The Loudspeaker (DVD)

The town of Burlap, Pennsylvania is just too provincial for fast- talking Joe Miller, a self-possessed ham with big, big plans for radio stardom. His job at the railroad station pays peanuts and the girl he planned to give a tiny engagement ring to has accepted an offer from a wealthier suitor. After slipping the ring onto the finger of a pretty young woman as she sleeps in a train car bound for New York City, Joe decides to follow the girl and the ring to the Big Apple. His grand dreams of stardom come true when he's offered his own radio show. The only thing missing is the girl with the ring, but when Joe finds her, he also finds that he's met his match.

The Loudspeaker (1934) marks a rare star turn for glib character actor Ray Walker, and his high energy carries the show. His leading lady, Jacqueline Wells (also known as Julie Bishop), later signed with Warner Brothers in 1940 and played opposite such big stars as Erroll Flynn in Northern Pursuit (1943), Humphrey Bogart in Action in the North Atlantic (1943), John Wayne in The High and the Mighty (1954), and Alan Ladd in The Big Land (1957).

• comedy