LOOK WHO’S LAUGHING

US, 1941, 79 minutes, Black and white.
Edgar Bergen, Charlie Mc Carthy, Jim Jordan, Marian Jordan, Lucille Ball.
Directed by Alan Dwan.


The principal reason to watch this film is to see Edgar Bergen, the celebrated puppeteer, as well as his imposing puppet, definitely with his own personality, Charlie Mc Carthy. They do a number of routines, an opening one for an appreciative radio audience and one to entertain the folks in the town of Wistful Vista, and several interchanges and conversations with Charlie himself – with more than a touch of flirting.

The film is based on a radio a series, Fibber Magee and Molly, with the stars, husband and wife team, Jim and Marian Jordan.

There is a slight plot, Edgar Bergen infatuated with his secretary manager, played in typical fashion by Lucille Ball, but who is going to marry one of the assistants. Bergen and Charlie flying and having to the land in a town where a ruthless businessman wants to buy the airfield for development and has decided to use a friend , undercover, trying to sway opinion for the sale. In the meantime, there is a possibility that a plane manufacturing firm will come to the town, safe jobs, gift prosperity – and this is the interest of Magee and his wife, Magee being inventor, for example, of the ‘wife-saver’, a washing machine which, of course, goes bung with plates and crockery flying everywhere.

There are some complications, with Julie not looking forward to getting married, worried about Edgar, pleased that he turned up for the wedding, but his then realising that he left down the folks in Wistful Vista and together they all return – with a happy ending.

The veteran director from silent days and with small budget films next decades, Alan Dwan, produced and directed.