zardoz-13 Patsy Kelly and Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams incite both charisma and comedy in director Guy Meins' laffer "Kelly the Second," a riotous farce about a roughneck truck driver who is turned into a prize-winning boxer. This lively, black & white, 1936 comedy starts out with Molly (Patsy Kelly) getting carjacked in the wrong direction when a dim-witted truck driver accidentally rear ends her coupe and inadvertently careens around town with her in tow. When he finally pulls up near a pool hall, Cecil Callahan is surprised and amused that he has dragged this scrappy, irate dame across town. Mind you, Molly gives him 'the dickens' until a well-meaning, innocent bystander intervenes in patronizing fashion and tries to help her out. Immediately, our heroine tells him off, but not before the gentleman slugs Callahan in the snout. All hell breaks loose on the sidewalk. Fists fly as Callahan plunges into a knuckle-busting Brannigan. Knocked backward out of the fight, Molly triggers a photograph and it plays the venerable tune 'The Irish Washerwoman.' This music revitalizes Callahan and his fists into veritable tornados. He flattens virtually everybody in sight, and the ensuing fracas galvanizes the local flatfoots into action. They summon the paddy wagon. Sirens howling as the police rush to the scene of the fight, our heroine and hero hightail it, after Callahan puts Molly's car into the back of his truck. They flee the scene of the donnybrook and take refuge in Dr. J. Willoughby Klum's (classic silent movie comedian Charley Chase of "Public Ghost # 1") drug store where Molly serves food at the counter. The disgruntled police officers show up not long afterward, and they haul Callahan off to court for creating a public disturbance. They haul in Dr. Klum and Molly on a charge of harboring a fugitive. The judge convinces the top cop to drop the charges against Dr. Klum and Molly. Dr. Klum goes to bat for Callahan, and the judge releases the truck driver into Klum's custody to the tune of $1000 dollars. The judge warns Callahan that if he creates another public disturbance that he will land in jail. Klum pledges his drugstore on Callahan's behalf and worries about his future. Outside the courthouse, Molly sees the number one prizefighter, Butch Flynn (Maxie Rosenbloom of "Gangs of New York"), and decides that Callahan can fight, but in the ring for the big bucks. Callahan's first fight doesn't last long because he tried to fight on a full stomach after he made the weight to qualify for the boxing match. Initially, Dr. Klum thought that he had a surefire winner, and another guy, a gangster named Ike Arnold (Edward Brophy of "The Invisible Woman"), listens to Klum's chatter and drops a grand on Callahan to win. Although he doesn't win the fight, Callahan makes a believer out of Ike when he decks the champ and sends him backwards, smashing through a wall, with one punishing pile-driver of a punch.Ike strongarms Klum into a partnership with Callahan, and Molly serves as the trainer. The secret of Callahan's success is his ability to thrash anybody in sight once the "The Irish Washerwoman" tune is played. Molly trains Callahan, and they surge to the top of the fight racket. Of course, it is basically a lowest common denominator comedy, but the timing and the physical action succeed in generating laughs if you're willing to chuckle. Look for Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer in a cameo as a kid with a stomach ache who swallowed two dimes and a nickel. There is another cameo by Harry Myers who co-starred with Charlie Chapin in his immortal comedy "City Lights" (1931) as a millionaire drunken who befriended the Tramp. Of course, "Kelly the Second" contains a cheerful happy ending.

