Film #11 - Asleep in the Feet (1933)

   

Starring ZaSu Pitts and Thelma Todd.

 

Featuring Billy Gilbert, Anita Garvin, and Eddie Dunn.

 

Directed by Gus Meins.

 

Synopsis

"I'm so tired I'm nearly dead!"

 

      



ZaSu and Thelma return from a busy day working at a department store. They set about making dinner. ZaSu makes a mess of things.

The girls overhear that a fellow tenant, Miss Brown, is having trouble paying rent due to the landlady (Kay Lavelle). She owes $20. 

Thelma and ZaSu decide to help the girl by loaning her the money. Thelma goes to their "bank" (a mousetrap under the rug) and finds that some money is missing.

ZaSu admits to having taken the money to buy a ring.

The landlady enters, harbouring concerns that the girls are cooking food in their room. In their attempt to hide the food, ZaSu manages to put the peas in the bin, which the landlady then carries away.

Another tenant (Anita Garvin) knocks on the door of the girls' room and asks to borrow an onion. She advises Thelma and ZaSu to go down to the local dance hall that evening, suggesting that they could make a couple of bucks.

Thelma figures that between the both of them, they might be able to earn $20 to give to Miss Brown. Despite her staunch protests, ZaSu does accompany Thelma to the dance hall.

ZaSu dances with a bearded oddball, whereas Thelma gets nautical with the most annoying sailor in the world (Eddie Dunn).

ZaSu breaks a heel dancing with a very tall man. Thelma leads ZaSu off the dance floor.

They meet Anita, who has earned a lot of tickets from just one dance by fluttering her eyes and wiggling her hips - she advises Thelma and ZaSu to do the same.

In the meantime, the police turn up (Nora Cecil, Julia Griffith, and Nelson McDowell) to inspect the dance hall proprietor's (Billy Gilbert) joint.

Mr Gilbert manages to tell all the patrons to dance respectably - except ZaSu, who has been receiving lessons in how to flirt from Anita. Anita also helps ZaSu by advising her how to apply some 'enticing' make-up!

Having missed Mr Gilbert's announcement, ZaSu promptly 'swishes' to the floor - all hips and fluttering eyes - in an attempt to earn more tickets. Thelma is powerless, trapped at the entrance to the Ladies' Lounge, as her sailor paramour won't leave her alone.

ZaSu's flirtations arouse the suspicion of the police officers, and one of them (Nelson McDowell) decides to dance with her to try to gather evidence against the 'lewd' establishment.

During a racy number, ZaSu and Nelson crash to the floor after failing to pull off a spectacular dance move.

Thelma asks Eddie to go and put a stop to Nelson's antics with ZaSu. Eddie goes over, and is reunited with his uncle!

Mr Gilbert removes the girls from the dance floor. He tells them to go home but before they can, there is a scuffle, where one of the dancers is hit by Anita, getting a black eye.

Mr Gilbert pays out $20 in compensation. This gives ZaSu an idea...

The lights go off, and when they come back on, Thelma has a black eye!

Mr Gilbert gives the girls $20 and they go home.

Back home, Thelma looks in the mirror at her black eye and sees that her cheek has the same pattern on it that is on ZaSu's ring! Realising that ZaSu hit her, Thelma turns round to be greeted by a crying and apologetic ZaSu.

ZaSu's make-up has run all down her face, leaving Thelma laughing at the whole matter.
 

Review

"boop-boop-be-doop!"


 

  

"Asleep in the Feet" must rank as one of the best Pitts and Todd shorts, surely. The film is a brilliant laugh-out-loud comedy with ZaSu getting the majority of the gags, and features excellent support from a large cast. It might centre around a fairly simple plot, but some of the comedy in this short is among the finest to be found in the Pitts/Todd series.

