Barnyard Follies (1940)

The Director of a country orphanage has invested in the 4H Club philosophy. That means all the kids are learning farm life. The children are tending to cows and chickens and turkeys and growing crops. However, there is a problem at the orphanage. They are $5,000 in debt. The Director, affectionately known as Pappy (Harry Cheshire), needs to raise the money in 30 days.

It looks like the orphanage will get a break when Pappy inherits his brother's nightclub. But he's also inherited the contracts of the dancers and musicians. He decides to put the club's employees to work at the orphanage. Many complications follow. The 4H activities mean that, in time, the orphanage will be self sufficient. But the crooks, who loaned Pappy the money, don't want that. They've been skimming money off the orphanage for years.

Pappy has raised some money selling the nightclub, but not enough. So the kids at the orphanage decide to put on a show to raise the rest of the money. The musicians step in and help. It doesn't hurt that one of the kids (Mary Lee) is a spunky, little singer. It's a pleasant little film, not to be taken seriously. One in a long line of rural musicals, that Republic seemed to specialize in. I rather enjoyed it and was smiling throughout. The youngster, Mary Lee, was some talented kid.