Screen-version of George Agnew Chamberlain's book concerns determined farm boy in rural small town America training two prize-winning mules to drive; pretty soon, he and the two stubborn creatures are hauling out logs from the forest and making $15/day, which irks the man he bought the mules from as well as his own evil stepbrother. Director F. Hugh Herbert, who also adapted the screenplay, does a terrific job setting the mood of the piece--frisky but also angst-ridden. Lon McCallister is the polite juvenile battling with his father's crude wife and her son for his dad's respect, later butting heads with farmer Tom Tully (in a convincingly angry, blow-hard performance). Although a simple tale of a boy's love for two mules, Herbert keeps the scenario busy with melodrama. Thankfully, it isn't overly-folksy, and the villains (including Anne Revere, in her least-sympathetic role ever) are surprisingly effective. The romance subplot between Tully's blonde, beautiful daughter June Haver and skinny McCallister doesn't quite work (she seems a bit out of his league), but little Natalie Wood is fun to have around spying on her neighbors and getting all the juicy gossip. Solid contract-picture from Fox has an undeserved poor reputation (with its title causing most of the derision), but I was entertained. Look fast for Marilyn Monroe as "Betty" on the church steps. **1/2 from ****
15 Reviews
Actual premier location.
klbird-124 May 2009
The movie was premiered in Sedalia, Missouri,on a snowy March 10, 1948, not Sedalia Kansas as listed. The only other town with the name Sedalia is in Colorado! Sedalia held a parade in honor of the visiting stars Lon McCallister, Collene Townsend, Luanne Hogan, and Betty Ann Lynn, The premier is still talked about by old timers who marched in it and viewed the movie. While it was the only movie premiered in Sedalia, the city gained further fame as the end of trail town in the TV series RAWHIDE in the 1960s. RAWHIDE gave Clint Eastwood his career start and he even visited Sedalia in January 1959 to promote the program. Sedalia is celebrating it's 150 Anniversary in 2010, and Clint Eastwood is being invited back to participate in a Eastwood Film Festival. The area around Sedalia was famous for breeding high quality MISSOURI MULES, thus the reason for the selection of Sedalia for the premier.
Enjoyable old-school film.
bingoboss26 July 2021
I was curious to see Marilyn Monroe's (one-second) film debut, and when I saw Natalie Wood's name in the cast, I got drawn in. It's an odd film: an "East of Eden" type soap opera plot involves step brothers who vie for vivacious blonde June Haver, and a team of mules. The characters are all quite gruff with each other, and there's little of the sentimentality typical of this era. The film's title suggests a screwball comedy or maybe a musical, but the film is far from either. The tone is rather dark, with little Natalie Wood providing welcome bits of comic relief. The acting can be hammy in parts. It seems like it would never work, but it somehow does all come together and make a watchable, enjoyable film. Bonus points for the proto-feminist attitude of June Haver; I thought that was a nice, unexpected touch from a film of this era. Watching in pandemic 2020, this movie drew me into its little world and made me strangely nostalgic for a time I never knew.
Odds and ends on an odd but cute film
jeffhill123 June 2002
"Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay!" refers to calls the driver uses to direct his team of mules when out working on a job. After seeing the film on "The Late Show" as a teenager, I was a June Haver fan for a while, so I was thrilled when I saw and approached her in Restored Williamsburg, Virginia with her husband, Fred McMurray in the spring of 1962. Marilyn Monroe was to have a small part in Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay! She was standing by a tree and when the character of Snug encountered her, she said, "Hello." But that part got cut out before the film went into the can. I think Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay! is noteworthy in that it is the only film I can think of in which Walter Brennan plays something other than comedy relief or somebody's sidekick. Look it over when you have the chance and see if you don't think he is formulatin' the character of Grandpappy Amos of "The Real McCoys."
Bucolic?
artzau28 October 2006
One reviewer referred to this old film as "bucolic," a term we rarely encounter these days. I have to agree that the setting is rural and somewhat tame about a young man, Lon McCalliser, who prefers mules over Natalie Wood. Well, she was only 10 years old at the time and June Haver was the primary female interest as I recall. Crusty old crackly voiced Walter Brennan was the old mentor in the film and the story really doesn't stir a great deal of memories, except it was about muleskinners and back in those days (I was 11 at the time), that was enough romance for me.
Not a a bad old film, if you come across it on the late show. But, definitely bucolic.
Not a a bad old film, if you come across it on the late show. But, definitely bucolic.
