Joe McDoakes

American short film comedy series

Joe McDoakes is an American short film comedy series produced and directed by Richard L. Bare for Warner Bros. A total of 63 black and white, live action, one reel films were produced and released between 1942 and 1956. The Joe McDoakes shorts are also known as the Behind the Eight Ball series (for the large eight ball Joe appeared behind in the opening credits) or the So You Want series (as the film titles began with this phrase). The character's name derives from Joe Doakes, which was a popular American slang term for the average man. The theme song of the series is "I Know That You Know" by Vincent Youmans from his Broadway musical Oh, Please! (1926), used later in the MGM musical Hit the Deck (1955). George O'Hanlon, who would later provide the voice of George Jetson in Hanna Barbera's animated sitcom The Jetsons, starred as the series' title character, Joe McDoakes. These one reel shorts were written by Bare and O'Hanlon, although Bare usually received sole screen credit as the writer. Art Gilmore served as the narrator through 1948. Gordon Hollingshead, who won five Academy Awards for producing other short subjects for Warner Bros., was also credited as a producer on the series until his death in 1952, although his role on this series was primarily as liaison between the studio and the director.

The series began with So You Want to Give Up Smoking, produced by Bare to teach his students at the University of Southern California the fundamentals of filmmaking. It was acquired by Warner Bros. for $2,500 and became the first of a series of short subjects. Only one more short was produced before World War II caused the suspension of the series, but production resumed in 1945 with So You Think You're Allergic. These first three shorts were filmed silent, with narration added in post production in the manner of the popular Pete Smith shorts produced at MGM from 1931 to 1955. They also resembled the Smith shorts in their focus on actual, everyday problems (such as smoking cessation, eye care and coping with allergies) in an instructional but humorous way. In 1946, the series began using live sound recording, and the addition of dialogue afforded the films a new dimension. The action was now played strictly for laughs, with many familiar character actors such as Fritz Feld, Ralph Sanford, Philip Van Zandt, Fred Kelsey and Leo White frequently appearing. Semiregular actors included Clifton Young and later Del Moore as Joe's loudmouthed pal Homer, Rodney Bell as dumb Marvin and Ted Stanhope as an all purpose authority figure. Many of the shorts are domestic comedies in which McDoakes persists in some sort of endeavor, with often disastrous consequences. Warner Bros. contract player Jane Harker costarred as Joe's wife Alice in eight comedies, beginning with So You Want to Play the Horses in 1946 and ending with So You Want to Build a House in 1948. Screen newcomer Phyllis Coates assumed the role of Alice in So You Want to Be in Politics. Coates had married Bare that same year, and the working relationship would survive their later divorce. Former singing star Jane Frazee assumed the role beginning with So You Want to Be Your Own Boss (1954), but Coates returned in 1956 for the last three installments. While the Alice character appeared in most of the shorts, the actresses playing the role were not credited. In several of the films, Alice does not appear, and in some, Joe is a bachelor, as there is no continuity between installments. In the late 1940s, the series won three consecutive Academy Award nominations in the category of Best Short Subject, One reel for So You Want to Be in Pictures (1947), So You Want to Be on the Radio (1948) and So You Think You're Not Guilty (1949). For most of the series' run, the shorts were the only live action comedies offered in 10 minute length, making them attractive for theater owners to include in their programs. The series ran until 1956, when the decline of the studio system brought an end to the production of short subjects by Warner Bros. and most of the other Hollywood studios.

Appearance credits for uncredited actors may be incomplete or incorrect because of inaccurate sources.

Arthur Q. Bryan, the voice of Elmer Fudd, appeared in So You Want a Model Railroad and So You Want to Be a Paper Hanger and substituted for Art Gilmore as the narrator in So You Want to Be a Policeman. George Chandler and Ronald Reagan, both future presidents of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), appeared in the same short, So You Want to Be in Pictures. Iron Eyes Cody offered a "scalp" treatment to Joe in So You Want to Keep Your Hair. The screen duo of Doris Day and Gordon MacRae had a cameo in So You Want a Television Set. Charlie Hall, who served as the foil in many Laurel and Hardy shorts, made his last screen appearance in So You Want to Play the Piano. Lyle Talbot, a founding member of SAG, appeared in So You Want to Be Your Own Boss. Frank Nelson, frequent guest star on The Jack Benny Program and I Love Lucy, appeared in So You're Going to Have an Operation, So You Want to Be an Actor and So You Want to Know Your Relatives.

