I'm from Arkansas (1944)

67 mins | Comedy | 31 October 1944

Director:

Lew Landers

Cinematographer:

Robert Pittack

Editor:

John Link

Production Designer:

F. Paul Sylos

Production Company:

Kleinhert-Vershel Productions
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HISTORY

Although a HR production chart lists Ray Holbeck and His Orchestra in the cast, their appearance in the released film has not been confirmed. A HR production chart credits Benjamin Kline, not Robert Pittack, as director of photography. I'm From Arkansas marked the first and only production of musical director E. H. Kleinert and theatrical producer Irving Vershel. ...

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Although a HR production chart lists Ray Holbeck and His Orchestra in the cast, their appearance in the released film has not been confirmed. A HR production chart credits Benjamin Kline, not Robert Pittack, as director of photography. I'm From Arkansas marked the first and only production of musical director E. H. Kleinert and theatrical producer Irving Vershel.

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SOURCE CITATIONS
SOURCE
DATE
PAGE
Box Office
28 Oct 1944
---
Daily Variety
29 Sep 1944
p. 3
The Exhibitor
18-Oct-44
---
Film Daily
6 Oct 1944
p. 11
Hollywood Reporter
19 Jul 1944
p. 6
Hollywood Reporter
21 Jul 1944
p. 8
Hollywood Reporter
28 Jul 1944
p. 14
Hollywood Reporter
29 Sep 1944
p. 3
Motion Picture Herald Product Digest
7 Oct 1944
p. 2130
CAST
PRODUCTION CREDITS
NAME
PARENT COMPANY
PRODUCTION COMPANY
DISTRIBUTION COMPANY
NAME
CREDITED AS
CREDIT
DIRECTORS
Asst dir
PRODUCERS
WRITERS
Orig story
PHOTOGRAPHY
Dir of photog
Dir of photog
ART DIRECTOR
Art dir
FILM EDITOR
John Link
Film ed
SET DECORATORS
Set dresser
Master of properties
MUSIC
Eddie Paul
Mus dir
SOUND
Howard J. Fogetti
Sd eng
PRODUCTION MISC
Raoul E. Pagel
Prod mgr
SOURCES
SONGS
"I Love to Yodel," words and music by Helen Hagstrom; "You're the Hit of the Season," words and music by Lewis Bellin and Ed Dorien; "Pass the Biscuits, Mirandy," words and music by Del Porter and Carl Hoefle; "Don't Turn Me Down Little Darlin'," words and music by Harry Tobias, Zeke Canova, Judy Canova and Eddie Dean; "You Are My Sunshine" words and music by Jimmie Davis and Charles Mitchell; "Stay Away from My Heart," words and music by Johnny Marvin; "Whistlin' Down the Lane," "Yodel Mountain," "If You Can't Go Right Don't Go Wrong" and "Pitchfork Polka," composers undetermined.
SONGWRITERS/COMPOSERS
+ −
DETAILS
Release Date:
31 October 1944
Production Date:
19 Jul--early Aug 1944
Copyright Info
Claimant
Date
Copyright Number
PRC Pictures, Inc.
15 December 1944
LP13010
Physical Properties:
Sound
Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording
Black and White
Duration(in mins):
67
Length(in feet):
6,049
Length(in reels):
7
Country:
United States
Language:
English
PCA No:
10401
SYNOPSIS

In the rural municipality of Pitchfork, Arkansas, the denizens of the town gather to acclaim Esmeralda, a sow, who has just given birth to eighteen piglets. Esmeralda's feat makes national headlines, and when theatrical promoter Willy Childs reads about it, he decides to take his troupe of showgirls to Pitchfork to capitalize on the town's notoriety. When Harry Cashin, the vice-president of the Sunshine Packing Company, sees the headlines, he dispatches his minions to discover the secret of Esmeralda's fertility. Also traveling to Pitchfork is radio star Bob Hamline and his orchestra, who have just concluded their final broadcast and are returning home for a vacation. Upon arriving in town, Willy and his girls take up residence in Matilda Alden's boardinghouse and soon learn that the town has no theater in which they can perform. Doris and the other showgirls regard the locals with contempt, and when Doris meets Bob, she assumes that he is a hillbilly. Deciding to play a practical joke on Doris, Bob instructs the other band members to dress up and pose as yokels. Soon after, the representatives of the packing company arrive in town to question Matilda, Esmeralda's owner, about the sow's habits. Suspecting the secret of her fertility lies in the mud below Matilda's land, they send samples to the lab for analysis. Although the tests reveal that the area is rich in mineral springs, Cashin's only concern is in producing pigs for profit, so he sends his representatives to buy Matilda's property for a pig farm. When the commissioner from the State Department of Agriculture comes to town to award Esmeralda a ribbon, a formal ceremony ...

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In the rural municipality of Pitchfork, Arkansas, the denizens of the town gather to acclaim Esmeralda, a sow, who has just given birth to eighteen piglets. Esmeralda's feat makes national headlines, and when theatrical promoter Willy Childs reads about it, he decides to take his troupe of showgirls to Pitchfork to capitalize on the town's notoriety. When Harry Cashin, the vice-president of the Sunshine Packing Company, sees the headlines, he dispatches his minions to discover the secret of Esmeralda's fertility. Also traveling to Pitchfork is radio star Bob Hamline and his orchestra, who have just concluded their final broadcast and are returning home for a vacation. Upon arriving in town, Willy and his girls take up residence in Matilda Alden's boardinghouse and soon learn that the town has no theater in which they can perform. Doris and the other showgirls regard the locals with contempt, and when Doris meets Bob, she assumes that he is a hillbilly. Deciding to play a practical joke on Doris, Bob instructs the other band members to dress up and pose as yokels. Soon after, the representatives of the packing company arrive in town to question Matilda, Esmeralda's owner, about the sow's habits. Suspecting the secret of her fertility lies in the mud below Matilda's land, they send samples to the lab for analysis. Although the tests reveal that the area is rich in mineral springs, Cashin's only concern is in producing pigs for profit, so he sends his representatives to buy Matilda's property for a pig farm. When the commissioner from the State Department of Agriculture comes to town to award Esmeralda a ribbon, a formal ceremony is planned and the commissioner asks Bob and his boys to entertain, much to Doris' dismay. After it is discovered that Esmeralda is missing, Matilda asks Juniper Jenkins, a champion hog caller, to summon the sow, and he agrees on condition that Matilda marry him. Matilda consents to his terms, and after Juniper starts grunting, Esmeralda comes running home. At Matilda and Juniper's wedding, Bob apologizes to Doris for deceiving her, but she refuses to forgive him and leaves the party with the packing company representatives to drink in their hotel room. After becoming inebriated, the representatives blurt out the news about the health benefits of Matilda's land, and Doris hurries to alert Bob. Matilda, meanwhile, has gone to finalize the sale of her property with Cashin's attorneys. Upon reading the deed to the land, however, the attorneys discover that because Matilda has remarried, the land reverts to her daughter Abby. At that moment, Bob and Doris burst into the office and inform Matilda about the mineral springs on her property. When the governor learns about the springs, he approaches the state legislature about turning Pitchfork into a state-sponsored health resort. To focus attention on Pitchfork, Bob decides to broadcast a show from the town. At the end of his performance, word comes that the state has decided to make Pitchfork the new spa of America, and all ends happily as Doris finally forgives Bob.

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Legend
Viewed by AFI
Partially Viewed
Offscreen Credit
Name Occurs Before Title
AFI Life Achievement Award

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