verbusen If you are a Hal Roach, Patsy Kelly, Charlie Chase, Little Rascals Alfalfa or Irish 1930's exploitation movie fan, you can find a good reason to enjoy this film. Luckily for me I'm all of those! My mistake was reading some of the comments BEFORE viewing and I hate that but sometimes I cannot resist, but in this case they are mostly way off. One review even goes to say this is more of a DRAMA then a comedy, I don't know what that person was smoking but it wasn't tobacco (maybe a foreigner who does not understand American humor?)! If you like any of those characters/reasons I mentioned at the beginning this is definitely worth a viewing. I saw it on Turner Classic Movies, they were doing a women of comedy thing and Patsy Kelly's first feature film was the first film shown. Likewise with reading IMDb.com reviews before a viewing I also DVR these movies from TCM and SKIP the intro from Robert Osbourne, I mean the guy gives the whole plot away every time! I love the stories behind the story but please, let me enjoy the movie first! I watch Robert's comments after I finish the movie. Anyway another reviewer said he was turned on by Patsy and I have to admit if I was around with her and we were in the same time and age period in a bar I wouldn't mind her being my date, she looks like a whole lot of fun! I have not seen Patsy in too much stuff that I noticed her in, just Rosemary's Baby and Pick A Star, Pick A Star was also good so check that one out if you see it scheduled on TCM, the Hollywood Producer part had some very memorable risqué scenes! I'm giving this a 7 of 10, I laughed more than 3 times, its a 30's comedy, Hal Roach did it, it's short. and you get to see a really really young (and cute as a button) Alfalfa!

bkoganbing Patsy Kelly and Guinn Williams prove to be a funny and romantic team in their own way Kelly The Second. The title refers not to any order of birth, but the fact that Patsy acts as Big Boy Williams's second in his boxing career.I liked Williams playing a lovable lunkhead of a truckdriver who will goodnaturedly brawl on a given occasion. One such brawl damages pharmacist Charley Chase's establishment so that Chase is owing money big time. It's Kelly who gets the idea to turn Williams's talent for brawling into his becoming a prizefighter.Of course gamblers Harold Huber and Edward Brophy get involved as well as blond golddigger Pert Kelton. The heavyweight championship fight with Williams against Maxie Rosenbloom is something hilarious and pure Hal Roach.The gimmick at the end is that Williams goes into the ring thoroughly soused to the gills. But another thing that audiences today can't appreciate is Maxie Rosenbloom who two years earlier lost the world light heavyweight title after a five year reign. Rosenbloom's nickname as a fighter was 'Slapsie Maxie' because of his tendency to almost paw at his opponent. He was a tough man in the ring, but he rarely knocked out any opponent because of that. Fight fans in 1936 would know that and realize that Williams in his condition might fare better against a Rosenbloom than say Joe Louis. The final scene of course is Williams becoming the heavyweight champion, but the fight itself with a drunk Big Boy in the ring with Slapsie Maxie is hysterical. And of course the help he gets from Patsy and in fact the whole audience really make Big Boy, the People's Champion.

MartinHafer This is a very odd film in that I mildly enjoyed it but found almost no laughs whatsoever in this Hal Roach comedy! Despite having Patsy Kelly and Charlie Chase, the movie looked like a light drama--and putting the laughs in the script was just forgotten. It is a pleasant enough film--just not funny. And, I doubt if Roach would have been happy with me saying this if he were alive today because it WAS intended as a comedy.Part of the reason I was not terribly impressed by the film is that I am really not a huge fan of Patsy Kelly, as she always seems to be screaming her lines--subtle she sure ain't. Interestingly enough, and this is NOT meant at all to be a criticism, but Rosie O'Donnell is almost the spitting image of her.I was also disappointed because I LOVE Charlie Chase's silent films, but found at least in the case of this film, he doesn't make a good transition to sound--as the entire chemistry that made him famous is gone. He does play a fine supporting character--but he's nothing like the character he was in silent days, that's all.As for the plot and the other actors, they were fine though not outstanding. It almost seemed like in every way, Roach was using his B or C-string unit to make this film--saving his better stuff and energy for Laurel and Hardy and Our Gang. Speaking of Our Gang, look carefully for a very young and cute scene with Alfalfa--in his pre-Our Gang days.NOTE: Patsy Kelly's car at the beginning of the film appears to be the same one used for a comedy bit in the Laurel and Hardy short, OUR WIFE.