Joe Palooka in Humphrey Takes a Chance
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Jean Yarbrough
Leon Errol
Joe Kirkwood Jr.
Gil Lamb
Tom Neal
Lois Collier
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Knobby Walsh, who manages world heavyweight champion Joe Palooka, becomes indignant when Gordon Rogers, who works for a shady boxing syndicate, demands thirty percent of Joe's earnings and refuses him. Rogers threatens to use his syndicate's monopoly on boxers and arenas to make it impossible for Joe to fight, but Knobby boasts that he could stage a bout for Joe anywhere, even West Wokkington Falls, home of their old friend Humphrey Pennyworth. The syndicate boss, Bentley, assumes that Knobby is planning to set up a match between the champ and Humphrey, who had reluctantly entered the ring with Joe once before. When Knobby, Joe and his wife Anne drive up to West Wokkington Falls to spend the weekend with Humphrey, Rogers follows them. Just outside of town, Knobby is stopped by Sheriff Grogan on a trumped-up traffic offense, and he, Joe and Anne are brought before the corrupt, nepotistic mayor, Juniper Phiffeny, who fines them. They mayor is then called to a meeting with Rogers, who expresses interest in holding some prizefights in West Wokkington Falls and bribes him to sign over all boxing rights. Phiffeny greedily offers to build a stadium and rent it to Rogers organization, and Rogers instructs him to sign Humphrey to fight there exclusively. Phiffeny and Rogers visit Humphrey and his sister Prunella, and the mayor convinces the kind-hearted but dim-witted Humphrey to sign a contract, which he then sells to Rogers. Knobby, Joe and Anne join the Pennyworths for dinner, and when Prunella shows them the contract, Knobby has Humphrey call the mayor and tell him that he is a crook. Phiffeny threatens to put Humphrey in jail if he breaks his contract, and word of this conversation spreads quickly among the townspeople, some of whom had been listening on their party lines. Knobby gathers the local citizens and convinces them to hold a special election to recall Phiffeny, and when no one volunteers to run for mayor, Knobby nominates Humphrey. Determined to discredit the popular Humphrey, Phiffeny and Rogers hire talent agent Lee Tucker, who supplies them with a cute child actress, Mary Happy. At a campaign picnic, Mary runs up to Humphrey, tearfully claiming to be his abandoned daughter, and the bewildered Humphrey is promptly arrested for child desertion. Realizing that his friend has been framed, Joe sends Knobby, dressed as a French doctor, to search for evidence in the mayor's office. While playing a word association game with Phiffeny, Knobby finds Lee's business card, and he narrowly escapes after his fake beard comes off. After instructing Prunella and Anne to gather the townspeople, Joe and Knobby go to the Tucker Agency and bring Lee and Mary back to West Wokkington Falls, with Rogers' thugs in pursuit. Meanwhile, Humphrey breaks out of his jail cell and goes to the park, where he finds Prunella and Phiffeny using pies to compete for the voters' favor. Joe and the others arrive, and Mary is about to tell the truth when one of the thugs grabs for her, and a pie-throwing free-for-all ensues. After Joe's side wins the brawl, the syndicate agrees to let Joe fight anywhere he wants, and little Mary gives Humphrey a spirited endorsement.
Director
Jean Yarbrough
Cast
Leon Errol
Joe Kirkwood Jr.
Gil Lamb
Tom Neal
Lois Collier
Jack Kirkwood
Andrew Tombes
Robert Coogan
Chester Conklin
Hank Mann
Heinie Conklin
Clarence Hennecke
Mary Happy
Tim Ryan
Victoria Horne
Chester Clute
Eddie Gribbon
Iris Adrian
Frank Sully
Stanley Prager
Almira Sessions
Joel Friedkin
Jim Drum
Paul Gardini
Crew
Jeff Anjan
Grace Baughman
Ray Boltz
Bernard W. Burton
Bernard W. Burton
William Calihan Jr.
Lela Chambers
Hal E. Chester
G. Joseph Dell
Leonard Harris
Charles Huber
Edward J. Kay
John K. Kean
Esther Krebs
Otho Lovering
Dave Milton
William Sickner
Allen K. Wood
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
This film was also reviewed under the title Humphrey Takes a Chance. The onscreen screenplay credit reads "written by Jeff Anjan," which was the pseudonym of Henry Blankfort. A number of contemporary reviews list Blankfort as the screenplay's author instead of Anjan. For more information on the "Joe Palooka" series, please consult the Series Index and see the entry above for Joe Palooka, Champ.
