On Our Merry Way

VHS, Not Rated, 107 minutes, Kino on Video

A rediscovered gem form the Golden Age of Cinema, "On Our Merry Way" (aka "A Miracle Can Happen") is a delectable, lighthearted comedy interweaving four different narratives, featuring Hollywood's brightest stars. James Stewart and Henry Fonda are at the peak of their form as a pair of impoverished swing band musicians who attempt to change their luck by rigging a talent contest (judged by Harry James and featuring Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer as a hep cat contestant). Based on a story by John O'Hara, the sequence was directed by John Huston, who was forced to leave the project to honor a prior commitment and whose directorial shoes were then filled by George Stevens (neither of whom receives on-screen credit). Dorothy Lamour costars as an aspiring actress who, in one unforgettable sequence, dons a Polynesian sarong in a hilarious spoof of exotic Hollywood musicals. Years before they would be teamed on TV's "My Three Sons," Fred Macmurray and William Demerest are traveling con men who fall into the snare of a maniacal ten-year-old named "Sniffles" Dugan. All these comical misadventures are woven together by an aspiring reporter (Burgess Meredith) who struggles to write a human interest piece to satisfy the professional ambitions of his young bride (Paulette Goddard). This Kino on Video edition was digitally mastered from the original 35mm nitrate negative.