People Are Funny (1946)
Director:
Sam White
Writers:
Maxwell Shane (screenplay), David Lang (screenplay), Dorcas Cochran, John Guedel
Stars:
Jack Haley, Helen Walker, Rudy Vallee, Ozzie Nelson, Phillip Reed, Bob Graham, The Vagabonds, Art Linkletter, Frances Langford
Art Linkletter had only recently taken over the popular audience-participation radio series People are Funny from Art Baker when he appeared as "himself" in this lighthearted musical comedy. The film's plot concerns a rivalry between two radio producers, both of whom want to produce a weekly radio series in which audience members indulge in silly stunts for huge cash prizes. A romance develops between supposedly slow-on-the-uptake radio producer Pinky Wilson (Jack Haley) and writer Corey Sullivan (Helen Walker), while wealthy sponsor Ormsby Jamison (Rudy Vallee) tries to determine if People are Funny is a saleable concept. Ozzie Nelson costars as Wilson's business rival, Frances Langford shows up for a song, and future 3 Stooges member Joe DeRita has a funny bit as a contestant.