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The Stork Pays Off

1941 film directed by Lew Landers

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 9, 2026
Entity authorityQ63969262 ↗
Source-derived summary

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.

Editorial summary

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.

Editorial reviewA productive route into publication, performance and collection histories when the underlying object or edition remains clearly identified. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1941, 1940, 1949, 1994—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1941. The account is most persuasive where Stork, Pays and film can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

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.

Evidence profile

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.

Critical limits

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.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “The Stork Pays Off”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow The Stork Pays Off primary sources, The Stork Pays Off archive and Stork research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “The Stork Pays Off”?
  2. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
  3. Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
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Source & attribution

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.