Certainly transcends titular 'Scuddy' suggestion
Waiting2BShocked10 March 2006
First, the good news; this isn't a Red Skelton comedy, as one might fairly presume on the basis of its dismally uningratiating title.
Second, the bad news (which turns out not really so bad after all), it's actually just another 40s Fox B-movie horsey drama.
Thirdly, the factual news. Yes, this IS Marilyn Monroe's first screen performance with dialogue, albeit in this print consisting of a salute of "Hi!" to June Haver over and done with before the retina has any chance to pass muster over the event. Speculation and debate still seems to rage over whether or not alternate versions of this film, featuring alternate MM footage, exist (chiefly some business in a canoe, which certainly I did not see in this particular print).
Lastly, the reality of the film itself and revelation of the title mystery. Homesteader half-brothers bicker tiresomely over mule raising and racing - yes, MULES. The title refers to the human call used to rouse them into action; but against the odds this is far from as asininely scripted as that synopsis would lead you to expect.
Not that that is to concede much, but it must be remarked upon that the Technicolor production is endearingly mounted by Ernest Palmer (slumming inbetween 'big' projects), with verdance particularly resplendent in the farming sequences. On the thespian front, Revere does her Fox-standby bit as a resilient matriarch (despite being only in her mid 40s), in addition to 9-year-old Natalie Wood; churning out sarcastic aphorisms almost worthy of WC Fields, but totally unsmackable due to the precocious sagacity of her delivery.
Second, the bad news (which turns out not really so bad after all), it's actually just another 40s Fox B-movie horsey drama.
Thirdly, the factual news. Yes, this IS Marilyn Monroe's first screen performance with dialogue, albeit in this print consisting of a salute of "Hi!" to June Haver over and done with before the retina has any chance to pass muster over the event. Speculation and debate still seems to rage over whether or not alternate versions of this film, featuring alternate MM footage, exist (chiefly some business in a canoe, which certainly I did not see in this particular print).
Lastly, the reality of the film itself and revelation of the title mystery. Homesteader half-brothers bicker tiresomely over mule raising and racing - yes, MULES. The title refers to the human call used to rouse them into action; but against the odds this is far from as asininely scripted as that synopsis would lead you to expect.
Not that that is to concede much, but it must be remarked upon that the Technicolor production is endearingly mounted by Ernest Palmer (slumming inbetween 'big' projects), with verdance particularly resplendent in the farming sequences. On the thespian front, Revere does her Fox-standby bit as a resilient matriarch (despite being only in her mid 40s), in addition to 9-year-old Natalie Wood; churning out sarcastic aphorisms almost worthy of WC Fields, but totally unsmackable due to the precocious sagacity of her delivery.
IMDB is wrong...this film was not Marilyn Monroe's first.
planktonrules5 June 2023
"Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay!" is one of the most unfortunately named movies of all time. For this reason alone, I avoided watching the films for some time. However, when I learned it was among Marilyn Monroe's first films, I decided to watch it.
Speaking of Monroe, IMDB's trivia says that this film is considered Monroe's first movie appearance. Well, this is wrong. She had a larger, though uncredited, part in "Dangerous Years". Much of her part in "Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay!" were edited out of the film.
The title is a reference to a call that folks used with their mules. And, the film is about a young man ('Snug') whose life is tough. His father runs away from home at the start of the movie and his step-mother is a harpy. As for her son, he's a brute...and makes Snug's life horrible.
The story is about how Snug acquired a team of mules which were thought to be untrainable. And, through love, patience and the like, Snug is able to make his mules pay. Much of the film is about some underhanded attempts to steal away the mules from Snug.
This is a decent film....one probably targeted more to families and older children. The acting is fine and the story worth seeing. But don't watch it for Monroe...you can barely tell she's in the movie.
Speaking of Monroe, IMDB's trivia says that this film is considered Monroe's first movie appearance. Well, this is wrong. She had a larger, though uncredited, part in "Dangerous Years". Much of her part in "Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay!" were edited out of the film.
The title is a reference to a call that folks used with their mules. And, the film is about a young man ('Snug') whose life is tough. His father runs away from home at the start of the movie and his step-mother is a harpy. As for her son, he's a brute...and makes Snug's life horrible.
The story is about how Snug acquired a team of mules which were thought to be untrainable. And, through love, patience and the like, Snug is able to make his mules pay. Much of the film is about some underhanded attempts to steal away the mules from Snug.
