Down in "Arkansaw"
Cast & Crew
Nick Grinde
Ralph Byrd
Weaver Brothers [leon And Frank] And Elviry
June Storey
Pinky Tomlin
Berton Churchill
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
After the federal government approves plans to build a dam at Pine Ridge, government workers attempt to relocate the citizens of the tiny town. The simple folks of Pine Ridge, led by Abner Weaver, his wife Elviry and his cousin Cicero, refuse to accept the government's supoenas. Frustrated with their obstinacy, government agent Turner orders construction leader Marks to begin work and sends John Parker and John's friend Pinky to trick the hillbillies into accepting the subpoenas. John and Pinky accomplish their task by pretending to be record company respresentatives and staging a talent contest. After awarding first prize to the Weavers, John serves them with the summons and attempts to assuage their anger with assurances that the government will provide them with better homes. The Weavers, however, decide to sue the government to let them keep their land, which pleases Lewis, owner of the Green Valley Water and Power Co., which will go out of business if the dam is built. Lewis instructs his lawyer Graves to defend the Weavers, and Marks, who is secretly working for Lewis, to stir up public sympathy for the hillbillies. Meanwhile, John becomes enamored of Abner and Elviry's daughter Mary, who is unwillingly engaged to Juble Butler. John rhapsodizes about the wonders civilization has to offer the community, and Mary, who desires the more sophisticated life John describes, refuses to marry Juble. Her family insists on the wedding, however, and one afternoon the ceremony commences. It is interrupted when Marks and his cohort Jake secretly arrange an "accident," in which several townsfolk are injured in a dynamite explosion. The citizens blame John, and construction is halted until after the trial. During the trial, the prosecution tries to show how difficult rural life is, especially for the women who have no modern appliances to help with their heavy work. Graves's argument that the government has no right to interfere persuades the jury, however, and the Weavers win. Turner is convinced that the government will win a reversal from a higher court, but John devises a plan to get the hillbillies' consent to move. He throws a party for them at a fancy hotel, where he wins Mary's trust. The next morning though, the folks are dismayed to learn that John's men have continued construction. They go to the site to investigate, and John reveals a prefabricated house with all the modern conveniences. The women are impressed with the labor-saving devices, and afterwards, at a town meeting, everyone agrees to move. Just then, Juble enters, and as he collapses they see that he has been shot. Everyone assumes that John, who quarreled with Juble over Mary, is responsible, and they set out to get him. He is warned by Mary, and Pinky sets his dog Jupiter on the trail of the real culprits. Despite being shot by Jake, Jupiter tracks down Marks and Jake, and their plot is revealed when they are captured and John finds a check from the power company in Marks's pocket. Soon afterwards, construction on the dam is underway, the hillbillies are happily ensconced in their new homes, and John and Mary are married.
Director
Nick Grinde
Cast
Ralph Byrd
Weaver Brothers [leon And Frank] And Elviry
June Storey
Pinky Tomlin
Berton Churchill
Guinn Williams
Walter Miller
Gertrude Green
Selmer Jackson
Arthur Loft
Ivan Miller
John Dilson
Alan Bridge
Karl Hackett
Chester Gunnels
Gloria Rich
Galli Sisters
Crew
George Blair
Eddie Cherkose
Cy Feuer
Walter Kent
John Victor Mackay
Dorrell Mcgowan
Stuart Mcgowan
Ernest Miller
William Morgan
Irene Saltern
Armand Schaefer
Murray Seldeen
Dave Torbett
Al Wilson
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Some sources list the film as Down in Arkansas. A news item in Hollywood Reporter on August 15, 1938 noted that songwriter Eddie Cherkose was to appear in a featured role in the film, but his participation as an actor has not been confirmed in any other source. Another Hollywood Reporter news item stated that the cast shot on location for a week at Lake Arrowhead, CA. The Weaver Brothers and Elviry were billed as The Arkansas Travelers during their many years in vaudeville and on The Grand Old Opry radio show. The popular trio had previously appeared in a 1938 Warner Bros. film, Swing Your Lady . Down in "Arkansaw" was the first of their eleven films for Republic. Their last picture was released in 1943. Contemporary and modern sources indicate that June was originally married to Leon, but by the time the trio reached Hollywood, she was married to Frank. June and Leon's daughter Loretta made her debut in their next film, Jeepers Creepers, .
