''Henry Aldrich, Boy Scout'' is a 1944 American
comedy film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...
directed by Hugh Bennett and written by Muriel Roy Bolton and
Agnes Christine Johnston
Agnes Christine Johnston was an American screenwriter who wrote for more than 80 films between 1915 and 1948.
Biography
Early life
Johnston was born in Swissvale, Pennsylvania, to John Johnston and Isabel McElhany. She attended the Horace Ma ...
. Ninth in a series of 11 films made between 1939 and 1944 about the
Aldrich family and their irrepressible teenage son, Henry, played by
Jimmy Lydon
James Joseph Lydon (May 30, 1923 – March 9, 2022) was an American actor and television producer whose career in the entertainment industry began as a teenager during the 1930s.
Early life
Lydon was born in Harrington Park, New Jersey on May 3 ...
, it also stars
Charles Smith,
John Litel
John Beach Litel (December 30, 1892 – February 3, 1972) was an American film and television actor.
Early life
Litel was born in Albany, Wisconsin. During World War I, he enlisted in the French Army and was twice decorated for bravery. Ba ...
,
Olive Blakeney
Olive Blakeney (August 21, 1894 October 21, 1959) was an American actress.
Early years
Blakeney was born in Kentucky and attended the Cincinnati School of Expression.
Career
Blakeney played as a super in visiting stage shows at $1 per perfor ...
, Joan Mortimer,
David Holt, and
Minor Watson. Released on January 13, 1944, by
Paramount Pictures, it was the first feature film to be made in cooperation with the
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded ...
, who provided a technical advisor to the studio.
Plot
Henry Aldrich (
Jimmy Lydon
James Joseph Lydon (May 30, 1923 – March 9, 2022) was an American actor and television producer whose career in the entertainment industry began as a teenager during the 1930s.
Early life
Lydon was born in Harrington Park, New Jersey on May 3 ...
), the
Senior Patrol Leader
A Scout leader or Scouter generally refers to the trained adult leader of a Scout unit. The terms used vary from country to country, over time, and with the type of unit.
Roles
There are many different roles a leader can fulfill depending on ...
of his Boy Scout troop, aspires to be promoted to Junior Assistant Scoutmaster to impress his budding love interest, Elise Towers.
Henry is anxious for his troop to excel at an upcoming
council camporee competition to earn the coveted promotion.
Meanwhile, Henry's father, Sam (
John Litel
John Beach Litel (December 30, 1892 – February 3, 1972) was an American film and television actor.
Early life
Litel was born in Albany, Wisconsin. During World War I, he enlisted in the French Army and was twice decorated for bravery. Ba ...
), invites Ramsey Kent (
Minor Watson), an old college chum and prosperous industrialist, to visit his town in hopes of convincing him to locate a new manufacturing plant there. En route to the Aldrich's house for dinner, Kent's car breaks down on a desolate road. Henry and his Boy Scout troop come to Kent's aid by giving the car a push.
Impressed by Henry's helpfulness, Kent decides that Scouting would be a good influence on his spoiled brat of a son, Peter (
Darryl Hickman
Darryl Gerard Hickman (born July 28, 1931) is an American former actor, screenwriter, television executive, and acting coach. He started his career as a child actor in the Golden Age of Hollywood and appeared in numerous TV serials as an adult. ...
).
Compelled to join Henry's troop, Peter initially scoffs at the other Scouts as a "bunch of
pantywaists" and antagonizes everyone by shirking his duties and playing a number of pranks to sabotage Henry's troop at the camporee.
He even feigns a sprained ankle while hiking, to get the other Scouts to carry him on an improvised stretcher. After he is challenged to a fistfight by a Scout he has taunted and is roughed up off-screen,
a reformed Peter strives to win acceptance by his fellows and help his troop win the competition. Having learned the meaning of
Scout's honor the hard way, he begins to appreciate Henry's standing up for him when no one else wanted him around.
Irwin Barrett (
David Holt), the unscrupulous Senior Patrol Leader of a rival troop, tampers with a competitor's compass to ensure his troop's victory in the camporee
orienteering event. When the malfunctioning compass causes a troop to become lost, Henry suspects that Peter is to blame, despite the young
Tenderfoot
Tenderfoot or The Tenderfoot may refer to:
* Tenderfoot Scout, the second rank in Scouts BSA
* A guest at a guest ranch, also known as a "dude"
* "Tenderfoot", a song by Tom Morgan on the Lemonheads album '' Car Button Cloth''
* ''The Tenderfoot' ...
