It's a Joke, Son!

It's a Joke, Son!
Original film poster
Directed byBenjamin Stoloff
Written byRobert E. Kent
Paul Gerard Smith
Produced byAubrey Schenck
StarringKenny Delmar
Una Merkel
June Lockhart
Jimmy Conlin
Douglas Dumbrille
'Daisy' the Dog
and introducing
Kenneth Farrell
CinematographyClyde De Vinna
Edited byNorman Colbert
Music byAlvin Levin
Production
company
Distributed byEagle-Lion Films
Release date
  • January 15, 1947 (1947-01-15)
[1]
Running time
63 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$650,000[2]

It's a Joke, Son! is a 1947 American comedy film directed by Benjamin Stoloff (in his final directorial role in a film) featuring radio comedian Kenny Delmar as Senator Beauregard Claghorn, a character on Fred Allen's radio program and later the inspiration for the cartoon character Foghorn Leghorn.[3] The film was the first American production for Eagle-Lion Films[4] and although it was produced on a very small budget compared to other Hollywood films,[2] it was a box-office disappointment; one theater chain removed the film after less than a week after it only drew $1,000 in ticket sales.[5]

The film contributed to a multimillion-dollar loss for Eagle-Lion in 1947, and Arthur B. Krim later stated that the studio had overpaid for Delmar and overestimated his bankability.[6] It is in the public domain.

  1. ^ "Eagle Lion axes B product". Variety. September 25, 1946. p. 7.
  2. ^ a b Labor, Too.Variety (magazine), 19 March 1947, p.6, column 5
  3. ^ p. 712 Sterling, C. Encyclopedia of Radio Taylor & Francis, 01/12/2003
  4. ^ p.23 Balio, Tino United Artists: The Company That Changed the Film Industry, Univ of Wisconsin Press, 1987
  5. ^ "It's a Joke, Son did a folderoo...", at Variety (magazine), 12 March 1947. p.19, column 5
  6. ^ Balio, Tino. United Artists: The Company That Changed the Film Industry Univ of Wisconsin Press, 1987. p. 24