). The people you've heard of, such as Martha O'Driscoll, make you wonder how they ever got careers. The others make you wonder why they even got this chance! There's a mule that's supposed to be quite talented, but I missed any glimpses of any special ability. There's a moment of Carradine singing during a hayride, and it's interesting, though mainly for the forced enjoyment on the old boy's face. This one is barely tolerable for the avid Carradine fanatic, others should do themselves a favor and have jaw surgery instead.

Professor Martha O'Driscoll brings her mule to her farm for a vacation, only to find a movie company shooting a picture. Despite the usual number of complications, love blossoms all around.

It's a PRC musical, believe it or not. The problems are numerous, with a script and film that seems to have been edited the way John Ford edited on site when an executive complained he was supposed to have shot six additional pages by this point. * It also has its points, including a decent set of songs, a well-trained mule, John Carradine, Chester Clute, and Roscoe Karns. The details of the nominal plot about the mule rears its head only occasionally, which is all to the good as far as I'm concerned. Still, all in all, it's a rather sweet movie for what was probably conceived as competition to Judy Canova.

* If you don't know the anecdote, Ford is reported to have torn up twelve pages, and announced "There! Now we're six pages ahead!" I imagine he had won at least one of his Oscars by then.

1946's "Down Missouri Way" was one of the final productions for poverty row outfit PRC, soon to be absorbed into another poverty row outfit, Eagle-Lion Films Inc. (where Abbott and Costello shot 1948's "The Noose Hangs High"). PRC had some success with a 'B' musical called "I'm from Arkansas," and did this follow up one year later, proving that hillbilly comedies did good business even BEFORE Ma and Pa Kettle. Second billed John Carradine effortlessly steals this film as movie director Thorndyke P. Dunning, on location in Missouri (where the actor actually filmed "Jesse James" in late 1938), searching for an intelligent mule to star in his latest picture; enter top billed Martha O'Driscoll as the owner of scientifically trained mule 'Shirley.' This proved to be something of a swan song for O'Driscoll, female lead in Universal's "House of Dracula" and Abbott and Costello's "Here Come the Co-eds," while perky blonde Mabel Todd would also retire from the screen (she was in Universal's "Mystery of the White Room"). Playing the temperamental star is Renee Godfrey, from Universal's "Terror by Night," a latter Sherlock Holmes adventure, getting most of the barbs from Carradine, who worked right up until her untimely death in 1964. Just about everyone gets to sing, and while the music may be an acquired taste, the comedy is first rate. No doubt still mourning his late friend John Barrymore, Carradine does a magnificent impression, from his dialogue delivery to his mannerisms, even snorting in hilarious fashion. His first appearance is hard to beat, discussing the starring role with Renee Godfrey, whom he wishes had "the divine madness!" Recently plucked out of obscurity by frequent showings on Encore's Western channel.