Wednesday, May 7 @ 7:30 PM / NEIU — The Auditorium at NEIU — 3701 W Bryn Mawr Ave
Tickets: $10 at the door
CORN’S-A-POPPIN’
Directed by Robert Woodburn • 1955
“Who says there are no more frontiers?” asked Boxoffice in a 1954 dispatch from Kansas City. “A group of hardy young people are pioneering in feature production … and loving it.” It sounded like the plot of Summer Stock or innumerable Judy Garland/Mickey Rooney musicals about puttin’ on a show in the old barn, but Boxoffice was writing about a real movie. Independently produced and financed, Corn’s-A-Poppin’ was pitched as a showcase for local musical talent and an unpretentious slice of clean entertainment for the whole family. It helped that the producer’s brother was chairman of The Popcorn Institute, a local trade group formed to promote snacks and snack accessories, effectively making Corn’s-A-Poppin‘ a feature-length sponsored film about the wonders of the food and beverage industry. In a twist, the film is a cautionary tale about the dangers of selling out to predatory sponsors. Down-home crooner Jerry Wallace plays Johnny Wilson, the host of the Pinwhistle Popcorn Hour, a TV variety show with acts ranging from Hobie Shepp and the Cowtown Wranglers to pro hog caller Lillian Gravelguard. Is Lilian’s act an attempt at sabotage orchestrated by rogue PR man Waldo Crummit in a bid to gut the Pinwhistle Empire? It’s up to Johnny’s sister Susie (Little Cora Rice) to save the day. Alas, this infectiously entertaining western swing musical did not find an audience, playing only a handful of small-town cinemas and drive-ins, often on the same bill with live acts that made Lillian Gravelguard look like Liberace. The film was dismissed and forgotten, not least by the people who made it, including up-and-coming local screenwriter Robert Altman. Largely an unseen footnote until Chicago Film Society selected the film as its first-ever photochemical restoration project in 2013, Corn’s-A-Poppin‘ is now well on its way to achieving its long-deserved cult status and will undoubtedly leave you hooting, hollering, and singing along with “On Our Way to Mars.” Restored by Chicago Film Society with funding from the National Film Preservation Foundation. Additional material courtesy of the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theatre Research. (KW)
58 min • Crest Productions, Inc. • 35mm
Preceded by: CFS Fun Pack – 16 min – 35mm
NEXT UP: THE BAND WAGON on Wednesday, May 14 at NEIU