Phil C
05-20-2007, 07:15 PM
This movie was made in 1935 and is one of the great zany comedies that in the 1930s and 1940s by Hollywood.
I recommend it and am sure it will be shown again soon since yesterday was the first time it was on TCM.
It has a great cast and they actually are the main reason for watching more than the plot.
Charles Butterworth plays Willie Harrington and he was great. He was known for having great wit and one liners on the spur of the moment. In fact in his movies many times writers left off lines to let him ad lib them because he was great. This movie really shows off his great talent. Sadly he was killed in an accident in 1946 at the age of 50. Some say it was probably a suicide because he was despondent over the death of his good friend writer Robert Benchley. What maybe contradicts this is that at the time of his death he was engaed to Natalie Schafer who later played the millionaire's wife on tv's popular comedy Gilligan's Island. Sadly by the early 40's the movies great tired of his type of humor and he was not in great demand at the time of his death. If he could have lived a few years longer I think he would have made it good in television as a guest star and perhaps even landed a supporting role in a tv series. Indeed a shame.
Una Merkel plays Charles' wife and she is great and very humorous also. A few years after this movie she put on weight and took on roles of a sassy type nature such as in Destry Rides Again with James Stewart and Marlene Dietrich. She had great success in those roles. In that movie there is a great fight scene between her and Dietrich. But in her younger days she was very beautiful and fortunately this movie caught her while she was still skinny and charming.
Eugene Pallette plays police Sgt. Parker and he is great. He had a frog like voice and was popular in supporting roles for many years.
This is a great short movie and should not be missed. It is a shame that Mr. Butterworth's humor is not well known but fortunately TCM is giving us a second chance. It is also noted that Mr. Butterworth actually had a law degree from Notre Dame but he never practiced law and went into the entertainment business. Had he done so he with his with he probably would have been the real Matlock instead of the reel thing. But fortunate indeed are we that he made that choice.
I recommend it and am sure it will be shown again soon since yesterday was the first time it was on TCM.
It has a great cast and they actually are the main reason for watching more than the plot.
Charles Butterworth plays Willie Harrington and he was great. He was known for having great wit and one liners on the spur of the moment. In fact in his movies many times writers left off lines to let him ad lib them because he was great. This movie really shows off his great talent. Sadly he was killed in an accident in 1946 at the age of 50. Some say it was probably a suicide because he was despondent over the death of his good friend writer Robert Benchley. What maybe contradicts this is that at the time of his death he was engaed to Natalie Schafer who later played the millionaire's wife on tv's popular comedy Gilligan's Island. Sadly by the early 40's the movies great tired of his type of humor and he was not in great demand at the time of his death. If he could have lived a few years longer I think he would have made it good in television as a guest star and perhaps even landed a supporting role in a tv series. Indeed a shame.
Una Merkel plays Charles' wife and she is great and very humorous also. A few years after this movie she put on weight and took on roles of a sassy type nature such as in Destry Rides Again with James Stewart and Marlene Dietrich. She had great success in those roles. In that movie there is a great fight scene between her and Dietrich. But in her younger days she was very beautiful and fortunately this movie caught her while she was still skinny and charming.
Eugene Pallette plays police Sgt. Parker and he is great. He had a frog like voice and was popular in supporting roles for many years.
This is a great short movie and should not be missed. It is a shame that Mr. Butterworth's humor is not well known but fortunately TCM is giving us a second chance. It is also noted that Mr. Butterworth actually had a law degree from Notre Dame but he never practiced law and went into the entertainment business. Had he done so he with his with he probably would have been the real Matlock instead of the reel thing. But fortunate indeed are we that he made that choice.