The relatively basic premise of the girls' getting home tired from work and setting about preparing their evening meal is made funnier by unexpected twists and turns. For example, ZaSu has lost the tomatoes on the way home and spills most of the peas over the table - fairly simple, generic stuff. But it's very funny to see ZaSu attempt to pour the liquid contents of a can into the pot after she has pierced both ends of the can!

It's also funny to see ZaSu's bumbling continue when she attempts to hide the peas from the prying eyes of the landlady. Her decision to hide them in the bin would seem like a safe hiding spot, but, oh dear, the landlady takes away the bin to empty it. Likewise, after repeated interruptions to their attempts to cook dinner, ZaSu manages to trip over and throw the pot through the open window, where the contents of the pot land on the landlady's head! That was a nice moment.

The scenes that deal with the landlady threatening to throw out Miss Brown are also funny, largely because we get to see Thelma's anger upon realising that ZaSu has "borrowed" $16.50 from their savings to purchase a ring.

I remember the first time that I watched this short that it was a pleasant surprise to see Anita Garvin appear! She doesn't receive any billing in the title credits despite the fact that her role is of equal size to Billy Gilbert and Eddie Dunn.

She'd appeared in the Pitts and Todd short "Show Business" (1932), and I wonder what Anita Garvin would have thought about appearing in supporting roles in Hal Roach's 'second' female comedy team, having been one of the stars of the first pairing? Probably not envy, but I wonder if she ever thought: "That could/should have been me"?  

As could be expected, the main course of comedy - you could say, the real meat of the stew - is served at the dancing hall, which is chock full of whimsical moments and hilarious gags.

The first few moments, where we see ZaSu dancing with a bearded chap are hilarious!

Huh! He looks like a biscuit hipster. And her second dance partner isn't much better, is he?! I feel sorry for ZaSu - hardly any men want to dance with her - and that's not comedy, I just sigh to myself and whisper "Oh dear."

The moment where there is just one guy left waving his ticket, and ZaSu thinks he's going to dance with her but instead he walks right over to the other remaining girl...that's just cruel! Poor ZaSu!

Poor old Thelma gets saddled with the most annoying sailor to have ever sailed the ballroom floor. Eddie Dunn plays such an obnoxious anchor with a bunch of nautical jokes that even I find too cheesy. I tend to cringe whenever he's on screen, rather than laugh. But having said that, we all know that one skipper who thinks he's a ladies' man, don't we?

By far my favourite moment of the film is when the girls receive tips in the art of flirting from Anita and the chaos that comes of it. Now that is funny! It's hilarious to see Anita reveal her flirtation techniques - comically fluttering her eyelashes and wiggling her hips - much to the obvious disgruntlement of ZaSu and Thelma.

Poor old ZaSu. Poor old ZaSu...

Seeing her decked out with 'alluring' make-up plastered all over her face, you can't help but laugh. Anita's obviously gone for the Clara Bow and Betty Boop look, but sadly, ZaSu doesn't quite manage to pull it off...

...Thelma's expression can tell you that...

Still, it's hilarious to see ZaSu 'swishing' around all over the place and pouting, desperate to obtain a lot of tickets. Perhaps her line of "boop-boop-be-do" is the best line of the film, delivered in a comically deadpan way! And check out Anita's look of approval!

I particularly like the dance hall inspectors, especially Nelson, and his attempts to dance with ZaSu will trigger snort laughter in you, the viewer. ZaSu's wiggling about all over the place, and when she tries to get closer to Nelson, he comically has trouble pushing her away. It's all the funnier when you see all the other patrons dancing so demurely and the slow, dreary music playing.

But then, at Nelson's request, once the racy music starts, their attempt to dance in more adventurous fashion sees them end up on the floor together! That's a great moment of comedy, beautifully timed. It gets better, once the other police inspectors venture onto the dance floor and are quickly swept off their feet by two sailors (with one even losing her bloomers in the process...). 

And then we see Nelson's shoes start smoking because he's dancing so quickly; hats jump and down in time to the music; one of the musicians plays the trombone with his eyes crossed - all brilliant stuff.

