Film #18 - Babes in the Goods (1934)

    

Starring Thelma Todd and Patsy Kelly.

Featuring Arthur Housman and Jack Barty.

Directed by Gus Meins.

Synopsis

"Girls, you don't seem very anxious to make a sale!"

        

"Babes in the Goods" begins with two shop-workers in a department store demonstrating how to use a nice, shiny dishwasher to hundreds, literally hundreds, of spectators gathered outside on the sidewalk.

*jokes*

The department store boss (Jack Barty) is pleased with how the demonstration is going, and wants to continue the sales push during the rush hour. What with the other two girls clocking off, the "new" girls will be put in the window to replace them.

I think we can all guess who the "new" girls will be!

Kelly and Todd are trying to sell a new gown to a rather obstinate Fay Holderness, with Kelly doing the modelling. As well as attempting the impossible, the girls also get left holding the baby.

Mr Barty asks Kelly and Todd to go in the front window and demonstrate the dishwasher, strictly informing them that as long as they have an audience, they keep demonstrating.

The girls set about demonstrating the modern way of washing dishes as Charlie Hall looks on engrossed. Someone pushes to the front of the queue, yes, it's the inimitable drunk, Arthur Housman!

As is typical of the duo, Kelly bungles the demonstration, having trouble with the hose and breaking the tap.

Most of the crowd begin to disperse, but ol' Arthur maintains his prime viewing position, even after twenty-five demonstrations.

Reluctant to cease demonstrating as they still have an audience, the girls decide the best way to clock off is to get Housman to leave. They attempt to do so by scaring him, but this fails miserably.

They carry on demonstrating, but Kelly makes the mistake of loading the dishes into the washing machine!

Eventually, the automatic blinds of the store kick in, meaning that Housman can no longer see in, and the girls can go home.

However, they've been locked in!

With no way out until morning, Kelly is quite happy to sleep on the bed a couple of windows down.

Todd eventually joins her, after stripping down to her underwear.

Patsy moves around a lot in her sleep and eventually the pair end up falling out of bed.

Frightened that they will still be asleep when the blinds are opened in the morning, Kelly volunteers to remain awake.

However, this does not go to plan!

With the blinds now open and the girls fast asleep in bed, Housman - who has been outside all night - is free to continue watching them. He gives them a wake up call by burning Kelly's posterior! (Just think ants and a magnifying glass...)

What with their nightmares now true, Todd hides behind the bed to protect her modesty whereas Kelly tries to run away. However, she inadvertently catches her dress in the door and is left in the same state of undress as Thelma.

Mr Barty arrives for work and finds the two girls covering their modesty with blankets. He fires them, ordering them to leave the bedclothes on their way out, leaving Kelly and Todd with no choice but to walk out of the job in just their underwear.

        

Review

"That guy's screwy!"


    

If you were to ask me 5 years ago, having watched all of the Kelly & Todds, is this a particular short which you'd rank as one of your favourites, I may have said that "Babes in the Goods" would be right up there in my top 3, after I'd given you my standard response of squinting at you and stating "I wouldn't say yes, and I wouldn't say no".

Watching it again now for the purpose of this review - in fact, watching it several times in order to write this review - I'd still happily place it in my top 3 Kelly & Todds.

In my opinion, it contains many of the elements that make for a good K & T short: Kelly's bungling getting the girls into trouble; Todd's pained facial expressions in having to deal with Kelly's bungling; a fair amount of pretty heavy handed slapstick; and it's also pretty risque, possibly it's the most risque short in their canon.

More of that later on...

AND, of course, who doesn't love Arthur Housman?

Is there even a bad Roach short that features Housman??! Probably not!

Once again, that ol' lovable rogue provides much merriment, in fact, I would be so bold as to state that he gets the best laughs in the short. Put your hand in the air if you agree with me...

In particular, it's hilarious when he puts his umbrella up against the shop window in the mistaken belief that he will get drenched by the dishwasher jet. Likewise, it's great when the girls' best attempts to get him to go home for the night involve Kelly threatening that she'll dig a home for him and Housman just imitating what they are doing.

For me, this is vintage Housman, and it's nice to see him as quite integral to the success of this short, rather than as in say, "Scram" where he disappears mid film. The sheer look of horror on his face as Thelma dismembers the manikin is hilarious, as is the fact that he ends up in a bin after a giant, de-clothed Todd walks towards him! That's brilliant.

  

Housman is also blessed with a really novel way of waking up the sleeping duo once the blinds have gone up. Burning Kelly's butt was something I didn't see coming, and his lecherous wink right at the end as he encourages the girls to drop the bed clothes and parade out in a state of undress is just the right side of tasteful.