TitleApproximate production dateRelease dateNotes including key co stars with George O'HanlonSo You Want to Give Up Smoking Early 1942 November 14, 1942 Art Gilmore (narrator)So You Think You Need Glasses Early 1942 December 26, 1942 Art Gilmore (narrator) So You Think You're Allergic June 1945 December 1, 1945 Knox Manning (narrator), Barbara Billingsley (cameo)So You Want to Play the Horses June 1946 October 5, 1946 Art Gilmore (narrator), Jane Harker, Richard Erdman, Leo White, Clifton Young, Fred Kelsey So You Want to Keep Your Hair April 1946 December 7, 1946 Art Gilmore (narrator), Leo White, Fred Kelsey, Iron Eyes Cody, Buster BrodieSo You Think You're a Nervous Wreck September 1946 December 28, 1946 Art Gilmore (narrator), Clifton Young, Fred Kelsey, Howard M. Mitchell, Ted StanhopeSo You're Going to Be a Father December 1946 May 10, 1947 Art Gilmore (narrator), Jane Harker, Fred Kelsey, Leo White, Emmett VoganSo You Want to Be in Pictures December 1946 June 7, 1947 Art Gilmore (narrator), George Chandler, Clyde Cook, Ralph Sanford, Jack Carson, Ronald Reagan, Wayne Morris, Janis Paige. Nominee for Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. So You're Going on a Vacation December 1946 July 5, 1947 Art Gilmore (narrator), Jane Harker, Ted Stanhope, Lennie Bremen, Clifton Young So You Want to Be a Salesman February 1947 September 13, 1947 Art Gilmore (narrator), Jane Harker, Lennie Bremen, Ted Stanhope, Rose Plumer, Lottie WilliamsSo You Want to Hold Your Wife June 1947 November 22, 1947 Art Gilmore (narrator), Jane Harker, Ted Stanhope So You Want an Apartment July 1947 January 3, 1948 Art Gilmore (narrator), Jane Harker, Ted Stanhope, Clifton Young, Fred Kelsey So You Want to Be a Gambler August 1947 February 14, 1948 Art Gilmore (narrator), Clifton Young, Douglas Fowley, Leo WhiteSo You Want to Build a House June 1947 May 15, 1948 Art Gilmore (narrator), Jane Harker, Clifton Young, Fred Kelsey, Ralph Peters, Donald Kerr, Ralph LittlefieldSo You Want to Be a Detective September 1947 June 26, 1948 Art Gilmore (narrator), Lila Leeds, Clifton Young, George Magrill, Olaf Hytten, Fred Kelsey, Howard Mitchell, Charles Horvath, Philo Mccullough, Charles Marsh, Donald Kerr, Kit GuardSo You Want to Be in Politics July 1948 October 2, 1948 Phyllis Coates, Clifton Young, Fred Kelsey So You Want to Be on the Radio July 1948 November 6, 1948 Phyllis Coates, Clifton Young, Fred Kelsey, Ted Stanhope, Leo White, Jack Lomas. Nominee for Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. So You Want to Be a Baby Sitter March 1948 January 8, 1949 Art Gilmore (narrator), Phyllis Coates, Clifton Young, Billy GraySo You Want to Be Popular December 1948 March 12, 1949 Art Gilmore (narrator), Phyllis Coates, Clifton Young, Creighton Hale, Ted Stanhope, Leo White So You Want to Be a Muscle Man March 1949 July 2, 1949 Phyllis Coates, Clarence Ross, Willard Waterman So You're Having In Law Trouble April–May 1949 August 27, 1949 Phyllis Coates, Clifton Young, Willard Waterman So You Want to Get Rich Quick August 1949 October 28, 1949 Phyllis Coates, Fred Clark, Joe Turkel, Frank NelsonSo You Want to Be an Actor August 1949 December 3, 1949 Art Gilmore (narrator), Fred Clark, Fred Kelsey, Frank Nelson, Ralph Sanford, Clifton Young, Ted Stanhope, Dorothy Vaughan So You Think You're Not Guilty October 1949 December 21, 1949 (preview) April 7, 1950 (release) Phyllis Coates, Ralph Sanford, Ted Stanhope, Fred Kelsey, Willard Waterman. Nominee for Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. So You Want to Throw a Party October 1949 February 4, 1950 Phyllis Coates, Billy Curtis, Willard Waterman, Ted Stanhope, Fred Kelsey, Jack Lomas, Edward Gargan So You Want to Hold Your Husband May 1950 July 1, 1950 Phyllis Coates, Ted Stanhope, Fred Kelsey, Monte Blue, Art Gilmore So You Want to Move May 1950 August 19, 1950 Phyllis Coates, Rodney Bell, Ralph Sanford, Charles