Fixer Dugan (1939)

A young girl is orphaned when her mother, a circus aerialist, is killed in a fall. A rival circus informs the sheriff that the girl is an orphan, and she is subsequently placed in an ... See full summary »

Director:

Lew Landers

Writers:

H.C. Potter (play), Bert Granet (screenplay),

Stars:

Lee Tracy, Virginia Weidler, Peggy Shannon

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Lee Tracy	...	Charlie 'The Fixer' Dugan
Virginia Weidler	...	Ethel Myrtle 'Terry' O'Connell
Peggy Shannon	...	Aggie Moreno
Bradley Page	...	A.J. Barvin, Circus Owner
William Edmunds	...	Smiley
Edward Gargan	...	Jake
Vinton Hayworth	...	Frank Darlow (as Jack Arnold)
Rita La Roy	...	Patricia 'Pat' O'Connell
Irene Franklin	...	Jane
John Dilson	...	Steve
Edythe Elliott	...	Mrs. Fletcher

Storyline

A young girl is orphaned when her mother, a circus aerialist, is killed in a fall. A rival circus informs the sheriff that the girl is an orphan, and she is subsequently placed in an orphanage. The circus' manager, known as "The Fixer", determines to help out the girl and punish the rival circus owner.

---

Plot Keywords:

orphanage | guardian | mauling | fraud | falling from height | 

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 April 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

Double Daring

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

68 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The play originally opened in New Haven, Connecticut, USA on 1 May 1928.

---

Goofs

A shot in Marysville, Kansas, shows a palm tree outside.

---

Soundtracks

"Oh Susanna"
(1846)
Written by Stephen Foster
Played as background music at the circus

User Reviews

A routine circus picture, but the stars are worth watching.

The incomparable Lee Tracy stars as the title character, manager of a circus with many problems he fixes. The underrated child star, Virginia Weidler, becomes an orphan when her aerialist mother (Rita La Roy) falls to her death. She overhears some conmen planning to get two lions back for a rival circus and warns lion tamer Peggy Shannon. In retaliation, they inform the sheriff that Weidler is an underage orphan, so she is put in an orphanage. They also get the lions. Fixer Dugan, who is a bit of a conman himself, then has to get those lions and Weidler back. It's all pretty routine, but there is some suspense when a lion gets loose, and it's always fun to watch Tracy and Weidler.