Juke Girl (1942 Curtis Bernhardt)

Quick re-teaming of Ann Sheridan and Ronald Reagan after success of Kings Row, another little gem from the pen of A. I. Bezzerides (from a story by Theodore Pratt, adapted by Kenneth Gamet), again set in the tough world of farming - cf. They Drive By Night (also with Sheridan) and Thieves' Highway, this time set in Florida, and going a very different, gripping way. Richard Whorf is Reagan's itinerant road buddy. We didn't recognise George Tobias as the ebullient Greek farmer, but other faces are very familiar - Gene Lockhart the corrupt boss, Alan Hale a nice guy, Howard da Silva a scary baddie, Donald MacBride the bar owner. Also benefits from Betty Brewer as a smart-talking kid (who really should have been written in right at the end); with Faye Emerson and Willie Best as the seller of good luck charms.

Bert Glennon photographed, Adolph Deutsch scored.