''I Dood It'' (UK title ''By Hook or by Crook'') is a 1943 American

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

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 ...

starring

Red Skelton Richard Red Skelton (July 18, 1913September 17, 1997) was an American entertainer best known for his national radio and television shows between 1937 and 1971, especially as host of the television program ''The Red Skelton Show''. He has stars ...

and

Eleanor Powell Eleanor Torrey Powell (November 21, 1912 – February 11, 1982) was an American dancer and actress. Best remembered for her tap dance numbers in musical films in the 1930s and 1940s, she was one of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's top dancing stars duri ...

, directed by

Vincente Minnelli Vincente Minnelli (born Lester Anthony Minnelli; February 28, 1903 – July 25, 1986) was an American stage director and film director. He directed the classic movie musicals ''Meet Me in St. Louis'' (1944), ''An American in Paris'' (1951), ''Th ...

, and released by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

. The screenplay is by

Fred Saidy Fred Saidy (February 11, 1907 – May 14, 1982) was an American playwright and screenwriter. Biography Born in Los Angeles, California, Saidy began his writing career in 1943 with the screenplay for the Red Skelton comedy '' I Dood It''. The ...

and

Sig Herzig Sig Herzig (July 25, 1897 – March 12, 1985) was an American screenwriter and playwright. Biography Born Siegfried Maurice Herzig in New York City, Herzig began his career as the director of the comedy short ''Husband and Strife'' (1922), ...

and the film features

Richard Ainley Richard Ainley (22 December 1910 – 18 May 1967) was a stage and film actor. He was born in Middlesex, England, the son of Henry Ainley and a half-brother of Anthony Ainley. Ainley made his stage debut in 1928, initially using the stage name ...

Patricia Dane Patricia Dane (born Thelma Patricia Pippins, August 4, 1917 – June 5, 1995) was an American film actress of the 1940s. Early life Dane was born Thelma Patricia Pippins to William Pippins and Emma F. Montford. Sources differ as to her bi ...

Lena Horne Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American dancer, actress, singer, and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years, appearing in film, television, and theatre. Horne joined the chorus of th ...

, and

Hazel Scott Hazel Dorothy Scott (June 11, 1920 – October 2, 1981) was a Trinidad-born American jazz and classical pianist and singer. She was an outspoken critic of racial discrimination and segregation. She used her influence to improve the representat ...

John Hodiak John Hodiak ( ; April 16, 1914 – October 19, 1955) was an American actor who worked in radio, stage and film. Early life Hodiak was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Anna (Pogorzelec) and Walter Hodiak. He was of Ukrainian and ...

plays a villain in this production, just his third movie role.

Jimmy Dorsey James Francis Dorsey (February 29, 1904 – June 12, 1957) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer and big band leader. He recorded and composed the jazz and pop standards "I'm Glad There Is You (In This World of Ordinary People ...

and his Orchestra provide musical interludes.

Cast

as Joseph Rivington Renolds *

as Constance Shaw *

as Larry West *

as Suretta Brenton *

Sam Levene Sam Levene (born Scholem Lewin; August 28, 1905 – December 28, 1980) was a Russian Empire-born American Broadway, film, radio, and television actor and director. In a career spanning over five decades, he appeared in over 50 comedy and dram ...

as Ed Jackson *

as Jimmy Dorsey *

Thurston Hall Ernest Thurston Hall (May 10, 1882 – February 20, 1958) was an American film, stage and television actor.Aylesworth, Thomas G. and Bowman, John S. (1987). ''The World Almanac Who's Who of Film''. World Almanac. . Pp. 186-187. Career Stag ...

as Kenneth Lawlor *

as Lena Horne *

as Hazel Scott *

as Roy Hartwood *

Butterfly McQueen Butterfly McQueen (born Thelma McQueen; January 8, 1911December 22, 1995) was an American actress. Originally a dancer, McQueen first appeared in films as "Prissy" in ''Gone with the Wind'' (1939). She was unable to attend the film's premiere be ...

as Annette *

Charles Judels Charles Judels (August 17, 1882 - February 14, 1969) was a Dutch-born American actor. Early years Judels was born on August 17, 1882, in Amsterdam as a third generation in a family of actors. His grandfather owned several theatres throughout th ...

