Moving Picture Co Disbanded

Originally Aired: March 14, 1938 Lum #7, "Moving Picture Co Disbanded," The Pine Ridge Motion Picture Company comes to an abrupt halt when Lum and Abner discover their newly purchased camera can only shoot silent pictures, which are no longer marketable. As the partners gather at the Jot'em Down store, their attention shifts to Squire Skimp's oil derrick erected on Abner's property. Lum suspects the whole operation is just a stock-selling scheme, especially since Squire has no drilling equipment and built the derrick with flimsy lumber. Both men regret investing two hundred dollars in the venture, joining other townspeople like Cedric, who sold his prized varmint dog to buy stock. The situation becomes more complicated when Grandpa Spears arrives with troubling news. Sister Simpson is threatening to sue Lum and Abner over a contract she signed to work on the now-cancelled picture. While Lum dismisses the Pine Ridge Moving Picture Company as dissolved and brushes off Sister Simpson as a troublemaker, the partners may have legal complications ahead. Meanwhile, the community buzzes with other news, including the arrival of Ruf Wilkerson's new baby boy.