And the film ends with Thelma and ZaSu reconciled, after the latter gives Thelma a black eye. It's funny to see Thelma's expression as she twigs that ZaSu hit her, and then to hear ZaSu sound like a cat as she starts whimpering.

But it's funnier to see ZaSu's face after the make-up has started running down it!

And, as you could expect, there is excellent support from Billy Gilbert. Generally speaking, every short that he is in with the girls is very good. He's fabulous in this film, playing the nervously angry German dancing-hall proprietor. Along with his usual hilarious trademark mannerisms, you also get a peach of a line from Mr Gilbert: "Dance nice, like your grandmothers"!

I wonder why nobody has written a biography of Billy Gilbert? I'd love to read that.

I feel that Thelma Todd is a little underutilised in this film - she doesn't really have much to do as most of the comedy and action centres around ZaSu. This isn't a criticism, just an observation, as the film works really well as it is. But it definitely feels much more of a "Pitts" film than a "Todd", if you get my drift.

Overall though, it is a wonderful short film, definitely one of my favourite Pitts and Todd films, and it has lots of rewatchability - if that's such a word...

What do you think of "Asleep in the Feet"? Where does it rank in your list of favourite Pitts / Todd shorts?
 

Watch it

"I didn't want to hit ya!"

 

 
"Asleep in the Feet" is available on DVD, beautifully restored by the German Filmmuseum as part of their "Female Comedy Teams" set.

 

Here's the link: Female Comedy Teams DVD 

Film #10 - Let's Do Things (1931)

 

     

Starring ZaSu Pitts and Thelma Todd.

 

Featuring George Byron and Jerry Mandy.

 

Directed by Hal Roach.

 

Synopsis

"My feet haven't been so good lately"

 

    



"Let's Do Things" starts with ZaSu and Thelma working at the music counter in Waltham's, the world's largest store.

Thelma sings a song - "Them There Eyes" - which attracts plenty of male customers, but not many sales.

ZaSu doesn't do much better trying to sell sheet music, much to the disgruntlement of the manager.

ZaSu's boyfriend, Milton (George Byron), turns up with news that he's been put in touch with a big doctor from Boston who wants to take them out to a cabaret. Thelma agrees to go as the doctor's date for the evening.

The girls get ready for the big evening.

Milton arrives early so sets about eating most of the food that the girls have purchased. The doctor (Jerry Mandy) arrives at the girls' apartment. It turns out he is an osteopath (which doesn't go down well with Thelma).

She refuses to go, claiming that she has a bad headache. This doesn't put the doctor's back out at all; instead he rushes into the bedroom to cure Thelma of her headache.

After throwing her around for a bit, an irked Thelma tells him that she is cured, so they all set out for the club.

In the club, ZaSu's feet are killing her so she takes off her shoes.

A variety of entertainment takes place whilst the foursome sit awaiting dinner, during which Thelma accidentally kicks ZaSu's shoes out from under the table.

The doctor brags about a special strong alcoholic concoction that he has made. He says it will kill all pain, so ZaSu rubs some into her feet. Unknowingly, she also pours a large quantity into her drink.

More dancers appear to entertain the guests, but the lead girl falls over, hurting her back. The doctor goes out back to treat her. Thelma takes the opportunity to confide in ZaSu that she plans to get rid of the doctor by pretending to be drunk. She asks ZaSu to pretend to be drunk as well.

ZaSu drinks up, actually getting drunk. Meanwhile the dancing girls return after the doctor has worked on them - they can't walk properly, and it looks like his treatment has done more harm than good!

Thelma pretends to be drunk, and is shocked to discover that ZaSu's performance of drunkenness is a little too real! The doctor dances with Thelma to stop her making a nuisance of herself - so he tells the manager.

Milton and ZaSu's attempts to dance do not go well. Without her shoes, ZaSu slips on the floor and gets chewing gum stuck to her sock.

