Down on the Farm
Cast & Crew
Malcolm St. Clair
Jed Prouty
Spring Byington
Louise Fazenda
Russell Gleason
Ken Howell
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
As John Jones and his son Roger tinker in their basement, a ball of smoke from their activity drifts up into the house. Jones's daughter Lucy calls the fire department, who promptly devastate the house. Jones decides that the time has come for a vacation, and the family packs into the car to head for their Aunt Ida's farm, where they have been invited to spend a week. That night, Jones and Ida's husband, Cyrus Sampson, get drunk in a shack, as Jones boasts of winning the state cornhusking championship years ago. The next morning, Jones's son Jack drives a tractor through a fence, which allows neighbor Tessie Moody's calf to escape. Jack offers to help find the stray calf and ends up kissing Tessie. Otto Hofferkamp sees them kissing and warns Jack to stay away from "his" girl. When a neighbor, Mr. Wheeler, wants to have a cornhusking contest in Ida's fields, she agrees. Jones feels that he is too old to enter, but he offers to coach Cy. After Jones calls his son-in-law, Herbert Thompson, and tells him about the contest, Herbert gets mixed up and tells the town that Jones himself will compete. When Jones discovers that he's been chosen to run for senator against the Garvey organization candidate, partly because of his showing in the husking contest, Jones informs his "supporters" of their mistake just as Cy arrives with a broken thumb. Jones then decides to enter the contest and begins intensive training. Politician Garvey is worried about Jones's senatorial bid, as he wants another politician elected, so he orders his henchmen, Marvin and Coleman, to prevent Jones from winning the contest. The men try to bribe Jones with a position as state coroner, but they are driven off the farm by Aunt Ida, wielding a shotgun. By the day of the contest, the farm has been converted to a carnival, and men employed by Garvey are taking two-to-one bets against Jones from people who are wagering hundreds of dollars. Jones is kidnapped and taken to Cucamonga Gulch. Emma Moody, Tessie's little sister, overhears and rushes to tell Roger, but she can't remember the name of the place where Jones is held. Roger buys her food and drink and takes her on all the fair rides to jog her memory, to no avail. She then asks Roger to kiss her, and he replies that she must be "cuckoo", which causes her to remember Cucamonga Gulch. The two borrow ponies and ride to the rescue, and they free Jones just in time to start the contest and calm down the angry mob of bettors. The shucking is fast and furious, and when Jones calls out for water, Cy gives him corn whiskey. Otto is in the lead, but Bobby Jones shoots Otto's horses with a bean-shooter, causing them to rear. Another sip of whiskey keeps Jones going, but all appears lost until Emma cuts Otto's suspenders with pruning shears, giving Jones the victory. Garvey's hoods try to escape without paying off the bets, but an angry mob catches them. With Jones's bid for the senate seemingly secure, all are happy and Emma finally gets a kiss from Roger.
Director
Malcolm St. Clair
Cast
Jed Prouty
Spring Byington
Louise Fazenda
Russell Gleason
Ken Howell
George Ernest
June Carlson
Florence Roberts
Billy Mahan
Eddie Collins
Dorris Bowdon
Roberta Smith
Marvin Stephens
William Haade
John T. Murray
William Irving
Sidney Blackmer
Alexander Leftwich
Harrison Greene
Wilfred Lucas
Si Jenks
John Sheehan
Donald Haines
Syd Saylor
Dick Elliott
Francis Sayles
Ernie Adams
Fred Kelsey
Crew
William H. Anderson
Homer Croy
Robert Ellis
Frank Fenton
W. D. Flick
Bernard Herzbrun
Samuel Kaylin
Boris Leven
Thomas Little
Helen Logan
Jack Mcedwards
Harry Reynolds
Lynn Root
Edward Snyder
John Stone
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The plot summary was based on a screen continuity in the Twentieth Century-Fox Produced Scripts Collection at the UCLA Theater Arts Library. The working title of this film was Corn on the Cob, which was the title of Homer Croy's original story. The trade paper billing sheet states that the film was based on original stories by Croy, Frank Fenton and Lynn Root. This was the first in the "Jones Family" series in which Shirley Deane, who in earlier entries had played the role of the "Jones's" married daughter "Bonnie," did not appear. Variety notes that James Gleason, who played "Bonnie's" husband, "Herbert Thompson," appeared only briefly in this film. Gleason did not appear in any of the subsequent "Jones Family" films, as he had begun starring in Republic's "Higgins Family" series with his father James and mother Lucille. This was Dorris Bowdon's first film. For more information concerning the "Jones Family" series, please consult the Series Index and see the entry above for Every Saturday Night.
