Director: Joseph Santley
Year: 1937
Rating: 6.0
I will watch anything in which Victor Moore is the leading man. He gives me a kick in the funny bone. Unfortunately, there were very few films in which he was the leading man - almost always a comedy sidekick or inserted into the film for a few laughs. His sort of comedy relief resonated back in the day when most comedian character actors had a style that they stuck to in every film. He was a rotund fireplug of a man and his shtick was the put upon fellow - by a wife, friend or employer. Never articulate and whenever he lost his patience and wanted to make a comeback, it got lost somewhere along the line. He was the lead in We're on the Jury with his leading lady here, but his claim to fame was Make Way for Tomorrow that was released in this same year. And it wasn't a comedy though again he plays a man whose children show him no respect - it is one of the saddest and more depressing films made during the Depression years. Orson Welles said it could make a rock cry. It is brilliant. Just be ready for a kick in the stomach. Nothing depressing about this film though. It is a lighthearted sarcastic look at Americana.
Otis (Moore) is a barber esteemed by his
fellow barbers and he is invited to make the commencement speech at a barber
school graduation. His advice to them is "If you cut a man while shaving
him, immediately say it is the first time it has ever happened". Good advice
which he shortly takes. His wife Emma (Helen Broderick - mother of Broderick
Crawford) spends her time entering contest after contest neglecting her home
duties at which she is not very good. Otis has to take care of those as well.
His frustration bubbles over but she runs the house. The two actors had worked
together many times on Broadway and have excellent timing. The two characters
have a daughter played by Anne Shirley, but she doesn't get much to do except
look sweet and fall in love.
Emma is chosen by the Happy Noodle company as the representative from Ohio to come to Atlantic City and compete with other women in household chores such as sewing and interior design. She gets a big send off by the town - with women in the crowd muttering that Emma can't even make a bed. As she begins to give a farewell address the train pulls out but that doesn't stop her. In Atlantic City, Otis just wants to hang out with the other beaten down husbands, but she needs his help. Running at 60-minutes this is clearly just a filler from RKO but a pleasing one with a few laughs.
Year: 1937
Rating: 6.0
I will watch anything in which Victor Moore is the leading man. He gives me a kick in the funny bone. Unfortunately, there were very few films in which he was the leading man - almost always a comedy sidekick or inserted into the film for a few laughs. His sort of comedy relief resonated back in the day when most comedian character actors had a style that they stuck to in every film. He was a rotund fireplug of a man and his shtick was the put upon fellow - by a wife, friend or employer. Never articulate and whenever he lost his patience and wanted to make a comeback, it got lost somewhere along the line. He was the lead in We're on the Jury with his leading lady here, but his claim to fame was Make Way for Tomorrow that was released in this same year. And it wasn't a comedy though again he plays a man whose children show him no respect - it is one of the saddest and more depressing films made during the Depression years. Orson Welles said it could make a rock cry. It is brilliant. Just be ready for a kick in the stomach. Nothing depressing about this film though. It is a lighthearted sarcastic look at Americana.
Emma is chosen by the Happy Noodle company as the representative from Ohio to come to Atlantic City and compete with other women in household chores such as sewing and interior design. She gets a big send off by the town - with women in the crowd muttering that Emma can't even make a bed. As she begins to give a farewell address the train pulls out but that doesn't stop her. In Atlantic City, Otis just wants to hang out with the other beaten down husbands, but she needs his help. Running at 60-minutes this is clearly just a filler from RKO but a pleasing one with a few laughs.