I feel as if Arthur Housman always improves the quality of a short, just by gracing it with his presence.

Moving on, I've also got a couple of questions I wonder whether people can help me out with: Does anybody know the names of the two women who are demonstrating the dishwasher at the start of the short??

Having watched very little of the Roach output in the last 3 years and being a bit rusty, I feel like their faces are familiar but I can't immediately place them in any other films. As part of the Roach stock company, I guess they only ever had walk on parts like in "Babes in the Goods", but I'd be curious to learn if anybody has any information on them.

Secondly, another pretty obscure question: Does anybody know who was the stunt body double for Patsy Kelly??? It's quite well done in this short, but it is obvious that when Kelly falls out of the bed one time, and later on, takes a flying leap onto the bed, deshabille, that it's not Patsy Kelly! Again, just curious.  

Right, I haven't written much about Kelly and Todd yet, so let's correct that with some text about "Babes in the Goods" and risque nature. It's arguable that this is one of the most racy Kelly & Todds, potentially one of the most risque Roach studio releases (although personally, I'd vouch for Mixed Nuts being the most risque - more of that in another review...).

What makes it so ribald? Well, Thelma Todd once again gets to take her dress off - are you all keeping a tally of how many times that occurs in the Pitts/Kelly & Todd series? - and there are plenty of loving close-ups of Thelma Todd in her underwear...

...BUT, I believe this is the only time in the series that Patsy Kelly also takes her dress off too (unless you're counting the end of "Backs to Nature"...).

The question I ask is: why? Let me explain.

The fact that Thelma Todd takes her dress off copious amounts of times in the series probably indicates that the Roach studio thought that there was good marketability in getting people in to see a Pitts/Todd or Kelly/Todd if the lovely Thelma Todd was presented in a state of undress.

Arguably, this must have worked, as Todd kept getting scripted to take her dress off in subsequent shorts. I'm curious as to why Patsy Kelly also sheds her dress (albeit, accidentally) in this short, and then doesn't for the rest of the series. 

Is it something to do with a simple gag? That the situation for the girls is like a very real bad dream - waking up to find your bed has been put in a shop window for the common multitude to gawp and titter at - so it's even funnier if BOTH girls have just their negligees on to enhance the comedy?

Or could it have been to do with the developing comedy dynamic that the writers were toying with? "Babes in the Goods" is an early Kelly and Todd short. Could they have been planning to utilise the 'woops-my-dress-has-come-off' gag for both women in the future?

The fact they didn't, in Kelly's instance, to me suggests that the writers probably thought that it would turn into overkill and I also feel that it's not long after this short that Kelly becomes less glamorised and more frumpy and bumbling, thereby incorporating some of the traits typical in her predecessor, Pitts.

Whatever the reasons, I'm glad they didn't make it a regular feature. Does anyone else agree with me that it can only be funny so many times when Thelma Todd takes her dress off? I wonder whether some of the less successful comedy in the Kelly & Todd series stems from moments where Todd is undressed. What I mean is, at least for me in "Babes in the Goods", Arthur Housman has the best moments, and I'd kind of expect a Kelly & Todd short to, well, have Kelly & Todd deliver the best slapstick and gags!

I've rambled on a lot about ribaldry, but there's also one other saucy moment that raises a wry smile in its risque-ness. It's the moment when one of the above-mentioned unidentified demonstrators is in the shop window!

   
The fact that the whole crowd leans across as our demonstrator changes placards...come on now! Just look at the guy's face in the front row who is nearest to, ahem, her posterior! Hahahaha. Seriously, you don't usually get this kind of stuff very often in a Roach release, as Jack Barty (below) would attest.

I haven't said anything about the title of the short, which is an obvious pun on the phrase "Babes in the Woods", which might commonly refer to two young innocents led into a trap. Interestingly, IMDB reveals that Disney released an animated short entitled "Babes in the Woods" in 1932, and perhaps more relevant to us, a 1917 silent fantasy with the same name featured a child actor by the name of Gertrude Messinger, who had of course appeared in Roach's "Boyfriends" series.

Just a couple more quick points on some of my favourite moments in the short. As would be expected, Kelly and Todd work well together, Kelly is quick with her quips such as "Night owl Kelly never sleeps" and her catchphrase question - "What do I get?" - is answered by an irate Todd - "MAGNOLIA!" - . I also really enjoy the bits where the two girls are trying to get to sleep in the bed and they keep falling out. For me, that's up there with some of the finest moments of comedy that Laurel and Hardy performed involving a bed.

And Kelly's retort about an earthquake: hilarious!

Todd also has some great one-liners, such as suggesting that Fay Holderness's colour is "battleship grey"! Hahaha.