's denials. Even when Peter solemnly declares his innocence of the nefarious deed "on Scout's Honor", Henry retorts angrily, "What would you know of Scout's Honor?".
Distraught that Henry disbelieves him, Peter runs away that night and stumbles over a cliff in the dark, landing precariously on a narrow ledge. He is eventually located by a
search party of Scouts and leaders led by Henry and Dizzy Stevens (
Charles Smith). Henry is lowered by a rope into the deep chasm to rescue Peter and both boys are pulled to safety after a tense struggle.
Irwin, realizing that his deceitful actions almost cost Peter his life, confesses that he is to blame and is "unworthy to be a Scout".
At the conclusion of the camporee, Henry's victorious troop marches in review as his beaming parents look on and Elise blows him a kiss.
This picture had the official support of the BSA, which supplied a technical advisor to Paramount Pictures during filming for accurate depiction of Scouting details and uniforming. In the camporee scenes, actual Boy Scouts from the Los Angeles area were used.
Cast
*
Jimmy Lydon
James Joseph Lydon (May 30, 1923 – March 9, 2022) was an American actor and television producer whose career in the entertainment industry began as a teenager during the 1930s.
Early life
Lydon was born in Harrington Park, New Jersey on May 3 ...
as Henry Aldrich
*
Charles Smith as Dizzy Stevens
*
John Litel
John Beach Litel (December 30, 1892 – February 3, 1972) was an American film and television actor.
Early life
Litel was born in Albany, Wisconsin. During World War I, he enlisted in the French Army and was twice decorated for bravery. Ba ...
as Sam Aldrich
*
Olive Blakeney
Olive Blakeney (August 21, 1894 October 21, 1959) was an American actress.
Early years
Blakeney was born in Kentucky and attended the Cincinnati School of Expression.
Career
Blakeney played as a super in visiting stage shows at $1 per perfor ...
as Mrs. Aldrich
*Joan Mortimer as Elise Towers
*
Minor Watson as Ramsey Kent
*
Darryl Hickman
Darryl Gerard Hickman (born July 28, 1931) is an American former actor, screenwriter, television executive, and acting coach. He started his career as a child actor in the Golden Age of Hollywood and appeared in numerous TV serials as an adult. ...
as Peter Kent
*Ralph Hoopes as David Carter
*
David Holt as Irwin Barrett
Critical response
Jane Corby of the ''
Brooklyn Eagle'' wrote that the film, although primarily a comedy in common with the preceding eight Henry Aldrich films, also had a serious message by stressing Scouting's high principles and code of honor.
The Louisville, Kentucky, ''
Courier-Journal
''The Courier-Journal'',
also known as the
''Louisville Courier Journal''
(and informally ''The C-J'' or ''The Courier''),
is the highest circulation newspaper in Kentucky. It is owned by Gannett and billed as "Part of the ''USA Today'' Net ...
'' said the film provided "welcome relief" from the "
Dead End Kids
The Dead End Kids were a group of young actors from New York City who appeared in Sidney Kingsley's Broadway play '' Dead End'' in 1935. In 1937, producer Samuel Goldwyn brought all of them to Hollywood and turned the play into a film. They prov ...
"-type film portraying hoodlums and juvenile delinquents, calling it a "story of young ideals" and "fair play".
The ''
Altoona Tribune
The ''Altoona Tribune'' was a daily newspaper in Blair County, Pennsylvania. It was in operation from 1856 to 1957.
History
It was launched on January 1, 1856, by Ephraim B. McCrum and William M. Allison, with equipment purchased from the defun ...
'' gave the film high marks, saying the film is for "moviegoers who enjoy a good laugh" and calling it the best of the Aldrich series, while singling out the perilous rescue scene as "one of the most thrilling rescues ever filmed"
See also
*
Boy Scouts in films
References
External links
*
{{Henry Aldrich
1944 comedy films
1944 films
American black-and-white films
American comedy films
Films about the Boy Scouts of America
Paramount Pictures films
The Aldrich Family films
1940s English-language films
Films directed by Hugh Bennett
1940s American films