The doctor gets a bit too enthusiastic whilst dancing with Thelma, and ends up going through a table. He is removed forcibly from the establishment by a waiter (Charlie Hall).

Trying to find her shoes, ZaSu eventually ends up underneath a dining trolley. She is carted out of the club by Thelma, with Milton trailing them.

Back at their apartment, Thelma prepares some food as she is starving. Milton sits down and is about to have a serious conversation with ZaSu, so it would appear.

Instead, he just asks for a bit of pie, so Thelma throws it in his face!

 

Review

"Some girls say 'yes' - very popular!"

 

 

 

I thought we'd kick things off with the first ever review of a Pitts / Todd short on Magnolia's Musings by focussing on ZaSu Pitts and Thelma Todd's first film together in their series of shorts for Hal Roach, "Let's Do Things".

And there's a nice gag right at the very start of the film.

The girls work at Waltham's department store, New York, the same store in the classic Clara Bow film "IT" where Bow, as shop worker Betty Lou, woos the boss, Cyrus Waltham. I'd love to have seen a quick shot of a Bow lookalike working in the store in those opening moments! That would have been a nice touch! But still, whereas old Cyrus Waltham fell in love with Betty Lou, the store manager whom Todd and Pitts work for doesn't like them very much, and there's some nice comedy there.

So, what do I think of the film and the Pitts / Todd pairing?

Well, the film is actually a really nice showcase for the success of the Pitts / Todd pairing. In short, I think this is a really great short to kick off the series. It's solid, with some decent gags and a large supporting cast, and although I wouldn't consider it to be one of the best Pitts / Todd films, it's certainly not one of the worst.

I'm going to focus on the Pitts / Todd pairing throughout this review, but I have a few general thoughts to jot down here initially. The pair have an interesting dynamic that is, as would be expected, very different to the later Kelly / Todd shorts. Typically, Pitts makes most of the mistakes in the films, bumbling along innocently like Stan Laurel. Pitts is also reliant on Todd to get her out of certain scrapes and predicaments that the pair find themselves in. Pitts's catchphrase - if I can call it that - of "Ohhh, dear" becomes more and more charming the more you hear it mumbled as mishaps occur.

And Pitts is an incredible comic actress with a penchant for a deadpan expression during the high slapstick moments.

Todd's role is rather fluid in the shorts with ZaSu. Arguably, she does a greater amount of slapstick in them than she does in the Kelly shorts, but she is still the beautiful object of desire for (m)any men. It's interesting that her character is less grouchy in the Pitts shorts, and Todd seems to lose her temper more with Kelly than she does with poor defenceless Pitts. Generally Todd seems happy with ZaSu's company, but in the Kelly shorts, her character often feels lumbered (or cursed) with Kelly's company.

But all in all, her slapstick comedy is wonderful stuff, and it's interesting in this particular short that Todd plays the cautious, discerning dame, whereas Pitts is a bit love-struck with Milton (this is often flipped in the Kelly / Todd shorts where Todd is hopelessly in love with someone and Kelly acts as the brash and anti-romantic friend).

Sure, Todd is beautiful, but her acting talent is well utilised in this film: singing, crawling under tables, scowling, frowning, pulling hilarious facial expressions, and getting thrown around by an osteopath. Coupled to ZaSu's elegant slapstick - such as trying to get off a painful pair of shoes or dancing on tiptoe - and her meek, timid, but endearing voice, the partnership has a lot of strengths.

So what's so funny about this particular film?

Firstly, the girls are given some nice gags to work with that are a nice blend of physical slapstick, comical facial expressions, and hilarious one-liners. I'll draw attention to these moments as we go along, but I wanted to mention the second reason why this short is a good starter for the series: the leading men (George Byron as Milton and Jerry Mandy as the doctor) are highly comic and great, whimsical characters who have a plethora of humorous traits and one-liners between them.