The slapstick involving the dishwasher demonstration is also well done, and often very funny. Personally, I'd vouch for Kelly loading the -washing machine- with the dishes a highlight of the comedy.

Whew! I think I'll wrap things up there...I've got to go and wash the dishes...

What do you think of "Babes in the Goods"? Where does it rank in your list of favourite Kelly and Todds?

  

Watch it

"What do I get???? MAG - NOLIA!"

"Babes in the Goods" 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 

My screenshots for this review are taken from "The Complete Hal Roach Thelma Todd & Patsy Kelly Comedy Collection" set released by Classic Flix. An excellent set and well worth purchasing!

Here's the link: Complete Hal Roach Todd & Kelly 

Film #8 - Next Door Neighbors (1931)

     

Starring Edgar Kennedy and Franklin Pangborn.

 

Featuring Mabel Forrest, Arthur Housman, and Pert Kelton.

 

Directed by Harry Sweet.

 

Synopsis

"Oh! I beg your pardon!"

 

   



"Next Door Neighbors" begins in the Green household, with Mr Green (Edgar Kennedy), a composer by profession, writing music on his piano.

His wife (Mabel Forrest) is busy whisking eggs and humming, and the noise disrupts Mr Green from his composition. After an angry tirade delivered to his wife, Mr Green carries on.

Meanwhile, next door, Mr Andrews (Arthur Housman) is trying to recover from a headache - I like to think it's caused by a hangover. He lies down on the sofa complete with towel for his forehead, whilst his wife (Pert Kelton) does housework.

Outside, the landlord (Franklin Pangborn) is building a fence as his son (George Billings) watches on.

The phone rings in the Andrews residence, much to Mr Andrews' annoyance. Mrs Andrews answers it. It's a call for Mrs Green. Mrs Andrews has a system where if she knocks on the wall three times and Mrs Green knocks back on the wall three times, it means that she is coming over to get the phone.

The knocking disturbs Mr Green, but his wife goes over to take the call.

As she goes outside, Mrs Green accidentally steps on the landlord's fence that he is building, and snaps one of the panels. The call is actually for Mr Green, so Mrs Green has to go back to her house to get her husband. She steps on another fence panel accidentally and breaks it, much to the landlord's annoyance.

 

An irate Mr Green goes next door to take the phone-call breaking more panels on his way there and back.

Mrs Andrews goes next door, breaking more fence panels on her way over and annoying her husband by letting the door slam.

More broken fence panels, more slamming of doors and more phone calls occur to the annoyance of the landlord, Mr Andrews, and Mr Green.

Eventually, a full-scale 'tit-for-tat' war escalates between Mr Andrews and Mr Green.

In the ensuing destruction, Mr Green rips off the Andrews' back door, Mr Andrews returns the favour, Mr Green upsets the Andrews' dinning table, and Mr and Mrs Andrews dance a waltz around the Green's living room, destroying most of their furniture in the process.

Mr Green grabs his shotgun but when he loads it, the gun goes off and he destroys his music manuscript.

The Greens go round to the Andrews' house and use the phone to call the police station. Before the call is completed, Mr Andrews rips the phone off the wall!

All four of them set off in a huff towards the Green residence, walking across and breaking the entire fence that the landlord has just finished making.

In the Green residence, Mr Andrews is on the floor in some kind of leg-lock administered by Mr Green. Mrs Andrews whacks Mr Green with an umbrella whilst Mrs Green hits Mr Andrews with a broom.

The landlord storms in and demands that they all get out and leave his properties, destroying Mr Green's piano in the process.

The film ends with the landlord finally in peace to finish his fence, only for his son to snap a panel right in front of him! The landlord finally snaps and moves angrily towards his son...
 

 

 

Review

"We love to be neighborly"

 

 

Here at Magnolia's Musings, I always take an interest in "lesser known" comedy shorts. Whilst in the coming weeks I'm finalising reviews of classic films by Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd, I thought that it would be worthwhile to write a short review of a short film that I stumbled upon by chance after purchasing Volume I of Alpha Video's "Rediscovered Comedies of Edgar Kennedy".

Magnolia's Musings was set up to offer my own thoughts on the giants of black and white comedy, but it's also important, I feel, to use this space as a place where overlooked, ignored films can gain some attention.

You're probably thinking that there's a reason why some short films are never mentioned on popular review sites or available easily on widely distributed, lavishly restored sets: It's because they're really not that good, right?

But that argument doesn't wash with me. Take, for example, the fact that here in the UK, you can't purchase any official Charley Chase or Harry Langdon sets because they've never been given UK releases on DVD. By the argument above, because they're unavailable, should I treat those clowns as "minors" and "unworthy" of my attention? No!

