Laughing at Trouble
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Frank R. Strayer
Jane Darwell
Delma Byron
Allan Lane
Sara Haden
Lois Wilson
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
On the day before Thanksgiving, at the Lane County Courthouse in the small town of Middletown, John Campbell is sentenced to be electrocuted for the murder of his employer, Mr. Colby, despite the testimony of John's girl friend, Mary Bradford, that he was with her the night of the crime. Mary's maiden aunt, Glory Bradford, the publisher of the Lane County Courier, inspires skeptical attorney Cyrus Hall to go to the capitol to try to get a new trial. Because of a rain storm, Glory invites the gossipy, hard-of-hearing spinster Lizzie Beadle, who has been sewing for Glory, to stay for the turkey dinner that she is planning for Alice Mathews, whom her taciturn brother James has been courting for six years. John escapes from jail and comes to Glory's home to say goodbye to Mary before attempting to go to Canada. Mary offers to drive him, but before they can leave, Sheriff Bill Norton, who has been fond of Glory for years, visits, and Mary hides John in the pantry. Glory finds John and, after getting rid of Bill, convinces John to return to jail. Because he escaped due to the negligence of deputy Ed Johnson, they call Ed and are able to convince him to try to sneak John back into his cell. However, John's absence is discovered, and deputy Alec Brady, who plans to run against Bill in the next election, leads Bill and other officers to Glory's home in search of John. When she sees Alec's police dog Fritz going toward John's hiding place beneath the kitchen sink, Glory spills a bottle of ammonia and injures the dog's sense of smell. Bill, however, sees the blood-stained cloth which Mary used to wipe John's bleeding arm. After the others leave, Bill returns alone hoping that John will sneak out so that he could be apprehended away from Glory's property, and thus not implicate her, but John is shot by Alec. The wound is not serious, and when Bill allows John to stay the night in Glory's home, Alec resigns in anger. Glory then learns from Lizzie that she overheard Colby, on the day he was killed, tell his housekeeper, widow Jennie Nevins, to telephone Hall, so that he could arrange to give $10,000 in Liberty Bonds to the Old Aged Home. Lizzie asserts that Mrs. Nevins was "throwing herself" at Hall. The next day, Glory investigates and learns that the bonds were never turned over. After Jamie, at Glory's instigation, confronts a mob headed by Alec and Mrs. Nevins in front of Glory's office, the mob moves to Glory's home and demands John. Glory berates them and allows Mrs. Nevins to enter, while Bill deputizes Jamie. Although Jamie receives a black eye, he is comforted by Alice. Glory telephones her old friend, Ella McShane, now an actress whom she earlier saw Hall kiss in his office, and arranges for her to put on an act to get Mrs. Nevins to tell the truth about the bonds. As the mob threatens to invade the house, Hall, who has arrived at Glory's request, denies that Colby owned Liberty Bonds. Ella, in a mink, warmly greets Hall and acts as if he gave her the coat. Enraged, Mrs. Nevins accuses Hall of using the $10,000 from the Liberty Bonds on Ella and reveals that Hall, contrary to his story, was in town the night Colby was murdered. Bill orders Hall to be taken away and then, as John and Mary kiss, suggests that Glory ought to be president. She replies that she would rather be a newspaper publisher and advise the president.
Director
Frank R. Strayer
Cast
Jane Darwell
Delma Byron
Allan Lane
Sara Haden
Lois Wilson
Margaret Hamilton
Pert Kelton
John Carradine
James Burke
Russell Hicks
Edward Acuff
Frank Reicher
William Benedict
Edward Mcwade
Arthur Hoyt
Vic Potel
Jane Keckley
Elsa Newell
Bob Mckenzie
Margaret Brayton
Carl Stockdale
John Ince
George Magrill
Silver Harr
Cecil Weston
Spike Rankin
Nora Cecil
Lew Kelly
Crew
Doris Anderson
Duncan Cramer
Nick De Maggio
William Eckhardt
Robert Ellis
Max Golden
Eugene Grossman
Herschel
Samuel Kaylin
Harry M. Leonard
Helen Logan
Barney Mcgill
Sol M. Wurtzel
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working title of this film was Glory. According to Los Angeles Times, H. Bruce Humberstone was originally scheduled to direct. Russell Hopton was listed as a cast member in an early Hollywood Reporter production chart, but his participation in the final film has not been confirmed.