This is a decent film....one probably targeted more to families and older children. The acting is fine and the story worth seeing. But don't watch it for Monroe...you can barely tell she's in the movie.
When you want a mule to give 110%
bkoganbing21 April 2015
This rustic film, something not usually made by 20th Century Fox has come down in screen legend as the debut of Marilyn Monroe. She's very briefly seen paddling a canoe after church. As it turns out she's not the only tragic legend in Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay! Natalie Wood who plays June Haver's little sister and a little miss fixit is also here.
Young Lon McCallister quits his home and hearth leaving it to mean stepmother Anne Revere and her lugnut of a son Robert Karnes. Almost on a whim he buys a pair of mules who won't work for anyone else but him. Still he's in debt to miserly Tom Tully for them. And Tully is not a man to give anyone a break even with daughter June Haver falling for McCallister.
The man who teaches McCallister about how to work and the dignity of the mule is Walter Brennan playing another of his rustic old timers with lots of wisdom. He also has a nice taste for booze which nearly costs McCallister his mules.
Except for the Francis series, Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay! is the only film I know that's about mules. And McCallister's two don't have quite the talents that Francis had. Incidentally the title is what Walter Brennan teaches McCallister to say if he wants his mules to give that 110%.
McCallister and Haver make a nice young couple. Not the greatest of films but a worthy debut for a legend.
Young Lon McCallister quits his home and hearth leaving it to mean stepmother Anne Revere and her lugnut of a son Robert Karnes. Almost on a whim he buys a pair of mules who won't work for anyone else but him. Still he's in debt to miserly Tom Tully for them. And Tully is not a man to give anyone a break even with daughter June Haver falling for McCallister.
The man who teaches McCallister about how to work and the dignity of the mule is Walter Brennan playing another of his rustic old timers with lots of wisdom. He also has a nice taste for booze which nearly costs McCallister his mules.
Except for the Francis series, Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay! is the only film I know that's about mules. And McCallister's two don't have quite the talents that Francis had. Incidentally the title is what Walter Brennan teaches McCallister to say if he wants his mules to give that 110%.
McCallister and Haver make a nice young couple. Not the greatest of films but a worthy debut for a legend.
Synchronicities
doug_hile6 November 2016
Have revisited an echo from the past tonight. (November 2016). First saw this b/w film in '49 or '50 when I was six years old, and it has stuck with me for ,,, a while. Yes, it's pretty hokey, but my Old Man identified with the mules and a life style that was obsolete, even in 1948 when it was produced. The script is grade-school, but charming and the acting is stilted, but typical for a B-movie. Over all, leaves you with a fondness for a world that no longer exists. Happily the DVD is from a technicolor print in pristine condition. I recognize the Old Mans hat as the same one Walter Brennan wears; Moms' Sunbeam Mix Master on the kitchen counter; and the tin document box where Walter keeps Snugs' Dads' Last Will and Testament, is the same box I kept my crayons in, and now keep my own documents -- including the Wills and Deeds. Amazing coincidences, which probably mean nothing to anyone but my self, listed here, for your own amusement... Enjoy the Movie.
A mule's got the right to sing the blues.
mark.waltz5 May 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Why they can't even have a legitimate name. Mule, donkey, ass. But a horse is a horse of course, of course. Jewish peasants in Anavtevka argue over the trading of a horse, claiming that it was a mule. Their reputation has them as stubborn creatures, sitting defiantly when they don't intend to move. But in films, little farm boys love them, especially Mexican ones, so that says something about their sweetness. Troubled farmboy Lon McCallister seems able to handle the two mules that their new owner (and his employer) Tom Tully can't, so he agrees to pay $5 a month for them. Unbeknownst to McCallister, the arrogant Tully is in cahoots with his nasty stepbrother to prevent him from completing the payment, all because of a vendetta against stepmother Anne Revere whose nastiness drove Lon's father out of their own home to his death.
This film is known as the debut of Marilyn Monroe in a brief talking part (on and off in a second), and shouldn't be viewed with seeing her in mind. The female lead is the pretty blonde June Haver who was the musical rival to Betty Grable, and she's photogenic, charming and likable, if not completely magical. As her younger sister, Natalie Wood is as precocious as usual, but can't steal the film from the mules or lovable drunk Walter Brennan. McCallister gives a sincere performance, while Tully digs deep to show the many aspects of his bitter farmer. In her few scenes, Revere shows the ugliness of her character who has no redeeming qualities. The mixture of family melodrama and light comedy makes this rural slice of life film an entertaining time filler.