I guess what I'm trying to say is that this blog was set up in part to give coverage to those films that you might not necessarily have thought deserving of a review. Perhaps some of them you haven't seen before. Perhaps you might be encouraged to go and watch them. If so, great!

But of chief import is that here at Magnolia's Musings, I'm not drawn into the school of critics who will look to tell you that "Film X" is rubbish and unworthy of your attention. If you like comedy, there's always something of interest in watching obscure or unmerited films. Hopefully, they should make you laugh, even if they aren't "classics".

Finally, Magnolia's Musings is not a blog that takes itself too seriously. I like giving space to the unknown -and- the celebrated, but ultimately these posts are little more than my (lightly edited) streams of consciousness that I feel I have to jot down on paper after watching these films. It's not a scholarly blog, nor is it a critical blog where you will find production dates, actor biographies, or obscure details. Above all, I like writing about laughter, and films that make me laugh.

"Next Door Neighbors" is a film very much in that vein above that I've been writing about. A film that is obscure; not very well-known, probably not watched very often, and certainly it has never been painstakingly restored.

It's also not a classic, and I mean that in it a nice way.

It will make you laugh in places, but you won't be in a rush to watch it again. It is essentially, a product of its time; to be watched for light entertainment, enjoyed, and forgotten about.

However, if you're a fan of comedy from this period (and indeed the Hal Roach studios) it does feature some old friends that you'll be happy to see.

For the Roach fans, you'll be pleased to see that Edgar Kennedy is in good form, and it's also a chance to see every Roach fans' favourite drunk, Arthur Housman, as an un-inebriated Mr Andrews. There's also a minor role for onetime Hal Roach Studios actress, Pert Kelton.

One of my favourite moments in the short is when Arthur Housman and Pert Kelton dance a waltz round the Green's living room, destroying many of their possessions in the process. Both show their athleticism - kicking and prancing around fallen objects and tables.

Pert's easy on the ear - nice accent - and Housman's facial expressions are as charming as ever, although he's so typecast as a drunk in my mind that it's hard to see him performing any other role without being disappointed. I keep thinking: "He's going to do something really funny in a minute," but it never quite comes in this short, sadly.

Unsurprisingly, Edgar Kennedy is the star of the short. I really don't want to use the phrase: "Kennedy is the master of the 'slow-burn'" seeing as -everybody- seems to mention that phrase whenever they mention Kennedy, but, well, he does a great job here with an under-par script in making the 'slow-burn' work!

I could have said: "Kennedy will fix it" - the script, that is.

I should have said that, shouldn't I?

Good Kennedy moments in this film include ripping the Andrews' backdoor from off its hinges to gain access to their house and telephone, and accidentally firing his shotgun at his music manuscript, destroying it in the process. I actually feel sad for Kennedy, lying on the floor crying with his hard work destroyed!

  
Before watching this short, I hadn't heard of Franklin Pangborn, but apparently he was an extremely talented actor known for his comic prowess in films of the late 20s, 30s, and 40s. He gets top billing in the list of actors, above Edgar Kennedy. 

Part of the fun of watching Franklin Pangborn as the landlord is to see his reaction to every broken fence panel that Mr and Mrs Green and Mr and Mrs Andrews ruin. The joke of people "accidentally" stepping on a fence panel could get tiresome quickly, but the humour is maintained in this short rather than the gag becoming repetitive by the fact that you're constantly wondering whether that particular broken fence panel will be the last straw and see the landlord snap.

Even though the resolution to all of those broken fence panels is expected and a little too predictable - the landlord throwing out his violent tenants - the film will go down in history in my mind as featuring one of the creepiest endings to a short ever, with a snarling Pangborn advancing closer and closer towards the camera (the camera acting as a substitute for his own son's eyes). Check out the picture at the end of this post (if you dare!)!

Even though I'm not one to whinge at picture quality very often - I got through my poor quality copy of "Seven Footprints to Satan", after all, and still enjoyed the film - it is a bit of a shame that at several moments in this short you can't quite make out some of the actors facial expressions - especially long distance shots - but still, who am I to complain. Will this ever be cleaned up and loving restored? No! Of course not! 

Overall, the film is solid if unspectacular, with a few nice novelties. It's worth a watch, if you haven't seen it before, but you probably won't be in a rush to watch it again.

And the ending will creep you out...

What do you think of "Next Door Neighbors"?
 

Watch it

"If I find my shotgun, you'll see what I'm going to do!"

 

 

"Next Door Neighbors" is available on DVD as part of "The Rediscovered Comedies of Edgar Kennedy: Volume 1," released by Alpha Home Entertainment.

 

Here's the link: Edgar Kennedy Volume 1 DVD