jacobs-greenwood
Directed by Jack Donohue, this slightly above average comedy features Red Skelton in the title role. Though I'm not a big fan of this comedian's mugging and frequently goofy on-screen persona, I have to admit that this film's story (by Devery Freeman, who co- wrote the screenplay) kept me interested, if not laughing, until its end. Perhaps the fact that the cast is filled with several recognizable and competent character actors like Walter Slezak, Edward Arnold, James Gleason, Paul Harvey, Guy (Herbert) Anderson, and even Polly Moran (in her last film) had something to do with it. Charles Lane also appears, uncredited, as a casualty company executive who denies Skelton's character coverage for being a bad risk.Skelton plays 'Red' Pirdy, an accident prone inventor who meets Ellen Goodrich (Gloria DeHaven), an insurance adjuster for the Yellow Cab Co. after he'd been hit by Mickey Corkins's (James Gleason) cab. Naturally, Ellen tries to get the victim to unwittingly sign a document absolving her company from any responsibility for the accident. She visits him at his apartment which is rigged with inventions he's created per his lifelong study of, and expertise in, safety.Red, more than aware of his 'reckless' tendency, is all too willing to sign the paper until an ambulance chasing lawyer Martin Creavy (Arnold), whose name is alternately mispronounced Greedy and/or Creepy, stops him. Ellen wonders how Creavy always seems to arrive at her claimant conferences, during the course of which Red inadvertently demonstrates his elastic glass invention. Ellen is then able to get Red to sign the document by promising a demonstration of his invention to her cab company's owner, Mr. Hendricks.Creavy, who had backed out of Red's apartment with an idea, is then seen in the Yellow Cab Co. office of Willis Tomlin (Anderson), who's been being bribed by Creavy for giving inside information to the lawyer about claimants' cases. Creavy, who'd instantly realized the value of Red's elastic glass, tells Tomlin that he must sabotage the demonstration to Mr. Hendricks (because he needs time to "unlock" the secret formula from Red's brain). Tomlin switches Red's elastic glass windshield for a regular one so that when Red throws a baseball at Mr. Hendricks (Harvey), sitting behind it, the owner is beaned. Ellen, who's demoted to the "Lost & Found" department, and Mickey sympathize with Red before convincing him to become an employee of the company in order to get another chance to demonstrate his invention.A scene which should be funnier than it is follows: it begins with Mickey mentoring Red on the fine art of cab driving and ends with Red totaling Mickey's cab. Moran plays the mother of the bride who, along with the groom become oblivious, kissing passengers in the back of the ill-fated cab. However, somehow, Red becomes a full fledged member of the cab company.Meanwhile, Creavy has one of his men (John Butler) fake an accident by throwing himself in front of Red's cab in hopes of gaining leverage over him. Creavy also schemes to learn the secret of Red's invention by utilizing phony Dr. Byron Dokstedder (Slezak) to hypnotize it out of him.Though neither of these plans work, fortunately for Creavy (and for no other reason than to foreshadow a later event and introduce a place for it to occur), Red and Ellen go to a home show. Once there, Red recognizes the man who he'd hit with his cab when he buys a refrigeration product from "Dr." Dokstedder, and "smells a skunk".Later, one of Creavy's heavies, Hugo (Jay Flippen), takes a fare during which he bops Red on the head; a unique dream sequence follows. When Red awakes, he finds himself being held captive by Dokstedder & Hugo, but successfully escapes his own apartment by using his own inventions.Ever since being hypnotized by Dokstedder, Red conveniently hears the Doctor's voice in his head, which leads him to later suspect that he's killed Tomlin, who was about to double cross Creavy by spilling the beans about the unsuccessful invention demonstration.However, the fact that Red's pitcher made of elastic glass was used as the murder weapon, and that Creavy somehow knew it had water in it, eventually works its way from Red's subconscious to help him figure out what's going on. Events lead Red, recaptured by Creavy and company (which now includes another heavy played by John Indrisano), as well as Ellen & Corkins back to the home show after hours for a crazy, slapstick ending including a convoy of taxicabs, large balloons with bows & arrows ... and, of course, another demonstration of Red's elastic glass windshield to Mr. Hendricks, with predictable results.
edwagreen
Inventor Red Skelton, prone to accidents, creates a riot in this 1950 film. Gloria DeHaven, as his girl, is along for the ride.Walter Slezak, Jay C. Flippen and Edward Arnold are at their evil best. The last scene is similar to a Marks Brothers or 3 Stooges like films.I loved the part with the ambulance chasers and the attorneys. Was this ever so true to life!The film has familiar themes of slapstick comedy, accidents beyond belief, and a little brat of a child who causes mayhem with the police and traffic departments.The zany Red Skelton was wonderful at this type of film. The only thing is that you're familiar with these things and can easily predict what's coming next.
dougdoepke
Some belly laughs in this Skelton madcap. As usual Red plays a good-hearted schlemiel who stumbles from one mishap to the next, but somehow muddles through to win the girl (Gloria DeHaven) and the climax. Here he's an amateur inventor and Yellow Cab man battling veteran baddies Walter Slezak and Edward Arnold.A great job by the writers. The comedy set-ups are consistently funny and inventive from the mine-field opening of Red walking down the street to the whirlwind close at the L A Home Show . (Forget the muddled story-line which is just a handy post to hang the hi-jinks on.) This was just the kind of slapstick that Skelton could turn into a wild and crazy romp, and he does. .Catch the great comedic architecture in the early sequence that builds hilariously from the baby-sitting beginning to the nine-one-one close. Too bad this kind of engineering has largely disappeared from today's movie screen. Then too, the crib scene with Red playing both his toddler self and infant sister amounts to 60 second knee-slapper.In fact, there are a number of special effects scenes that work up more than a few chuckles. But the North Pole dream has something of a nightmarish undercurrent as does Red's getting shoved into the mixer.I guess my only complaints are the cheapness of the street sets and the dull-grayish quality of the filming (at least, in my copy). Coming from big-budget MGM, such cost-cutters affecting overall quality seem surprising.Nonetheless, this is a fine little post-war flick whose futuristic house at the Home Show expresses something of the surging spirit of a 1950's America then on the economic upswing.
