In Old Missouri (1940)

The Weavers play sharecroppers. They confront their landlord with their tale of woe only to find he is in money trouble too. He also has a wastrel son and a socialite wife who wants a ... See full summary »

Director:

Frank McDonald

Writers:

Dorrell McGowan, Stuart E. McGowan

Stars:

Leon Weaver, Frank Weaver, June Weaver

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Leon Weaver	...	Abner Weaver
Frank Weaver	...	Cicero Weaver
June Weaver	...	Elviry Weaver
June Storey	...	Mary
Marjorie Gateson	...	Mrs. Pittman
Thurston Hall	...	John Pittman Sr.
Alan Ladd	...	John Pittman Jr.
Loretta Weaver	...	Violey Weaver
Mildred Shay	...	Mme. Chee-Chee
Andrew Tombes	...	Attorney
Willis Clare	...	Robbins
Leonard Carey	...	Haskins
Earle S. Dewey	...	McConnell
Forbes Murray	...	Holt

Storyline

The Weavers play sharecroppers. They confront their landlord with their tale of woe only to find he is in money trouble too. He also has a wastrel son and a socialite wife who wants a divorce. He begs the Weavers to trade places with him and fix things up.

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Genres:

Adventure

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 April 1940 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Grapevine Video, Republic Pictures (I)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

68 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

User Reviews

The Weaver Brothers and Elviry

Republic Pictures specialized in the shrinking but still important rural market. This meant they produced a lot of westerns and when country music began its rise in the early 1940s (by 1945 Western Swing was the best-selling musical genre on records) they knew how to take advantage: not only with singing cowboys and Judy Canova, but with the Weaver Brothers and Elviry, a musical novelty act. They appeared in about fifteen movies from 1938 until 1942. This looks to be pretty typical.

The Weavers play poor sharecroppers who, tired of working hard all year for a net return of $18, head off to talk to the people who own the land and company store in the person of Thurston Hall -- and he signs everything over to them. If it isn't always to my taste, it's done surprisingly well, with underrated director Frank MacDonald keeping things moving along briskly, particularly in the sight gag department. Cinematographer Ernest Miller does his usual impeccable job. In short, if you have a taste for this sort of movie, this is a very good example of the genre.