Juke Girl

source: Juke Girl

Moviecut—Juke Girl

Juke Girl

Some Classic actresses had a real flair for flippancy (Bette > Margo; Joan > Crystal; Rosalind > Sylvia). Not Ann Sheridan, even as her cult-film character Lorraine Sheldon (The-Man-Who-Came-To-Dinner) would suggest otherwise. Ann was neither a sex-symbol (nixed her Oomph tag) nor The-Girl-Next-Door, rather, she was a swell gal, pretty as a picture, tough as they come and loved by men and women alike, her spirited, War-time speak more reactive than brassy, free of the harshness that often characterized the determined dame. In Juke-Girl she plays dime-a-dance table-setter, Lola Mears, WB's version of 20CF's film telling of Steinbeck's tale about Grapes & greed, a tomatoes of wrath, as it were, or lycopene for the soul. Ann is joined by a starry cast that includes future President Ron Reagan as pro-labor advocate Steve Talbot, this role long before his real persona flipped to the other side, management (v. PATCO 81) (3/4).

"Juke Girl" is a film from "Warner Bros" which quickly faded into obscurity not long after its release in 1942. The leads, Ann Sheridan and Ronald Reagan were in a far better film that came out the same year, "King's Row." The plot is very confusing and it's hard to keep up with what is going on from one scene to the next. A good supporting cast is largely wasted and Alan Hale in particular, has nothing to do. A few punch up scenes and location photography can't compensate for a poor story. This is only for hardened fans of the old days of Hollywood.

A depression story that while it entertains fails in the long haul. A too good looking Ronald Reagan plays a Tom Joad character by the name of Steve Talbot. All he wants to do farm but the local boss Madden , played against type by Gene Lockhart, doesn't want to see the farmers organize and who is aided by Steve's best friend Danny, Richard Whorf, and Madden's top henchman Cully, Howard Da Silva. And of course there is Steve's love interest Lola, Ann Sheridan. What hurts the story are the good looks of the leads. These are not the worn out physically depleted characters seen in The Grapes of Wrath. This cast looks like they just stepped right out of the latest pages of a Hollywood Magazine or Vogue. Apparently staring in this picture had no impact on the young Ronald Reagan who as president had little to none of Steve Madden but lots of Henry Madden. I guess if nothing else this film proves Reagan a good actor who was able to read the lines not live them.

JUKE GIRL is a very pleasant and entertaining surprise. The main interest in that truckers farmers story is the constant tough and high energic rhythm with punchy dialogues, characters moving fast with lot of camera movements, and an exceptional casting. There are no weak characters, they are all tough, my favorite being Howard da Silva, Ann Sheridan, but the most surprising is Richard Whorf being especially frightening sometimes. Ronald Reagan is also charismatic with a cool attitude and fast gestures. The only negative point is some weird twists but the story moves so fast that you may forget them. Juke Girl is the second story by Bezzerides in the truck business after "They drive by night" and before "Thieve's highway".

" . . . no good!" doomed grower Nick warns Steve in this sobering offering from the always eponymous Warner Bros. The far-sighted prophetic prognosticators of Warner tap into the agricultural trauma of the 2020's, in which Corrupt Corporate Communist Capitalist Middlemen are robbing the planters blind, paying them less than the cost of production for crops and then cynically riling up public sentiment against them. Though JUKE GIRL may have cut through some of the Fat Cat One Per Centers' jive in the 1940's, Vigilante Justice is this film's main tip for our Modern 21st Century Tillers of the Land.

While similar in plot to _They Drive by Night (1940)_ (qv), Juke Girl stands on its own as an enjoyable movie, thanks primarily to its lead actors. As in their previous films together, _The Angels Wash Their Faces (1939)_ (qv) and _Kings Row (1942)_ (qv), Ronald Reagan (qv) and the wonderful Ann Sheridan (qv) make a nice film couple. Heck, in a perfect world Ann Sheridan would have been First Lady, but that's another story. Good acting, good characters, and a good story. Toss in a quick song by Miss Sheridan and you have the makings of a pretty good movie. Enjoy.