Heavenly Days
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Howard Estabrook
Fibber Mcgee And Molly
Eugene Pallette
Gordon Oliver
Raymond Walburn
Barbara Hale
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
When Molly McGee receives an invitation to visit her wealthy cousin, Alvin Clark, in Washington, D.C., Molly's husband Fibber insists on staying home in Wistful Vista. Fibber changes his mind, however, when the pipe player in a historic painting comes to life and lectures him about the responsibility of the average man to help his country. Fibber's assertion that it is his patriotic duty to visit Washington is sneered at by the pious Mr. Popham, who is running for the office of country treasurer. On the train to Washington, Fibber and Molly meet a group of soldiers bound for duty, and when the train becomes overcrowded, they give up their seats and board a plane. On the flight, they meet Dr. George Gallup, the public opinion pollster, and engage him in a discussion about the average man. Intrigued, Gallup decides to poll the public to see if "he" exists. At the Washington airport, reporters Dick Martin and Angie see the McGees with Dr. Gallup and, assuming that they must be influential people, ask them for a story. After agreeing to discuss his mission later, Fibber and Molly proceed to the Clarks's house and discover that their hosts have been called away. When Molly finds dust in the house, she decides to clean it. After changing into servants clothes, they are visited by Senator Bigbee, who is delivering a delegation of foreign children to stay at the house. Mistaking the McGees for servants, Bigbee leaves the children in their care. Before the senator leaves, Fibber tricks him into issuing them a pass to the senate. Alone with the McGees, the children voice their thanks for being in America. Later that night, the Clarks's maid and butler arrive to take charge, and the next day, Fibber and Molly proceed to the senate, where they are met by Angie and Dick. From his seat in the senate gallery, Fibber exhorts the politicians to listen to the common man instead of the "big shots." His speech is met with indignation, and he is ordered off the floor by the sergeant at arms. After Bigbee upbraids him for his impudence, Fibber repeats his speech to the reporters. Meanwhile, at the Gallup offices, the response to the average man poll comes pouring in. That night, Fibber dreams that he is given the opportunity to address the senate on behalf of the common man. In reponse to Fibber's remarks, Bigbee argues that the common man is not interested in taking part in the political process. The next day, the Clarks return home and Alvin tells Fibber that he has been appointed to coordinate public morale in the post-war era and asks Fibber to be his assistant. Fibber accepts the post, but when Alvin learns about Fibber's speech to the senate, he fires him. Disgraced by the McGees' populism, Mrs. Clark asks them to leave the house immediately. As the McGees pack, Dick and Angie convince their editor to run a story about them. When the reporters arrive at the house with a photographer, the Clarks ask them to leave by a side entrance, but the reporters follow them and get their story. The story becomes a national sensation, and when the McGees arrive home in Wistful Vista, they are greeted by a cheering crowd and Dr. Gallup. When Dr. Gallup announces that Fibber has been voted the average man, Fibber protests that he is above average and throws away the award. Realizing that it is election day, Fibber and Molly go to cast their votes. At the polls, Fibber discovers that he is not registered, and when he learns that half of the town's voters have not voted, he organizes a brass band to rally them to the polls to defeat Popham. As Fibber marches with the band, the pipe player parades alongside him, and then joins the other figures from Fibber's painting to march into history.
