This movie is now 73 years old, and as funny, maybe funnier, than ever. It was the first time I realized that despite all of the humor, there are no real jokes in this movie. The laughs come from situations, and also from the way the actors read their lines. Under normal circumstances you wouldn't find jokes about a blind man as proverbial bull in a china shop as very funny. You do in this movie, from Fields' cries of "Look out for Mr. Muckle the blind man!" to "Sit down, Mr. Muckle," as the mayhem continues unabated.
If you were to read the script you wouldn't find Mrs. Bissonette's nagging and complaining funny at all. All of the laughs come from the deadpan delivery and line readings of a very fine actress, Kathleen Howard. I got a real laugh from the angry lines spoken by a dissatisfied customer, actor Morgan Wallace. Basically his only dialogue was, "What about my kumquats?" done in a variety of angry tones. Fields, as grocer Harold Bissonette (pronounced "Bisson-ay"), had a thing about funny names and funny words. "Kumquats" is a funny word, and despite not having a lot to say but that word, actor Wallace said it extremely well.
T. Roy Barnes is the hilarious annuity salesman with the classic funny bit using the silly name, Carl La Fong. As you can see from the photo sequence I took off my computer monitor, and then added dialogue, it isn't the words that are said, it's the way they are said. If you have seen this movie you'll probably remember this sequence, and if you haven't I suggest you rent it.
This is also a movie that shows that you don't need dirty jokes to make something funny. I don't have anything against dirty jokes, and I'm sure Fields didn't have anything against them either. But he made an extremely funny movie that was also clean. Huh! Go figure.
Ciao for now.
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