''Wildcat'' is a 1942 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by Frank McDonald and written by Richard Murphy and

Maxwell Shane Maxwell Shane (August 26, 1905 – October 25, 1983) was an American movie and television director, screenwriter, and producer. Biography Before embarking in a career in show business, Shane studied law at USC and UCLA law schools. He later b ...

. The film stars

Richard Arlen Richard Arlen (born Sylvanus Richard Mattimore, September 1, 1899 – March 28, 1976) was an American actor of film and television. Biography Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Arlen attended the University of Pennsylvania. He served in Canada as a ...

Arline Judge Margaret Arline Judge (February 21, 1912 – February 7, 1974) was an American actress singer who worked mostly in low-budget B movies, but gained some fame for habitually marrying. Early years Arline Judge was born in Bridgeport, Connecti ...

William Frawley William Clement Frawley (February 26, 1887 – March 3, 1966) was an American vaudevillian and actor best remembered for playing landlord Fred Mertz in the American television sitcom ''I Love Lucy'', "Bub" O'Casey in the television comedy series ...

Buster Crabbe Clarence Linden Crabbe II (; February 7, 1908 – April 23, 1983), known professionally as Buster Crabbe, was an American two-time Olympic swimmer and film and television actor. He won the 1932 Olympic gold medal for 400-meter freestyle swimmi ...

Arthur Hunnicutt Arthur Lee Hunnicutt (February 17, 1910 – September 26, 1979) was an American actor known for his portrayal of wise, grizzled, and old rural characters. He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in ...

, Elisha Cook, Jr. and

Ralph Sanford Ralph Dayton Sanford (May 21, 1899 – June 20, 1963) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 180 films and in at least 200 episodes on television between 1930 and 1960, mostly bit parts or supporting roles. Sanford frequently ...

. The film was released on September 3, 1942, by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

Plot

Oil man Johnny Maverick dubs a young hitchhiker "Chicopee" after the name of his hometown, then makes him a full partner, digging for oil. Chicopee is killed in a rig accident, however, and rival Mike Rawlins then sabotages the rig. Things get worse for Johnny when con artists Nan and Oliver turn up. She pretends to be Chicopee's sister, so Johnny gullibly gives her the half-interest in his oil rig. Rawlins buys up Johnny's outstanding debts and intends to take over. In an act of desperation, Johnny uses nitroglycerine to blast open an oil well, resulting in a gusher. An explosion ends up knocking Rawlins unconscious and pinning Johnny beneath the wreckage, but Nan, having fallen in love with Johnny, comes to his rescue.

Cast

as Johnny Maverick *

as Nan Deering *

as Oliver Westbrook *

as Mike Rawlins *

as 'Watchfob' Jones * Elisha Cook, Jr. as Harold 'Chicopee' Nevins *

as 'Grits' O'Malley *

Alec Craig Alexander Younger Craig (30 March 1884 – 25 June 1945) was a Scottish-born American character actor, particularly known for his roles in ''Mutiny on the Bounty'' (1935) and ''National Velvet'' (1944). He was particularly known for portraying ...

as Joseph D. Campbell *

John Dilson John Dilson (February 18, 1891 – June 1, 1944) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 250 films between 1934 and 1944. Selected filmography * ''A Man's Game'' (1934) * '' The Westerner'' (1934) * '' The Girl Who Came Back'' ...

as Gus Sloane * Will Wright as John 'Paw' Smithers *Jessica Newcombe as Martha 'Maw' Smithers *

William Benedict William Benedict (April 16, 1917 – November 25, 1999), was an American actor, perhaps best known for playing "Whitey" in Monogram Pictures' The Bowery Boys series. Early years Benedict was born in Haskell, Oklahoma, After his father's dea ...

as Bud Smithers

Production

The film was based on a story by North Bigbee, a journalist who had worked in the oil industry, which was purchased by

Pine-Thomas Productions Pine-Thomas Productions was a prolific B-picture unit of Paramount Pictures from 1940–1957, producing 81 films. Co-producers William H. Pine (February 15, 1896 – April 29, 1955) and William C. Thomas (August 11, 1903 – April 2, 1984) were kno ...

. They assigned it to star Richard Arlen, after he did ''

Torpedo Boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of se ...

'' for the studio. Pine-Thomas wanted a "

Jean Harlow Jean Harlow (born Harlean Harlow Carpenter; March 3, 1911 – June 7, 1937) was an American actress. Known for her portrayal of "bad girl" characters, she was the leading sex symbol of the early 1930s and one of the defining figures of the ...

type" for the female lead and even tested Harlow's stand in.

Jean Wallace Jean Wallace (born Jean Walasek or Wallasek; October 12, 1923 – February 14, 1990) was an American television and film actress. Early life Wallace was born in Chicago, Illinois to John T. Walaszek and Mary A. Walaszek (''née'' Sharkey). ...

was originally announced for the role but did not appear in the final movie. She was replaced by

who signed a three picture deal with Pine-Thomas. The film reportedly had Pine-Thomas' biggest budget yet to date.Jessie Matthews Will Sparkle Here at Last Schallert, Edwin. Los Angeles Times 8 Dec 1941: A11.

References

External links

*
''Wildcat''
at

TCMDB Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of Atl ...

Review
at ''Variety''
Complete film
at

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

1942 films 1940s English-language films American drama films 1942 drama films Paramount Pictures films Films directed by Frank McDonald Films scored by Freddie Rich American black-and-white films 1940s American films {{1940s-drama-film-stub