This film is known as the debut of Marilyn Monroe in a brief talking part (on and off in a second), and shouldn't be viewed with seeing her in mind. The female lead is the pretty blonde June Haver who was the musical rival to Betty Grable, and she's photogenic, charming and likable, if not completely magical. As her younger sister, Natalie Wood is as precocious as usual, but can't steal the film from the mules or lovable drunk Walter Brennan. McCallister gives a sincere performance, while Tully digs deep to show the many aspects of his bitter farmer. In her few scenes, Revere shows the ugliness of her character who has no redeeming qualities. The mixture of family melodrama and light comedy makes this rural slice of life film an entertaining time filler.
Scudda Hoo Makes Good Hay ***1/2
edwagreen23 October 2008
An enjoyable film dealing with a male Cinderella-like relationship. Fed up with his nagging wife and bullying son, a man heads out to sea and leaves his son $20.00 to fend for himself.
The film is a gem as it shows the warm relationships that can develop with still another family and a man's determination to get those mules to work.
Anne Revere appears briefly as the wicked wife but she is memorable once again. As her n'eer-do-well son, Bob Karnes, is miserable at his best. Lon McAllister shines as the step-son and Natalie Wood steals the show as a precocious youngster who always seems to be in the right place at the right time. Another good performance is given by Tom Tully as as a nasty neighbor, and Walter Brennan is in fine form as an understanding friend to the McAllister role.
The film is a gem as it shows the warm relationships that can develop with still another family and a man's determination to get those mules to work.
Anne Revere appears briefly as the wicked wife but she is memorable once again. As her n'eer-do-well son, Bob Karnes, is miserable at his best. Lon McAllister shines as the step-son and Natalie Wood steals the show as a precocious youngster who always seems to be in the right place at the right time. Another good performance is given by Tom Tully as as a nasty neighbor, and Walter Brennan is in fine form as an understanding friend to the McAllister role.
You'll have a hard time finding a prettier movie full of nastier people
utgard149 November 2020
Wow what a dumpster fire this one is. I have to give it credit for surprising me. At first glance I expected the usual corny homespun drama in luscious Technicolor that was commonplace at the time. Well I was right about the Technicolor. It's full of unlikable characters in toxic relationships, most of whom are plotting to hurt one another emotionally or physically. The opening scene has our hero angrily encouraging his father to murder his stepmother. We'll soon find out why because she and her son are pieces of work. Then the dad decides to bail and leave the son with these creeps. Don't even get me started on the romantic plot that is all kinds of gross thanks to June Haver's character being manipulative and conceited. Finally we have mules. Yes, mules. They're kind of the point of the whole movie if you can suffer through the nasty people to get to it. Noteworthy only for being the film debut of Marilyn Monroe (blink and you'll miss her). It's a good looking but thoroughly unenjoyable picture due to the detestable characters. A waste of fine actors like Anne Revere, Walter Brennan, and Henry Hull.
Enjoyable entertainment
manemu11 June 2000
No special effects, no musical numbers, no dance numbers, but a pleasant way to spend a rainy afternoon. The plot was predictable but acting was adequate and mostly realistic. Maybe not realistic results, but plot reinforced the attitude that hard work and honesty pay off in long run. Kindness to animals is nice sideline touch.
You've got to be fast to catch Marilyn!
JohnHowardReid18 March 2017
Warning: Spoilers
This was Marilyn Monroe's debut film, but you've got to be fast to catch her coming down the church steps. A scene of Marilyn with Colleen Townsend in a canoe, featured in many books, is not in the movie. So that's disappointing, but the film is an entertaining rural piece nonetheless. It features some fine acting, particularly from Anne Revere in a rare, unsympathetic role. Tom Tully also has a meaty role, and young Natalie Wood is very convincing. In fact, under the expert direction of screenwriter, F. Hugh "The Moon I Blue" Herbert (of all people!), just about the whole cast come up with great performances. Karnes is an exception, but he's still okay as the villain. And I thought Hull was more effective in his early scenes than in those later on. Tom Tully, Natalie Wood, June Haver, Walter Brennan and Lon McAllister are all excellent. And there's some great Technicolor photography.
misinformed review
rchrdoconnor3 May 2022
A reviewer writes of his surprise at seeing Walter Brennan not in his "Real McCoys" character. Never saw "My Darling Clementine"? A John Ford classic with Henry Fonda as Wyatt Earp??? Brennan plays the head of the notorious Clanton gang, even shoot one Earp brother in the back.
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