Jeepers Creepers (1939 live-action film)

Jeepers Creepers is a 1939 American musical comedy starring Roy Rogers, with the popular hillbilly comedy troupe the Weaver Brothers and Elviry. Rogers plays a Sheriff in a town where a rich industrialist cheats a poor family out of their land when coal is discovered there.[1]

Jeepers Creepers
Directed byFrank Mcdonald
Produced byArmand Schaefer
Written byDorrell McGowan
Stuart E. McGowan
StarringRoy Rogers
Music byJames Wessel
CinematographyErnest Miller
Edited byErnest J. Nims
Distributed byRepublic Pictures
Release date
October 27, 1939
Running time
69 Minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The unusual title refers to the 1938 song "Jeepers Creepers" by Harry Warren and Jerry Mercer, which Rogers and the cast sing during the film.[1] The film also features "Little Brown Jug", "In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree", "Listen to the Mocking Bird", and "In the Good Old Summer Time".[2]

Plot

Wealthy industrialist M. K. Durant (Thurston Hall) discovers a rich vein of coal on the Pineville property owned by the Weavers. When the family refuses to sell their property to him, he discovers the Weavers owe back taxes. Durant pays them, takes possession of their land and begins mining. Sheriff Roy and the rest of Pineville's citizens come up with a plan to drive Durant and his miners away. The miners retaliate by starting a forest fire. Durant is trapped under his car when it overturns in the path of the fire. After he is saved by the sheriff and the townspeople, Durant relents; he stops his mining operations and returns the land to the Weavers. Durant's daughter, Connie (Maris Wrixon), and Sheriff Roy have also fallen in love to make this a very happy ending.[3][4][5][6]

Cast
photo from film
photo from film

Reception

Showmen's Trade Review wrote, "For the great masses of American theatergoers, Jeepers Creepers should provide thoroughly enjoyable entertainment. It's loaded with hokum [...] making the film as a whole anything but a critic's delight; but as far as the average family is concerned, it's solid homespun comedy-drama right down their alley."[7] The Film Daily agreed, stating that "This picture will probably be all right for the backwoods nabes, but for city and suburban houses it does not measure up as interesting screenfare. The story is tried and true, but bewhiskered to its knees and without any unusual or novel twists."[8] Additionally, The New York Daily News found the film "too wobbly to stand alone, in this section of the country anyway [...] This Republic story about a rugged individualist taking advantage of the poor mountaineers has long gray whiskers down to here."[9]

References
  1. Hischak, Thomas S. (2017). 1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 270. ISBN 9781442278059. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  2. White, Raymond E. (2005). King of the Cowboys, Queen of the West: Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. University of Wisconsin Press. p. 126. ISBN 9780299210045.
  3. "Reviews of the New Films". The Film Daily. 76 (86): 6. November 1, 1939. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  4. "The Box Office Slant". Showmen's Trade Review. 31 (15): 13–15. November 4, 1939. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  5. "Showmen's Reviews". Motion Picture Herald: 46. November 4, 1939. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  6. "Review Flashes". Boxoffice: 34-B. October 28, 1939. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  7. "The Box Office Slant". Showmen's Trade Review. 31 (15): 13–15. November 4, 1939. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  8. "Reviews of the New Films". The Film Daily. 76 (86): 6. November 1, 1939. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  9. Hale, Wanda (December 22, 1939). "'Jeepers Creepers' Hillbilly Musical". New York Daily News. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
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