Corn's-A-Poppin'

Thaddeus Pinwhistle, the proprietor of the Pinwhistle Popcorn Company, is seeking a singer to appear on his television show, The Pinwhistle Popcorn Hour . Minutes before the show is to begin, Pinwhistle press agent Waldo Crummit proudly presents the new singing sensation he has discovered, former hog-caller Lillian Gravelguard, whose name reflects the timbre of her voice. As The Pinwhistle Popcorn Hour opens, announcer Johnny Wilson stands in front of a popcorn machine in which the Pinwhistle kernels anemically pop. Once Lillian makes her singing debut, Johnny's sister Susie audaciously declares that Lillian "stinks." Disturbed by customers' complaints about the abysmal quality of the new strain of kernels introduced by Waldo, Thaddeus suggests that they improve the quality of their corn. When Waldo protests that his corn is "great," Thaddeus' loyal secretary, Sheila Burns, calls him a "phony." Following the show that night, Sheila, who is enamored with Johnny, comes to a party at the apartment Johnny shares with Susie, thus incurring Susie's jealousy. Also attending the party is the Pinwhistle band, Hobie Shepp and the Cowtown Wranglers, who accompany Johnny as he sings. Meanwhile, Waldo sneaks into Thaddeus' office and calls Pinwhistle competitor Johnson, who owns a popcorn company in Chicago. Waldo is in league with Johnson to undermine the Pinwhistle brand by offering tasteless popcorn as well as tasteless music, thus forcing Thaddeus to sell his popcorn company for "peanuts." Soon after, Agatha Quake, a devotee of the previous brand of Pinwhistle corn, offers Thaddeus and Waldo a formula for her home-grown corn. Recognizing Agatha as a threat to his scheme, Waldo switches his bag of corn for Agatha's and banishes her from the office. However, Susie follows Agatha and secretly places her kernels in the Pinwhistle popper. That night, as the popper is switched on, signaling the start of The Pinwhistle Popcorn Hour , a blizzard of kernels pelts the singers. Thrilled by the corn's remarkable vigor, Thaddeus launches a search for Agatha and fires Waldo after Susie reveals Waldo's scheme. When, on the day of the show, Agatha has still not been found, Waldo tries to flatter Thaddeus into rehiring him. Although Thaddeus relents, when Waldo tries to convince him that Lillian should be the voice of The Pinwhistle Popcorn Hour , he fires him again. Lillian then sweetly informs Waldo that they were married the night before, when he was in a drunken stupor. At the apartment, meanwhile, Sheila tells Susie that Thaddeus will have to sell his business unless they can find Agatha. Susie then offers to produce Agatha in exchange for being allowed to sing on the show with her brother. At the studio, Thaddeus is downhearted until Agatha appears, prompting him to kiss her. After Johnny and Susie, accompanied by Hobie and the boys, deliver a rousing performance, Thaddeus appoints Agatha his press agent and fiancée, and Susie declares that she needs a mother, thus clearing the way for Johnny to marry Sheila.