The Magnificent Dope (1942)

The owner (Don Ameche) of a self improvement school designed to promote successful careers has fallen on hard times. As a publicity stunt to attract students, he searches for the laziest man in America and attempts to make a success of him. When he finds a seemingly perfect candidate, a cheerful and uncomplicated yokel (Henry Fonda), he seems resistant to "success" as he enjoys his easy uncomplicated lifestyle. Directed by Walter Lang (STATE FAIR). Like Fonda's character, this is a simple and uncomplicated movie. I'm not Fonda's biggest fan but he's perfectly cast here and his role isn't all that different from his naive, woman shy snake expert in THE LADY EVE from the previous year. Alas, he has no one like Barbara Stanwyck to play off of but Lynn Bari (as Ameche's assistant) is lovely and Ameche brings a certain level of comedic stress to the proceedings. You pretty much know where it's going but the journey isn't unpleasant. With Edward Everett Horton, George Barbier and Marietta Canty.