Hollywood Barn Dance
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Bernard B. Ray
Ernest Tubb
Jimmie Short
Leon Short
Jack T. Drake
"red" Herron
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
In rural Texas, teenager Ernest Tubb and his friends, brothers Leon and Jimmie Short and Jack T. Drake, are forced to practice their country-western songs in barns because none of their parents approve of their musical ambitions. Ernest's father Hiram is especially resentful of Ernest's singing and guitar playing, as it distracts him from his farm work. One day, Hiram explodes at Ernest for neglecting his duties and smashes his guitar. Ernest's sympathetic mother offers to buy him a new guitar with money earned from her turkeys, and after working hard to fatten up the birds, Ernest has a brand new instrument. Soon, however, the boys find themselves without any rehearsal space, as Hiram has instructed the other parents to make their barns off limits. Determined to continue, Ernest suggests they practice in the local church, and for several years, the band, now boasting six members, happily rehearses there. When the boys accidentally burn the place down, however, a guilt-ridden Ernest decides to take the group on the road until it earns enough money to rebuild the church. Although Hiram denounces Ernest's plan to his face, he later instructs Ma to give him the money he has been saving to buy a tractor and say it is from her. At the end of their first day on the road, the boys eat a big meal at a roadside restaurant, then tell the annoyed owner that they have no money, but will "sing for their supper." After their well-received performance, the musicians go to sleep in a nearby barn. The next morning, they are surprised to find Francis D. "Carty" Cartwright, who was at the restaurant the previous evening, also in the barn. The fast-talking Carty offers to be the band's manager, and soon "Ernest Tubb and His Texas Troubadours" begin a successful tour around the West. Eventually, however, the musicians discover that Carty, a compulsive gambler, has lost all of their earnings in a poker game. Carty then causes the band's car to break down and reluctantly takes the boys to his sister-in-law's house, where his daughter Helen lives. After Ernest hears the attractive Helen sing, he suggests that she join the tour, and the next day, Helen and her cousin, the plump Esmeralda Perkins, leave home with Carty and the group. Impressed by the band's performances, theater booker Pete Dixon offers to set up an audition for them for the Hollywood Barn Dance radio show. On their way to California, the group stops in Las Vegas, where Carty soon gambles away their earnings. When the band is locked out of their hotel room for nonpayment, Carty uses his last dollar to place a roulette bet and wins a large sum of money. With his winnings, the group continues to Los Angeles, and their audition is a huge success. When he is offered a spot on the program, however, Ernest announces that he and the boys must honor their promise and return to Texas to rebuild the church. Not wanting to lose his "discovery," Pete suggests that he and Carty wire a barn in Ernest's home town so that the band can broadcast from there. Carty despairs of carrying out the expensive plan until a former business partner named Toppit, who has been pursuing him all during the tour, finally catches him and reveals that he and Carty have been offered $20,000 for the rights to a play they once produced. With his $10,000, Carty converts a barn in Texas into a radio station, and Ernest and his band, as well as Helen and Esmeralda, start to broadcast their first show together. During the broadcast, Ernest presents Hiram with a tractor, and father and son finally reconcile. Then, as the broadcast ends, Carty announces that Ernest and Helen are going to marry, as are Esmeralda and band member "Red" Herron.
Director
Bernard B. Ray
Cast
Ernest Tubb
Jimmie Short
Leon Short
Jack T. Drake
"red" Herron
Jerry Byrd
Earl Hodgins
Lori Talbott
Helen Boice
Pat Combs
Ann Kunde
Frank Mcglynn
Larry Reid
Philip Arnold
Cyril Ring
Jack Guthrie
Dorothy Swan
Lewis Swan
Sam Wolfe
Dorothy Hackett
Betty Mudge
Frank Bristow
Albin Robeling
Philharmonic Trio
Crew
Helen Boice
Michael Breen
Al Clauser
Robert Crandall
Arthur Delmore
Walter Greene
Jack Greenhalgh
Alice Hawthorne
Tex Hoepner
Dorthy Knox Martin
Ray Mercer
Sam Neuman
Bob Nolan
Bernard B. Ray
Farrel Red
Jack Schwarz
Jimmie Short
Leon Short
Otto Siegel
Henry Stewart
William Strohbach
F. Paul Sylos
The Willis Brothers
Ernest Tubb
Zeb Turner
Johnny Tyler
Texas Tyler
Mack V. Wright
Videos
Movie Clip
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working title of this film was Western Barn Dance. Sound engineer Ferol Redd's name is misspelled "Farrel Red" in the onscreen credits. According to Hollywood Reporter, producer Jack Schwarz bought the rights to the title Hollywood Barn Dance from the CBS radio network program of the same name. The regional program began on December 4, 1943 and had its last broadcast in 1947. Although Ernest Tubb appears as himself in the picture, the film's story is not based on his life. According to biographical sources, Tubb, who was born near Crisp, Texas in 1914, was aided in his early career by country star Jimmie Rodger's widow and got his first radio job in San Antonio in 1934. He performed on other Texas radio stations in the late 1930s and pioneered the development of honkytonk music. Hollywood Reporter production charts add Charles Williams to the cast, but his participation in the final film has not been confirmed.
