Joan of Ozark (1942)

During World War II, a yodeling hillbilly singer goes undercover to expose a ring of Nazi spies operating in the United States.

Director:

Joseph Santley

Writers:

Robert Harari (original screenplay), Eve Greene (original screenplay),

Stars:

Judy Canova, Joe E. Brown, Eddie Foy Jr.

Cast

Cast overview:
Judy Canova	...	Judy Hull
Joe E. Brown	...	Cliff Little
Eddie Foy Jr.	...	Eddie McCabe
Jerome Cowan	...	Phillip Munson
Alexander Granach	...	Guido
Anne Jeffreys	...	Marie Lamont
Otto Reichow	...	Otto
Donald Curtis	...	Leonard Jones
Wolfgang Zilzer	...	Kurt (as Wolfgang Zilser)
Hans Heinrich von Twardowski	...	Hans (as H. H. Von Twardowski)
Harry Hayden	...	Mayor Fadden
Wilhelm von Brincken	...	German Radio Operator (as William Vaughn)

Storyline

Ozark thrush Judy Hull inadvertently shoots a pigeon carrying a message from a secret Nazi spy nest in the United States, and becomes a national heroine. Philip Munson ,head of the spy ring with headquarters in a secret room at the "Club 76", which he operates, receives orders from the Gestapo to immediately liquidate her as an object lesson to all Americans who might try to emulate her. When theatrical agents Cliff Little and Eddie McCabe come to Munson's office with Marie Lamont , a dancer they are trying to promote, Munson conceives a scheme whereby Judy will be brought to him, rather than him going to the Ozarks to liquidate her. He tells Little and McCabe that if they will produce the now-famous Judy Hull as an entertainer at his club, he might be interested in making a deal to employ their client

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Plot Keywords:

nazi | gestapo | singer | hillbilly | dancer | 

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Taglines:

THEY'LL FLOOR YOU! (original print ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Musical | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 July 1942 (USA)

Also Known As:

Judy, espionne improvisée

Company Credits

Production Co:

Republic Pictures (I)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"The Screen Guild Theater" broadcast a 30 minute radio adaptation of the movie on February 5, 1945 with Judy Canova and Joe E. Brown reprising their film roles.

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Soundtracks

"Backwoods Barbecue"
Lyrics by Mort Greene
Music by Harry Revel

User Reviews

Strictly From The Piney Woods

It is still fascinating at just how much America's movie going public apparently wanted to believe that we were facing idiots during World War II. There can be no other explanation for Joan Of Ozark, especially coming out in early 1942 when major studios let alone B picture studios like Republic were rushing out with propaganda films of very dubious quality.

What's sad to me was that Joe E. Brown and Judy Canova were a good team with their popularity in the red states. It's too bad they didn't get better material.

Joan Of Ozark finds Judy in her hillbilly persona accidentally shooting down a carrier pigeon that is carrying secret coded messages from a Nazi spy headquarters in The Ozarks. Immediately she's proclaimed a national heroine, but in Berlin she's the deepest darkest kind of villain impeding the Nazi war machine. Orders straight from Himmler come to get Judy Canova and make her an example lest more John Q. Citizens interfere.

How to do it though? The head of the spy ring Jerome Cowan comes up with a brilliant idea. Cowan also doubles as a nightclub owner and he gets gullible agents Joe E. Brown and Eddie Foy, Jr., to stop trying to sell their client Anne Jeffreys and go to the Ozarks and fetch Judy as a club attraction, the better for the Nazis to get access.

Of course Joe and Judy in their guileless ways manage to foil the villains of course. You expected something else?

As an example of wartime propaganda of the worst kind you'd have to go some to find something worse than Joan Of Ozark. All the cast members do deserve some kind of commendation for managing to keep a straight face through all this drivel.