Daring Young Man
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''Daring Young Man'' is a 1942 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 Frank R. Strayer, which stars
Joe E. Brown Joseph Evans Brown (July 28, 1891 – July 6, 1973) was an American actor and comedian, remembered for his friendly screen persona, comic timing, and enormous elastic-mouth smile. He was one of the most popular American comedians in the 19 ...
, Marguerite Chapman, and William Wright. Brown plays the dual roles of a failure turned champion bowler, Jonathan Peckinpaw, and his own grandmother. The original screenplay was written by
Karen DeWolf Karen DeWolf (1904–1989), sometimes known as Gypsy Wells, was an American screenwriter and novelist credited on over 50 films during her 20+ years in Hollywood. She's best known for her work on Columbia's ''Blondie'' films, in addition to movi ...
and
Connie Lee Connie Lee (born 1918) was an American screenwriter and songwriter known for her work on the Blondie films, as well as a number of B-Westerns (one of few women working in the genre at the time). Biography Lee came out of the Tin Pan Alley sch ...
. The supporting cast features
Claire Dodd Claire Dodd (born Dorothy Arlene Dodd; December 29, 1911 – November 23, 1973) was an American film actress. Life and work Dorothy Arlene Dodd was born on December 29, 1911, in Baxter, Iowa, to Walter Willard Dodd, a farmer whose family ...
, Lloyd Bridges, and a
cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly eit ...
by Arthur Lake as
Dagwood Bumstead Dagwood Bumstead is a main fictional character, character in cartoonist Chic Young's long-running comic strip ''Blondie (comic strip), Blondie''. He debuted in the first strip on September 8, 1930. He was originally heir to the Bumstead Locomotive ...
.


Plot

Jonathan Peckinpaw is a struggling proprietor of an air conditioning store. When his store is destroyed by an explosion in the shop next door, set off by Nazi spies, his failure is complete. He attempts to enlist in the Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Corps. Due to his lack of physical stature, he is refused by each service. His friend, the newspaper reporter Ann Minter, attempts to help him build up his physique by taking up bowling. However, he is terrible at it. Peckinpaw's grandmother is a die-hard gambler, and introduces her grandson to Sam Long, another gambler. Unbeknownst to everyone, Long has developed a sure fire way to cheat at bowling: a radio-controlled bowling ball. He claims to be able to teach Peckinpaw how to bowl in an incredibly short period of time. Using the radio-controlled ball, Peckinpaw becomes an overnight bowling phenomenon, and Long cleans up on the gambling activity betting against him. The Nazi spies, Hans Mueller, Karl Rankin, and Marlene Frederick, who blew up the building next to Peckinpaw's store, are attempting to signal their counterparts offshore. However, something is interfering with their short wave signals. They discover that the interference is coming from the radio signals Long uses to control the bowling ball. They befriend Long and Peckinpaw, and utilize Long's radio to send coded messages to their comrades. The FBI tracks down the signals to the bowling alley, and attempt to capture the spies. In the confusion, the spies escape, but the radio-controlled ball is revealed. The FBI rushes off after the spies, and Long quietly slips away, leaving Peckinpaw alone to deal with a hostile crowd upset over the cheating scam. They attack him and send him to the hospital. Minter visits him in the hospital, and despises him for the cheating scam. However, Peckinpaw convinces her that he knew nothing about the radio-controlled ball, and simply thought he was bowling well. Minter eventually believes him, and helps him escape from the hospital. He knows where the spies are hiding out, and gets them to chase him, leading them directly into the custody of the FBI. Right after the spies are arrested Peckinpaw receives his orders from the War Department, requesting that he report for duty.