as Stage Manager *

Lionel Braham Lionel Braham (April 1, 1879 – October 6, 1947) was a British actor. He appeared in the films ''Snow White'', '' Young Lochinvar'', ''I'll Show You the Town'', '' Skinner's Dress Suit'', ''Don Juan'', '' As You Like It'', '' Personal Property' ...

as Mr. Gillingham (uncredited)

Production

Powell's most notable performance in the film comes near the beginning when she executes a complex dance routine involving lariats and

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaquer ...

s. Powell, in her introduction to the book ''Gotta Sing, Gotta Dance'', recalled that she knocked herself unconscious while rehearsing a stunt for this sequence involving a rope and ultimately had to don a football helmet to protect herself. The final dance scene with Powell was taken from ''

Born to Dance ''Born to Dance'' is an American musical film starring Eleanor Powell and James Stewart, directed by Roy Del Ruth and released in 1936 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The score was composed by Cole Porter. Plot summary While on leave, sailor Ted Bar ...

'' (1936). Many of the physical gags were done by

Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent film work, in which his trademark was physical comedy accompanied by a stoic, deadpan expression ...

in the film ''

Spite Marriage ''Spite Marriage'' is a 1929 American silent comedy film co-directed by Buster Keaton and Edward Sedgwick and starring Keaton and Dorothy Sebastian. It is the second film Keaton made for MGM and his last silent film, although he had wanted it ...

'' (1929). Keaton had an uncredited role in writing gags for some of Skelton's early MGM films. Skelton and Powell had previously worked together in ''

Ship Ahoy ''Ship Ahoy'' is a 1942 American musical-comedy film directed by Edward Buzzell and starring Eleanor Powell and Red Skelton. It was produced by MGM. Background ''Ship Ahoy'' was the first of two films in which Powell and Skelton co-starred. It ...

'' (1942). In that film, they appeared with

Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-toned trombo ...

, Jimmy's brother. This was Powell's final starring role at MGM. After this, she would make a cameo appearance in ''

Thousands Cheer ''Thousands Cheer'' is a 1943 American musical comedy film directed by George Sidney and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Produced at the height of the Second World War, the film was intended as a morale booster for American troops and their fam ...

'', play a lead role in the

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...

film ''

Sensations of 1945 ''Sensations of 1945'' is a 1944 American musical-comedy film directed by Andrew Stone and starring Eleanor Powell. Released by United Artists, the film was an attempt to recapture the ensemble style of films such as ''Broadway Melody of 1936'' ...

'', and return to MGM for a cameo in ''

Duchess of Idaho Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...

'' (1950) before retiring from the screen for good. The rather ungrammatical title was from one of Red Skelton's radio

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

s of the day. In 1942

Jack Owens, The Cruising Crooner John Milton Owens (October 17, 1912, Tulsa, Oklahoma – January 26, 1982, Phoenix, Arizona), singer-songwriter, gifted pianist, and a star of the longest running network radio show, Don McNeil's Breakfast Club, was known as "The Cruising Croo ...

, wrote a song for Skelton based on it: "I Dood It! (If I Do, I Get a Whippin')", but that song does not appear in this film.

's theme song "Contrasts" appears in the film. He also performs the jazz and pop standard " Star Eyes" which he was the first to release. The film opens with the Jimmy Dorsey orchestra performing

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

's "

One O'Clock Jump "One O'Clock Jump" is a jazz standard, a 12-bar blues instrumental, written by Count Basie in 1937. Background The melody derived from band members' riffs—Basie rarely wrote down musical ideas, so Eddie Durham and Buster Smith helped him cry ...

". As the tempo and energy of the music increases several couples can be seen dancing in the confined space in front of their theater seats, and other fans leave their seats to stand in front of the band stage. Dance direction in the film was by

Bobby Connolly William Harold "Bobby" Connolly (July 4, 1897 – February 29, 1944) was an American choreographer and director, first for Broadway musicals and then for films. Connolly was nominated for four Academy Awards for Best Dance Direction, for his wo ...

, and the "Western Rope Dance," assisted by Bob Eberly and Jimmy Dorsey's Orchestra, is the second scene in the film.

Box office

According to MGM records the film earned $1,615,000 in the US and Canada and $542,000 elsewhere resulting in a profit of $319,000.

References

External links

* * * * {{Vincente Minnelli 1943 films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films American black-and-white films Films directed by Vincente Minnelli Films scored by Georgie Stoll 1943 musical comedy films 1943 romantic comedy films American musical comedy films American romantic comedy films 1940s romantic musical films American romantic musical films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films