Juke Girl (1942)

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Pretty Good

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Immediately when you see Ronald Reagan you know you've got a pretty "B" film comin. He was never gonna be an A-list actor wanted by the studios to do the stuff Gable or Cagney was doing. Ann Sheridan is in this but this a really minor effort.The story in this isn't bad but it's sorta...well...dumb. Basics are 2 guys come into a town that grows produce 9 months out of the year. We learn the only place you can sell your stuff is to 1 guy who short changes everyone to the point of almost poverty. Ronald Reagan steps in and...saves the day.There are good performances in this but all are by the supporting cast. Alan Hales is his typical self but shines like he always did. George Tobias plays the guy who gets screwed over for the last time with crop pricing. He plays a Greek fella and does it well. Ann Sheridan is her typical pretty self but is pretty generic.I think a lot of my rating is due to the title itself...Juke Girl. Ann Sheridan plays the Juke Girl but she's not even close to the focus of this film. It should have been called..."Big Bean Rip-Off." They gave this film the title to obviously cash in on her looks and fame at the time. It's sorta obvious.A fairly decent film. It reminded me a lot of Phenix City Story. Mainly the corruption part but isn't near as effective as that film. Just keep looking at Ann Sheridan and watch Ronald Reagan act himself to a hero's end.

People criticize Ronald Reagan's acting ability - granted, he never gained superstar status, and he was quite limited. However, for what he did, he could be very charming. He also always seemed relaxed in front of the camera.Reagan costars here with Ann Sheridan in 1942's "Juke Girl," sort of a weaker "Grapes of Wrath," with Gene Lockhart as an unscrupulous businessman who is cheating the local farmers by paying them low prices and making sure they can't sell anywhere else. Reagan and Richard Wharf, as Steve and Danny, are two drifters who arrive in a small town populated by farmers. There Steve meets and falls for Lola (Sheridan) who works in the local bar. As he endeavors to help a local farmer, Nick (George Tobias) who has fought with Madden (Lockhart) and has now seen his crops destroyed, Steve gets more than he bargained for. The result is murder.Entertaining Warner Brothers effort, perhaps not the most original plot you've ever seen, but you'll keep watching. Ann Sheridan was kind of a poor man's Rita Hayworth - the redhead had that been around the block presence, a low voice, and a toughness, all of which were appealing in any film in which she appeared. Gene Lockhart does a great job as a bully who underneath is terrified, and George Tobias is sympathetic as Nick Garcos, who wants to buck the system. Reagan comes off well as a determined young man who believes in doing the right thing.If you're a fan of Sheridan's or love the Warner's potboilers, this is worth seeing.

Surprisingly vigorous programmer showing why Warner Bros. was the blue-collar studio of record. Had the occasional goofy humor and contrived climax been improved this could have been a sleeper. Reagan is lively and likable as the quick thinking ex-farmer-- no wooden soldier here. Whorf and Sheridan are appropriately intense, helping to inject a gritty feel. Reagan's friendship with Whorf is more interesting than the predictable romance with Sheridan. Whorf, an opportunist, splits from his hoboing buddy by siding with the crooked wholesaler (Lockhart) because he sees a lucrative future with a powerful employer. Reagan, on the other hand, is an idealist, willing to risk his future to help the victimized farmer (Tobias). In my book, the dynamic between them makes up the movie's core because it often presents a real-life choice.A number of nice touches. The bar scenes are atmospheric and staffed beyond programmer expectation. In fact, the settings as a whole from the hobo jungle to the honky-tonk street show genuine care—note even the "Madden" labels in the background of Madden's (Lockhart's) office. I suspect that producer Hal Wallis, a leading Hollywood producer, had a lot to do with this level of detail for what amounts to a very unglamorous production. Note too how the wholesalers collude to cheat the farmers. I expect that resonated with audiences still recovering from the Great Depression. All in all, the movie's much better than its rather misleading title suggests. (In passing—note presence of voluptuous Faye Emerson {Murph} who later achieved New York celebrity by marrying one of the Roosevelt sons and scandalizing early TV with a series of plunging neckline guest-show appearances. Also, for uncompromisingly fierce look at trucking and wholesalers, catch noir classic Thieves' Highway {1949}).

It's funny how one's opinion of a film can change over time. I remember seeing and liking "Escape in the Desert" many years ago, perhaps in the 60s. When I saw it again recently I was really disappointed.Just the opposite is true of "Juke Girl," which my wife and I just watched this evening on TCM (March, 2009). I had seen the film quite a while back and didn't think much of it. This time, however, I found the film to be quite enjoyable; no prize winner, but interesting from several standpoints. Here are some quite thoughts: * The acting: As other reviewers have pointed out, it is quite good. The film features the Warner Brothers stock company that appeared in so many films in the late 30s and throughout the 40s. I refer to the likes of Alan Hale, George Tobias, Donald MacBride, etc. Ronald Reagan and Ann Sheridan are good in the leads.* Photography: I second the feeling of another reviewer who commented on the film's cinematography. That is especially true of the outdoor scenes, which make up a fair amount of the running time; so many movies from the same year were shot almost entirely on sound stages. It's nice to see what Southern California looked like in the early 1940s (I feel certain that somewhere such as the San Fernando Valley stood in for Florida.)* Politics: This story almost seems like a second tier version of the "Grapes of Wrath," with its mean, unscrupulous packing house owner and its poor but honest farmers and field workers. It's laid on a bit thick in my view, but it makes for an intriguing storyline.* One quibble regarding plot: When the mob storms the jail, the sheriff and his deputies, who have threatened to shoot, just stand there and allow themselves to be overcome. Well, I suspect that any self-respecting lawman and his men would have blasted away at that point in their own self-defense if nothing else. I have no doubt that some will, incorrectly, call this a B movie. Well, with Ann Sheridan as the top billed player, that is of course nonsense. It is indeed an A production, though a bit too predictable in terms of the plot to be considered first-rate. However, if you are a fan of 1940s style Warner Brothers melodramas (and I don't use that term pejoratively), you might indeed enjoy "Juke Girl."