Friendly Neighbors (1940) User Reviews (2)

On the Road with the Weavers

[boblipton · 6/10 · 7 July 2013]

Republic Pictures specialized in the shrinking but still important rural market. This meant they produced a lot of westerns and when country music began its rise in the early 1940s (by 1945 Western Swing was the best-selling musical genre on records) they knew how to take advantage: not only with singing cowboys and Judy Canova, but with the Weaver Brothers and Elviry, a musical novelty act. They appeared in about fifteen movies from 1938 until 1942.

In this outing, the Weavers take to the road in a low-stress Grapes of Wrath scenario, consorting with kindly hobos and blind people in an amiable fashion, with Thurston Hall to act as a bamboozled deus ex machina to fix matters. The direction by Nick Grinde runs through all the standard gags, from the car-stuck-on-the-tracks on down, executed about as well as the Columbia shorts department would do them. There's lots of talent on view, including a nice musical number by Cliff Edwards to keep you entertained. It's a thoroughly enjoyable picture so long as you don't want any depth.

The eager beaver Weavers.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 19 January 2021]

While I've seen this group in several movies (merely as specialties), my exposure to them as stars of their own one is a pleasant one. Familiar with hillbilly comedy through the light hearted comedy/musicals of Bob Burns as well as the Lum and Abner movies and the Scattergood Baines series, they are refreshingly simple and big hearted and very funny in spite of their corny jokes. But corn is sweet, and this is covered in butter and all the spices that makes it a delicious treat.

Leaving their home behind because of a drout, they settle in an abandoned town at risk of being flooded. They befriend the remaining residents, sheriff Spencer Charters, sweet Lois Ranson and town matriarch Margaret Seddon, an aging woman suffering from sight problems who has no idea that the town she helped found is now practically deserted. They decide to stick around and build the town back up, especially when they learn that governor Thurston Hall is passing through to check on the need for state funding.

This is a very amusing musical comedy with some great little ditty's to keep breezing along, a fun specialty by Cliff Edwards, and very funny antics from one of the Weaver Brothers pet crow who steals every scene its in. of course some of the jokes are groaners and eye rollers, but a lot of it is also very funny. Veteran character actors Clarence Wilson, J. Farrell McDonald and Jimmy Conlin are also along for the fun. if I had neighbors like this, I'd never want to leave where I was living!