The Bashful Bachelor

Lum and Abner's radio show was a slice of Media Americana representing the 30s. Their radio audience was used to 15 minute bites of the happenings at the Jot-em-Down Store and this is what the picture tries to recreate. There is little plot, 5-6 mini story lines within the film, and tons of whimsy. No, it is not Gone with the Wind, or Star Wars, but it is Lum and Abner brought to the cinema screen.

Listen to a few weeks of their 15 min radio show. Corny, but.. And then the movie will make sense of what the producers/directors were trying to capture.

And they did, very well for bringing Lum and Abner to life.

Although to our sophisticated coastal ears Lum And Abner seem woefully out of date, back in the day they were quite the radio hit with a group of devoted listeners in the red states. A whole lot of people knew and loved the residents of Pine Ridge, Arkansas like they were their own neighbors.

Radio stars Norris Goff and Chester Lauck brought Lum And Abner to the big screen and both certainly were able to sell their rustic personas to the movie-going public, they really looked the parts they voiced on radio.

In this story Lum is having woman troubles and is looking to propose to the girl of his dreams Zasu Pitts. But he feels he's not led a heroic enough life for her to consider him. Remember this is Zasu Pitts we're talking about.

In any event after trying to make himself a hero with partner Abner and nearly getting him killed, Abner screws things up by delivering the proposal to Constance Purdy, a widow with a few extra mouths to feed. When Purdy threatens Lum with a breach of promise suit, he might be forced to marry her.

I'm not going to go into the rest. Lum And Abner I've described before as gentle rustics that the red state took to their hearts. They were the forerunners of such television shows that Paul Henning later did like Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction, Green Acres.

If you were a fan of those shows, you'll love Lum And Abner.

Famous Variety headline might have been written for this. I was unfamiliar with this comedy team. I watched for Zasu Pitts who is top billed but is very a supporting role. Its not really funny but interesting from a sociological perspective. Otherwise its a regional stereotype without wit. Or a minstrel show in white face. Or an expression of contempt by Hollywood for the deep south. I dunno. Some people seem to like it.

This movie was made for a 1942 audience, and it is part of a celebrated radio duo, Lum and Abner, coming to film at their fans' request. The story is simple: Lum wants to impress a lady so he forces Abner to help him look like a hero. The story revolves around that, and with a few side elements: an obnoxious widow who wants to marry Lum and a horse race against a nasty local businessman between a horse for which Abner had traded their general store's delivery vehicle without first consulting Lum. And there is a bit about bad eye glasses worn for all the wrong reasons.

Yes, the movie is sophisticated in that respect, and it is not without its seams, but if you like goofy comedies from this era – and I most certainly do – you should enjoy this film. It is not the best of the Lum and Abner films, I don't think, but it is not markedly inferior. For my wife and I, it was an enjoyable view.

Better than expected. Okay, it's no knee-slapper, but the chuckles keep coming as the two cornpone dimwits manage to stumble their way from one silly misfire to the next. What grabbed me most is how un-telegenic the cast is. It sure ain't Hollywood's usual glamor crowd. Good thing there's the lovely Currie to soften my eyes after all the un-lovelies, especially Lauck (Lum) who looks like me when I forget to shave and the wife threatens to leave. Nonetheless, the pacing's good, the antics non-stop, while the train bearing down on the camera gave me a real jolt. To me, it was a fun look at the past, especially when dimwit Abner looks into the phone receiver instead of talking into it and says to a puzzled Lum, "I've got to see who I'm talking to". Top that cell-phone Hollywood.