It's a Joke, Son!

Kenny Delmar stars as Senator Beauregard Claghorn, a bombastic Southerner who sounds an awful lot like Foghorn Leghorn. As another reviewer pointed out, Claghorn had some funny lines in the film, such as his desire to rename North Carolina or change the United States to "The South" or complaining because he was served BOSTON baked beans!

As for the rest of the film, it's a likable little comedy with modest pretenses. The plot involves Claghorn initially announcing his retirement. As a result, Mrs. Claghorn decides to run as well as another candidate. Beauregard wants this other candidate to win, but eventually realizes the guy is a jerk. So, now Beauregard throws his hat into the ring as well. But, mobsters working for this other candidate decide to use a bit of chicanery themselves and kidnap Beauregard to prevent him from running! Will our hero escape? And who will win this now hotly contested election? Overall, it's a decent little time-passer. It has a few laughs here and there and is a pleasant little film. Nothing great, but certainly worth a look.

Kenny Delmar brought his popular character Beauregard Claghorn and all his Southern bluster from the Fred Allen radio show to the big screen in IT'S A JOKE, SON!, released by Eagle-Lion in 1947.

Okay, listen carefully and follow the plot: an addle-brained Southern state senator running for re-election on the coattails of a carpetbagging political boss (Douglass Dumbrille) is being challenged by Magnolia Claghorn (Una Merkel), leader of a group called the Daughters of Dixie. Dumbrille forces Magnolia's husband Beauregard to run as a third party candidate so split the opposition, I say split the opposition, but soon Beauregard Claghorn's dander is up and he's running, I say he's running, like a Yankee at Bull Run. Meanwhile, just to keep things interesting because after all we DO have 63 minutes to kill, the Claghorns' lovely daughter (June Lockhart with an adorable Southern accent) is involved with some guy who runs an ice cream truck. Also worth mentioning is that Daisy, the second cutest dog in the movies after Laughing Gravy, is on loan from the Blondie pictures and proves why no actor wants to share the screen with a four-legged scene stealer.

The movie is generally pleasant, and occasionally funny when Claghorn starts boasting about the South (we're told that he still purchases Confederate Victory Bonds, and Claghorn is trying to convince North Carolina to change its name to Upper South Carolina). Unlike the Ma & Pa Kettle films of a few years later, though, Claghorn's film debut didn't catch on, and there were no sequels. On the other hand, I say on the other hand, a knock-off character was more successful over at Warner Bros: Foghorn Leghorn had already made his film debut, in 1946's WALKY TALKY HAWKY, when IT'S A JOKE, SON! was released, and the blustering rooster went on to a long and successful career.

Una Merkel was a fixture in early hollywood... here, she is Magnolia, wife of southern gentleman Beau Claghorn, the big, blustery windbag. Doug Dumbrille ALWAYS played the bad guy. June Lockhart is here as the daughter... she was best known as the mom in Lost in Space, and of course, the "Lassie" films and television series. Lots of "southerner" jokes... the south versus the durn yankees. and Ken Farrell is "Jeff Davis", for the obvious name reference. When Magnolia runs for senate, her husband Beauregard is also forced to run for senate, for reasons explained in the film. It's all good fun, with some serious ideas thrown in along the way. Then Claghorn disappears...will he return in time for the election ? Directed by Ben Stoloff, who was known for westerns and musicals. produced by Eagle Lion Films, owned by Arthur Rank. It's quite good! Showing on Moonlight Movie channel... i've never seen this one on Turner Classics. Catch it if you can!

Every time I see this film I want to yell out loud, "Save you're Confederate money, Boys! The South's gonna rise again!". This was a laugh a minute all the way through. Of course, you can see that Claghorn was the inspiration for Foghorn Leghorn from the Saturday Morning cartoons. It may not be politically correct, but it is funny.

Kenny Delmar who was both announcer on the Fred Allen Radio Show and a character on his Allen's Alley segment takes said character Senator Beauregard Claghorn and stars in this initial film for Eagle-Lion Pictures. The title It's A Joke Son came from the catchphrase that identified him with so many radio listeners.

The sad thing today is that unless one is a student of our popular culture or in a generation before mine, the name of Senator Claghorn would not be recognized by too many contemporary viewers. Eagle-Lion in making this first admittedly B picture had a built in audience of Fred Allen's radio listeners. That is entirely lost on today's movie audience who watched this on YouTube as I did.

Senator Claghorn was a caricature of the flannel mouth politicians who got themselves elected to office in the former Confederate states by proudly proclaiming their Dixie heritage and little else. Done ever so gently for the radio listeners lest the ones in the south stop listening.

Those in the radio audiences still might have asked how did someone like Beauregard Claghorn ever get elected. The answer is provided by this film and it's that he beat a bigger boob. This boob is Jimmy Conlin and he's backed by some carpetbagging Yankee political boss in the person of Douglass Dumbrille.

When we meet Claghorn he's not a Senator yet, he's a rather henpecked husband of Una Merkel. When at a meeting of her Daughters Of Dixie club where the punch has been liberally spiked, Merkel is urged to run as a reform candidate.

For reasons I won't go into Delmar then throws his hat in the ring and the fun begins.

It's a B film with productions values of same so don't expect much. But also it's terribly dated with jokes that no audience of young people could possibly get. It's a film for folks like me.