Starring Ferlin Husky, Joi Lansing, Don Bowman, and John Carradine
Directed by Jean Yarbrough
Music and Lyrics by Merle Haggard and others
Teenagers weren't the only audiences targeted by independent studios in the 1960's. B movie makers also created films for drive-in theaters in small towns and rural areas. They weren't the only ones handling that market, either. Sitcoms made for rural audiences flourished in the 60's. The Beverly Hillbillies ran for 9 years on CBS, Petticoat Junction ran for 7 years, and The Andy Griffith Show went 8 years. These goofy, folksy shows clearly had a market. Country music also held popularity in these years, even as rock and folk began to dominate the airwaves. How did one company manage to blend country musicals, rural comedy, and another genre that was big in the mid-60's, the James Bond-esque spy caper, into the story of three country singers who run afoul of spies in an old house? Let's start on the road, as three country performers sing about the show in Nashville they're heading to, and find out...
The Story: Woody Weatherby (Husky), Boots Malone (Lansing), and Jeepers (Bowman) are on their way to a show in Nashville when they're caught in a shootout between local authorities and spies. They take refuge in an old house nearby. It soon becomes apparent that not only is the house haunted, but it's run by another group of spies...and they don't take kindly to intruders! The trio have to rescue Boots and dodge the gorilla one spy (Lon Chaney Jr.) keeps in the basement.
The Song and Dance: If you're a country fan, you may enjoy some of the music, including an early appearance by Merle Haggard. We also get some of the last film appearances of Basil Rathbone and Lon Chaney Jr. as members of the spy ring, along with John Carradine having fun chewing the scenery as the demented mad scientist. Chaney even gets a few surprisingly dark moments for a B-musical when shoots the traitorous government agent.
Favorite Number: We open on the road with Lansing, Husky, and Bowman singing about how they're on their way to "Jamboree Time." Husky sings about how they're "Living In a Trance" after they arrive. Sonny James and His Southern Gentlemen randomly turn up to sing "The Cat Came Back" and "The Minute You're Gone." Lansing dreams of "Gowns" when she sees a gorgeously appointed room full of antiques in the mansion and wonders what it would have been like to live then. Husky switches on the TV in time to hear Haggard perform "Someone Told My Story" and Jim Kent talking about those "Tell Me Shoes."
The last ten or so minutes of the film is devoted to that Nashville Jamboree they were so desperate to get to. Marcella Wright admits "Now We're Strangers." Haggard returns with "Swinging Doors," while Molly Bee wonders about that "Heartbreak U.S.A." Husky wonders about "The Bridge I've Never Crossed," while Lansing contemplates her "Part-Time Lover" and Bowman finishes with "Wrong House."
Trivia: The second movie in this series after The Las Vegas Hillbillys. Mamie Van Doren played Boots Malone there.
Rifftrax did a version of this a few years ago.
The last of many times Chaney Jr. and Carradine appeared together.
Final film of director Jean Yarbrough.
What I Don't Like: Yeah, it's pretty obvious this is a B country musical. None of the leads can act. Other than the opening "Jamboree Time" on the road and Lansing's "Gowns" dream sequence, the music is shoehorned awkwardly into the plot. In fact, the plot devolves into a series of country acts by the end. All those great character actors are wasted in thankless comic spy roles, and Linda Ho as the Dragon Lady doesn't have much to do. The cardboard sets and horribly cheese dialogue belies the film's low budget. And how do they manage to react to suddenly seeing spies and cops killing each other in the middle of nowhere with total indifference?
The Big Finale: This one is for country music fans, major fans of the character actors involved, or those who are like Rifftrax and prefer their musicals on the cheesy side.
Home Media: Both the Rifftrax and original version can be easily found streaming for free. The original is on DVD as well.
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