The Stork Pays Off
1941 film directed by Lew Landers

The Stork Pays Off is a 1941 American comedy film directed by Lew Landers and starring Victor Jory, Rochelle Hudson, Maxie Rosenbloom, Horace McMahon, George McKay and Ralf Harolde. The screenplay was written by Fanya Foss and Aleen Leslie. The film was released on October 6, 1941, by Columbia Pictures.
Plot
Gangster Deak Foster and his three henchmen, Brains Moran, Ears-to-the-Ground Hinkle and Photofinish Farris, take over what they think is a night club run by a rival, Stud Rocco, only to discover it is a nursery run by Irene Perry. All fall under the benign influence to the point where the three henchmen go to night school to be educated and Deak falls in love with Julie.
Cast
Victor Jory as Deak Foster
Rochelle Hudson as Irene Perry
Maxie Rosenbloom as 'Brains' Moran
Horace McMahon as 'Ears-to-the-Ground' Hinkle
George McKay as 'Photofinish' Farris
Ralf Harolde as 'Stud' Rocco
Danny Mummert as Herkemer
Bonnie Irma Dane as Bonnie
Arthur Loft as Barney
References
Bibliography
Fetrow, Alan G. Feature Films, 1940-1949: a United States Filmography. McFarland, 1994.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “The Stork Pays Off” as 1941 film directed by Lew Landers. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as 1941 film directed by Lew Landers. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 9, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q63969262. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1941, 1940, 1949 and 1994.
Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “The Stork Pays Off” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.