In fact, it's usually one of my greatest irks in the whole of the Pitts / Kelly / Todd series that the leading men in some of the episodes are -incredibly- characterless; dull, insipid, flat, and tedious. Just watch "Catch As Catch Can", "The Pyjama Party" or "Three Chumps Ahead" for fine examples of how leading men playing 'boyfriends' in the shorts can ruin them totally.

But it's difficult isn't it? After all, these shorts are films starring Pitts / Todd and Kelly / Todd - so the boyfriends can't steal the limelight too much, can they? That's true to a certain extent, but "Let's Do Things" gives a rare opportunity for zany boyfriends to complement ZaSu and Thelma's comedy act, and in my opinion, elevate the women.

And besides, men with real character do make frequent successful appearances in these shorts (Billy Gilbert, Don Barclay, Arthur Housman), without stealing the limelight from the women, and again, those shorts are generally good thanks to the certain charm that those men have by playing memorable and quirky characters.

So I guess I'm basically saying that generally, any films where 'boyfriends' appear are typically a bit rubbish, thanks to the incredible dullness of the 'boyfriends.'

I've taken a long time to say it, but "Let's Do Things" really works because the boyfriends are interesting, original characters!

George Byron's Milton has a passion for all food and spends most of his screen time eating. He also appears wonderfully distant with regards to conversation, sporting a puzzled look on his face most of the time. He's even comically oblivious to the fact that Thelma really dislikes him, and all of this makes for good fun in the film. He also takes a pie to the face in the final moments of the film.

Jerry Mandy (whom eagle-eyed readers might have already identified as the sailor frightened by Stan Laurel in "Why Girls Love Sailors") is also a great actor, full of comical, exaggerated facial expressions (no doubt honed from his days in silent films).

He gets a decent amount of opportunity to engage in slapstick - notably jerking Thelma around on a bed trying to cure her headache, and diving through a table and getting a face full of spaghetti.

So it's a double-thumbs up from Magnolia for two funny men complementing the girls in this short.

Shame they didn't always get the 'boyfriends' right...

Anyway, the stars of the show, of course, have the best laugh-out-loud moments.

Some of my favourite ZaSu and Thelma moments include the following: ZaSu dancing along and joining in to Thelma's rendition of "Them There Eyes", and later on trying to sell sheet music in her inimitable way: "I'm Throwing Myself Away - only 25 cents".

Watching the girls do their make-up in front of the camera: It's clear that Thelma is well-used to applying make-up, but ZaSu looks outside of her comfort zone, comically covering her whole face in white powder! Poor ZaSu doesn't fare much better once they get to the club. Worried that the dress that she borrowed from Thelma shows too much flesh, she'd put a white shirt on underneath it, much to the merriment of the other patrons. Thelma comes to the rescue. It's a bit cruel to poor ZaSu (giving her the role of the 'unconventional' woman to be laughed at rather than adored like Thelma), but it does make for good comedy.

Seeing Thelma get thrown about on the bed as the doctor tries to cure her headache is also hilarious. She looks stunned by his treatment!

ZaSu also plays the drunk well, innocently making a fool of herself, and you can't help but feel sorry for her when she accidentally gets chewing gum on her foot. This comes after she has comically mimicked the dancing entertainment for the evening by moving her hands and feet in time to the music whilst sitting down watching the pros perform. Once again, it's her little mannerisms that can garner the greatest laughs from the viewer.

Seeing a drunk ZaSu carted away underneath the dining trolley by everybody's favourite cameo actor, Charlie Hall, is also a nice moment. He pops up everywhere, does Charlie Hall.

Other standout moments include the look on the doctor's face once he lands in the plate of spaghetti, which is brilliant, and you feel that Milton gets his just deserts when Thelma throws a pie in his face. He was asking for that!

What do you think of "Let's Do Things" and the Pitts / Todd pairing?
 

Watch it

"Ohhhh, dear!"

 

Sadly, "Let's Do Things" is currently unavailable on DVD. Ohhhhh, dear!