It’s a Joke, Son! (1947) A political satire wrapped in Southern charm, based on a famous radio character Director: Benjamin Stoloff Writers: Robert Kent (screenplay), Allen Rivkin (adaptation), based on the radio character Senator Claghorn created by Kenny Delmar Starring: Kenny Delmar, Una Merkel, June Lockhart Runtime: 74 minutes Country: United States Language: English Genres: Comedy, Political Satire --- 🧾 Synopsis The pompous and proudly Southern Senator Beauregard Claghorn (Kenny Delmar) runs for office with the backing of a scheming political machine, but his campaign is thrown into chaos when his smart and progressive wife runs against him. While he spouts outdated rhetoric and Southern pride, she focuses on the issues—leading to a humorous, pointed battle of ideals in this quirky take on American politics. --- 🎭 Cast Kenny Delmar as Senator Beauregard Claghorn Una Merkel as Magnolia Claghorn June Lockhart as Mary Lou Claghorn Douglas Dumbrille as Bill Bentley Jimmy Conlin as Willie --- 🎞️ Production Notes Based on the wildly popular radio character Senator Claghorn, voiced by Kenny Delmar on The Fred Allen Show. The character was a satirical take on Southern politicians, overly proud of their regional identity to the point of absurdity. This film was an attempt to capitalize on the character’s fame at the peak of radio’s influence in American entertainment. Distributed by Eagle-Lion Films, a British company trying to break into the American market with modestly budgeted features. --- 🧠 Trivia Senator Claghorn was so influential that Foghorn Leghorn, the famous Looney Tunes rooster, was a parody of him. Kenny Delmar was a skilled voice actor, and this was his only feature-length appearance as Claghorn. The title "It's a Joke, Son!" is one of the character's signature catchphrases, usually following a bad pun. Though meant as light comedy, the film contains sharp satire about gender roles and political showmanship. The film was not a major box office success, but it holds historical interest for its cross-media character adaptation and radio-to-film transition. --- #Hashtags #ItsAJokeSon #SenatorClaghorn #KennyDelmar #1947Comedy #PoliticalSatire #ClassicRadio #UnaMerkel #JuneLockhart #FredAllenShow #GoldenAgeRadio #SouthernComedy #LooneyTunesInspiration #FoghornLeghorn #VintageFilm #EagleLionFilms