Sullivan So You Want a Raise July 1950 September 23, 1950 Phyllis Coates, Willard Waterman, Margie Liszt, Edward Gargan, Fred KelseySo You're Going to Have an Operation July 1950 December 2, 1950 Fritz Feld, Ted Stanhope, Frank NelsonSo You Want to Be a Handy Man July 1950 January 3, 1951 Rodney Bell So You Want to Be a Cowboy November 1950 April 14, 1951 Phyllis Coates, Ted Stanhope, Eddie Gribbon, Harry Wilson. So You Want to Be a Paper Hanger December 1950 June 2, 1951 Phyllis Coates, Rodney Bell, Arthur Q. Bryan, Anne O’Neal So You Want to Buy a Used Car December 1950 July 28, 1951 Phyllis Coates, Fred Kelsey, Bobby Jellison So You Want to Be a Bachelor June 1951 September 22, 1951 Phyllis Coates, Ted Stanhope, Chester Clute, Jack Rice, Fred Kelsey So You Want to Be a Plumber July 1951 November 10, 1951 Phyllis Coates, Rodney Bell So You Want to Get It Wholesale July 1951 January 12, 1952 Phyllis Coates, Rodney Bell, Frank Nelson, Ted Stanhope, Charles Sullivan, Jack Mower, Georg Penbroke So You Want to Enjoy Life January 1952 March 29, 1952 Del Moore, Fritz Feld , Arthur Q. BryanSo You Want to Go to a Convention January 1952 June 7, 1952 Phyllis Coates, Connie Cezan So You Never Tell a Lie January 1952 August 2, 1952 Phyllis Coates, Rodney Bell, Emory Parnell, Jack Mower, Anne O’NealSo You're Going to the Dentist July 1952 September 20, 1952 Rodney Bell, Frank Nelson So You Want to Wear the Pants July 1952 November 8, 1952 Phyllis Coates, Fritz Feld So You Want to Be a Musician August 1952 December 14, 1952 Maurice Cass, Philip Van Zandt, Fred Kelsey, Chester Conklin, Paul Maxey, Fritz Feld So You Want to Learn to Dance December 1952 March 28, 1953 Emory Parnell, Jack Mower, Creighton Hale, Jesslyn Fax So You Want a Television Set December 1952 May 23, 1953 Phyllis Coates, Rodney Bell, Philip Van Zandt, Fred Kelsey, Doris Day, Gordon MacRae So You Love Your Dog December 1952 August 1, 1953 Phyllis Coates So You Think You Can't Sleep August 1953 October 31, 1953 Phyllis Coates, Ted Stanhope, Fred Kelsey So You Want to Be an Heir August 1953 December 19, 1953 Phyllis Coates, Philip Van Zandt So You're Having Neighbor Trouble November 1953 December 26, 1953 Phyllis Coates, Rodney Bell, Arthur Q. Bryan So You Want to Be Your Own Boss December 1953 March 13, 1954 Jane Frazee, Rodney Bell, Phil Arnold, Fred Kelsey, Lyle Talbot So You Want to Go to a Night Club December 1953 May 1, 1954 Jane Frazee, Philip Van Zandt, Del Moore, Joi Lansing, Jack Chefe, Ralph BrooksSo You Want to Be a Banker April 1954 July 3, 1954 Snub Pollard, Fred Kelsey So You're Taking in a Roomer August 1954 October 30, 1954 Jane Frazee, Rodney Bell, Joi Lansing, Fred Kelsey, Herb Vigran So You Want to Know Your Relatives September 1954 December 18, 1954 Jane Frazee, Frank Nelson, Emory Parnell, Herb Vigran, Iris Adrian So You Don't Trust Your Wife September 1954 January 29, 1955 Jane Frazee, Fred Kelsey So You Want to Be a Gladiator December 1954 March 12, 1955 Jane Frazee, Del Moore, Philip Van Zandt, John Doucette So You Want to Be on a Jury December 1954 May 7, 1955 Jackson Wheeler, Phil Arnold, Arthur Q. Bryan, Philip Van ZandtSo You Want a Model Railroad December 1954 August 27, 1955 Jane Frazee, Ted Stanhope, Anne O’Neal, Arthur Q. BryanSo You Want to Be a V. P. September 1955 October 29, 1955 Emory Parnell, Del Moore, Joi Lansing, Minerva Urecal, Philip Van Zandt So You Want to Be a Policeman October 1955 December 17, 1955 Arthur Q. Bryan, Joi Lansing, Sandy Sanders So You Think the Grass Is Greener October 1955 January 28, 1956 Jane Frazee, Joi Lansing, Emory Parnell, Del MooreSo You Want to Be Pretty December 1955 March 10, 1956 Phyllis Coates, Fritz Feld, Iris AdrianSo You Want to Play the Piano December 1955 May 5, 1956 Phyllis Coates, Ralph Sanford, Lester Dorr, Charlie HallSo Your Wife Wants to Work December 1955 July 14, 1956 Phyllis Coates, Emory Parnell, Lester Dorr