Director
Howard Estabrook
Cast
Fibber Mcgee And Molly
Eugene Pallette
Gordon Oliver
Raymond Walburn
Barbara Hale
Don Douglas
Frieda Inescort
Irving Bacon
Charles Trowbridge
Emory Parnell
Alan Ward
Chester Carlisle
Bert Moorhouse
John M. Sullivan
Henry Hall
Ed Peil
James Farley
Lloyd Ingraham
Fred Fox
Brandon Beach
James Carlisle
J. C. Fowler
Louis Payne
Henry Herbert
Ed Mortimer
Wilbur Mack
Joseph Girard
Dick Rush
John Ince
Gordon Carveth
Ed Stanley
Harry Humphrey
George Reed
Clinton Rosemond
Norman Mayes
Beatrice Maude
Helena Benda
Bertha Feducha
William Yip
Esther Zeitlin
John Duncan
Eva Mckenzie
Edward Clark
Teddy Infuhr
Oleg Balaeff
Pat Prest
Maurice Tauzin
Dena Penn
Walter Soo Hoo
Yvette Duguay
Joel Davis
Daun Kennedy
Chili Williams
Mary Halsey
Tom Burton
Tom Bryson
Steve Winston
Harry Clay
John Shaw
Freddie Mercer
Sammy Blum
Larry Wheat
Bryant Washburn
Lane Chandler
Gil Perkins
Ken Ferrel
Richard Thorne
Erville Alderson
Arthur Stuart Hull
Selmar Jackson
Sheldon Jett
Jon Dawson
Glen Stephens
John Benson
Robert Strong
Bob Alden
John Bogden
Ken Stewart
Charles Van
Jimmy Marr
Ed Howard
Edmund Glover
Carl Kent
Victor Cutler
Michael Road
Marjorie Henderson
Ronald Gaye
Erwin Kaiser
Molio Sheron
Elaine Riley
Virginia Sale
Wheaton Chambers
Sherry Hall
Russ Hopton
Rosemary La Planche
Margie Stewart
Frank Mayo
Elmer Jerome
John Elliott
Charles Griffin
Stella Le Saint
Jimmy Jordan
Crew
C. Bakaleinikoff
Ralph Berger
Mel Berns
Harry Carroll
Albert S. D'agostino
Harold Daniels
Howard Estabrook
Howard Estabrook
Robert Fellows
Leigh Harline
Roy Hunt
Terry Kellum
Joseph Mccarthy
Roy Meadows
Don Quinn
Renie
Darrell Silvera
J. D. Starkey
William Stevens
Robert Swink
Vernon L. Walker
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
That guy tosses eight cent stamps around like they were made of paper.- Fibber McGee
Gotta straighten out that closet one of these days.- Fibber McGee
I don't wish to be disturbed...unless the phone rings, or somebody wants to see me.- Fibber McGee
Trivia
Notes
According to pre-production news items in Hollywood Reporter, Richard Wallace was initially slated to direct this picture, but after a prior commitment to Columbia forced him to drop out of the project, Ray Enright was assigned to direct. Other Hollywood Reporter news items add that production was suspended from 24 March-April 14, 1944 when Jim Jordan (the real name of "Fibber McGee") was hospitalized with pneumonia. An article in the New York Times notes that Heavenly Days differed from previous Fibber McGee and Molly films because it developed a story line rather than relying on a string of gags. Producer Robert Fellows claimed that the change in strategy was necessary because research had determined that audiences quickly tire of burlesque routines; the studio hoped that by focusing on the story, they could extend the longevity of the Fibber McGee and Molly characters. The development of this particular story line backfired, however, when the Army Selection Board, the agency that reviewed motion pictures for distribution to the troops, rejected the film on the grounds that it contained political material banned by Title V of the Soldiers Ballad Amendment. According to news items in Daily Variety and Hollywood Reporter, that amendment was drafted by Republican Senator Robert Taft to insulate service men from "federally financed political propaganda designed or calculated to affect a federal election." In essence, the amendment made it unlawful for any agency of the federal government to expose armed forces personnel to any film or type of communication that might contain political propaganda designed to affect the outcome of an election. Heavenly Days, which dealt with the local election at Wistful Vista, the home of Fibber McGee and Molly, and the Twentieth Century-Fox film Wilson were the first two films to be denied distribution on these grounds. The public outcry against the ban eventually caused Taft to review the amendment, which he claimed had been interpreted too literally. George Gallup was a statistician and founder of the American Institute of Public Opinion, an organization created to sample public opinion.