HOME IN INDIANA

Lon McCallister and Jeanne Crain

HOME IN INDIANA (1944). Director: Henry Hathaway. 

"If you'd been a boy we'd have been the greatest pals!" 

Orphaned "Sparke" Thornton (Lon McCallister), who got into some unspecified trouble in the big city, comes to live on his aunt and uncle's farm in Indiana. His first impulse is to run out the back door but then he discovers there's a stables and track -- and two pretty girls -- next door. His Uncle "Thunder" Bolt (Walter Brennan) himself has only one old and blind filly left, but Sparke contrives to secretly mate this animal with the neighbor's prize stallion, resulting in a possibly champion racing horse. It isn't long before Sparke, with the help of Thunder, "Char" (Jeanne Crain) and the more glamorous "Cri-Cri" (June Haver) -- not to mention stable boy Mo' (Willie Best) and employee Tuppy (George Reed) -- is off to the races! 

Charlotte Greenwood with McCallister

The performances -- by those named as well as a wonderful Charlotte  Greenwood as Aunt Penny -- greatly help put over this somewhat entertaining but unriveting horse drama. It seems Lon McCallister was too often teamed up with horses (The Boy from Indiana) and mules (Scudda Hoo!, Scudda Hey!, which reteamed him with Haver and Brennan) as often as he was with the ladies. He's earnest and appealing in that "gosh oh golly" way of his. He, Haver and Crain, although all three had had bit parts in previous films, were "introduced" in this movie.  McCallister plays very well with both Crain and Haver, although his switching his affections from one to the other occurs rather abruptly and without any real explanation. The girls' fathers are played by Ward Bond and Charles Dingle. Remade as April Love with Pat Boone.

Verdict: Horse lovers will get more of a kick out of this. **1/2. 

SCUDDA HOO! SCUDDA HAY!

Walter Brennan, June Haver, Lon McCallister

SCUDDA HOO! SCHUDDA HAY!  (1948). Written and directed by F. Hugh Herbert. 

"Snug" (Lon McCallister) lives with his father, Milt (Henry Hull), termagant stepmother (Anne Revere), and nasty stepbrother, "Stretch" (Robert Karnes) on a farm. Fed up with his horrible wife, Milt goes back to sea while Snug goes to work for the dyspeptic farmer McGill (Tom Tully). McGill has two daughters: the adorable little "Bean" (Natalie Wood), and the older, curvaceous "Rad" (June Haver). Snug makes a deal with McGill for two mules that the farmer doesn't want, and with the help of old Tony (Walter Brennan), turns the mules into a team that will bring in good money. But McGill and Stretch cook up a nasty scheme to get the mules back -- or will they? 

Is that June -- or Marilyn?

I had heard of this oddly-tilted movie -- the title is actually a kind of mule call -- for decades, but never had that much desire to see it until I discovered the "adorable one" -- Marilyn Monroe -- was in the cast. Alas, her part was cut down so drastically that I couldn't even spot her until I checked again and saw her say hello to June Haver while coming out of church. And that's it! The poster tries to make the flick look as sexy and exciting as possible, and wouldn't you know that June Haver actually looks a lot like Marilyn Monroe in the ad! As for the film itself, it does have some good moments (the two step brothers have a rip-roaring fight; Rad tells off her father) and even a bit of suspense at the end as our hero sort of "bets the farm" on whether or not his mules can pull a tractor out of the mud, but other than that it gets a little tedious. As ever June Haver is bland, pretty, and professional, while Lon McCallister is a combination of charm and petulance. At times Snug hardly seems much nicer than Stretch. Brennan and the rest of the supporting cast are all terrific, and Natalie Wood nearly steals the movie in her very cute turn as the precocious and intelligent Bean. Geraldine Wall subdues her usual feistiness as McGill's wife but is good. Lee MacGregor has a nice scene when he comes to tell Rad that Snug's father died at sea. 

Lon McCallister was an appealing actor who was often cast in these kind of roles. He was the boyfriend of actor William Eythe, who co-starred with Tallulah Bankhead in A Royal Scandal. In this film you will learn that mules are a combination of horses and donkeys but are actually more intelligent than either -- yes, it's true!

Verdict: Way too much about mules! **1/4. 

THE BOY FROM INDIANA

Lon McCallister

THE BOY FROM INDIANA (1950). Director: John Rawlins.

Lon Decker (Lon McCallister) is a young man without a family who runs into an old reprobate named MacDougal (George Cleveland of Haunted House). The old scoundrel convinces Lon to become a jockey and ride MacDougal's horse, Jo Jo, in a race. Lon has no idea that MacDougal drugs horses and the like, nor that Jo Jo is actually a famous horse named Texas Dandy; eventually the two men develop a father-son relationship. Lon meets Betty (Lois Richards) who argues that quarter horses can become winning race horses just as much as thoroughbreds -- maybe Jo Jo can compete against the big boys?  Trouble ensues when Jo Jo is gored by a berserk bull (in an exciting and cinematic sequence) and also when Lon realizes how utterly larcenous his "Pa" can be. Nevertheless, Lon is determined to race Jo Jo, providing the horse's injuries can heal in time.

Lon McCallister and Lois Riuchards

The Boy from Indiana benefits from good performances from the charming, boyish McCallister and  a peppery Cleveland, with sweet Lois Richards and an equally peppery Billie Burke [Dinner at Eight] -- as MacDougal's nemesis Zelda Bagley -- thrown in for good measure. McCallister was a handsome and likable performer who appeared in a lot of "outdoors" movies and family films. Lois Butler had only a few credits, and appeared in just three films. On the other hand, Cleveland had nearly 200 credits over a very, very long career. The Boy from Indiana has some limited charm and several likable players. John Rawlins also directed Young Fugitives as well as a number of serials.

Verdict: Amiable movie for horse lovers and racing enthusiasts. **1/2.