Cast list

*
Joe E. Brown Joseph Evans Brown (July 28, 1891 – July 6, 1973) was an American actor and comedian, remembered for his friendly screen persona, comic timing, and enormous elastic-mouth smile. He was one of the most popular American comedians in the 19 ...
as Jonathan Peckinpaw/Grandma * Marguerite Chapman as Ann Minter * William Wright as Sam Long * Roger Clark as Ted Johnson *
Claire Dodd Claire Dodd (born Dorothy Arlene Dodd; December 29, 1911 – November 23, 1973) was an American film actress. Life and work Dorothy Arlene Dodd was born on December 29, 1911, in Baxter, Iowa, to Walter Willard Dodd, a farmer whose family ...
as Marlene Frederick * Lloyd Bridges as Hans Mueller *
Don Douglas Donald Douglas (born Douglas William Kinleyside, 24 August 1905 – 31 December 1945) was a Scottish actor in the United States who performed in films, on the stage and in radio. Background He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, 24 August 1 ...
as Karl Rankin *
Frank Sully Francis Thomas Sullivan (June 17, 1908 December 17, 1975), known professionally as Frank Sully, was an American film actor. He appeared in over 240 films between 1934 and 1968. Today's audiences know him best as the dumb detective in the ''Bost ...
as Luke * Eddie Laughton as Fogarty *
Robert Emmett Keane Robert Emmett Keane (March 4, 1883 – July 2, 1981) was an American actor of both the stage and screen. Biography Keane began on stage in the 1910s, his first Broadway appearance being in the production of '' The Passing Show of 1914''. He co ...
as Bowling alley manager) * Robert Middlemass as Drummond * Ben Carter as Pinky * William Forrest as Bill White * Charles Wagenheim as Fritz * Arthur Lake as Dagwood Bumstead (cameo appearance)


Production

The picture was originally titled ''Brownie'', and production was announced in the beginning of June, naming Joe E. Brown as the star and Frank Strayer as the director. By the end of June Marguerite Chapman was announced as the female lead in the film, and the title was changed to ''Daring Young Man''. Filming on the picture took place from June 24 - July 24, 1942. Shortly after filming began, it was revealed that Claire Dodd had joined the cast, and Robert Sparks was producing. Eddie Laughton was added to the cast in early July, as the stooge to Brown's character. Laughton had made a name for himself as a mime in vaudeville, and so had never uttered a word on stage. During the filming of ''Daring Young Man'' although he appeared in 85 scenes, he once again never had a word to utter in public. The production ran into difficulty using local bowling alleys to film in, as they were kept busy by off-duty defense workers. To alleviate the problem, the studio built its own bowling alley for the production. By the end of August it was announced that the cast included Joe E. Brown, Marguerite Chapman, Roger Clark, William Wright, Don Douglas, Claire Dodd, Lloyd Bridges, William Forrest, Eddie Laughton, Frank Sully, Ben Carter, and Robert Middlemass. The crew of Strayer as director, Sparks as producer,
Abby Berlin Abby Berlin (August 7, 1907 — August 16, 1965) was best known as a director of feature films and television productions. He began on Broadway and Vaudeville as part of a comedy team with Ken Brown in the 1920s. By 1939, he had moved to Hollywoo ...
as assistant director, Planer as cinematographer, Clark as editor, and Lodge Cunningham in charge of sound was also announced. On September 19 the release date was announced as October 8, The picture was released on that date. The
Legion of Decency The National Legion of Decency, also known as the Catholic Legion of Decency, was a Catholic group founded in 1934 by Archbishop of Cincinnati, John T. McNicholas, as an organization dedicated to identifying objectionable content in motion pictu ...
gave the film an "A-1" rating, meaning that it was suitable for all audiences.


Reception

''
Harrison's Reports ''Harrison's Reports'' was a New York City-based motion picture trade journal published weekly from 1919 to 1962. The typical issue was four letter-size pages sent to subscribers under a second-class mail permit. Its founder, editor and publisher ...
'' gave the film a good review, especially complimenting the performance of Joe E. Brown. They felt that while the film was "silly", it was very funny. The '' Motion Picture Herald'' did not like the film as much as Harrison's, feeling that only fans of Joe E. Brown would enjoy it. They felt the comedy routines were hackneyed, although they felt that the direction got as much out of the script and actors as it could.


References


External links

* * * {{Frank R. Strayer Columbia Pictures films 1942 comedy films 1942 films American comedy films American black-and-white films Films scored by John Leipold 1940s American films