A very young Anne Francis, playing Jean London, poses in a bathing suit for her boyfriend Eddie. She is his model for a line of Doubleday's plastic aquarium mermaids. This was Francis' second feature film.

A publicity still of Lloyd Bridges in classic leather jacket shot in Dover, NH in 1950. Already a seasoned Hollywood actor, Bridges took the lead as Brad Adams, the beleaguered young president of Doubleday Plastics in fictional Eaton Falls. The movie was based on a true story.

This publicity still reveals that the square dance scene in Eaton Falls, NH actually took place at the York Beach Casino in nearby York,Maine.

A somber meeting of labor organizers including Ernest Borgnine and the new company president played by Lloyd Bridges. Could the Orson Welles-like figure at the right be producer Louis de Rochemont himself? De Rochemont lived much of his life in Newington, NH.

Love interest Eddie Talbot (Carleton Carpenter) with Anne Francis. They sing a duet just before the big square dance scene. Eddie's inventions lead to a brainstorm that solves the financial crisis at Doubleday Plastics -- saving Eaton Falls.

Dorothy Gish, sister of silent screen star Lillian Gish, plays the widowed Helen Doubleday whose strong will and sage decision-making places Brad Adams in charge after her husband's untimely death. The Gishes (see inset) are considered by many to be the ultimate film actresses of the Silent Era.

From "Whistle at Eaton Falls"
By Louis De Rochemont
© 1951 Columbia Pictures
Photos courtesy of the Portsmouth Public Library