miscellaneous THOUGHTS


Who played the tramp? Not mentioned in the credits.
James Craven, the sergeant, also appeared in KING KONG.
The desk sergeant was named "O'Brinsky?" as a tribute to Willis O'Brien.
Who doubled Ben Johnson and was seriously injured falling from the building? Watch Terry Moore help him off the set.
The extras casting is a masterpiece of familiar faces of the 40's" Ellen Corby, Charles Lane, James Craven. I once met William Schallert who said he started with THE MAN FROM PLANET X.
The stuntmen are mostly familiar from Republic. I think Dave Sharpe does one of his great flying leaps at the beginning.
Former cowboy star Kermit Maynard can be seen briefly in the first scene with Joe.
Terry Moore says this was Johnson's first film as an actor, but he had been a stuntman at Republic and had one line in Randoplh Scott's RETURN OF THE BAD MEN.

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Dave Sharpe had also been a stuntman for Hal Roach in the Our Gang comedies--doubling for such as Margaret Mack, who wasn't THAT agile.

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Terry Moore's mother has a scene in the movie. It was at the orphanage when she picks up the last child that Joe rescues.

The Mighty Joe Young puppet that Ray Harryhausen used for the animation, was named "Jennifer" after Jennifer Jones (no doubt Ray had a crush on her, which in the 1940s was quite understandable).

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