The Great Gildersleeve

HAROLD PEARY brings his trademark laugh and distinctive voice to the screen in the first of the Gildersleeve films starring him in the title role. It's strictly corny, lowbrow comedy but lots of fun, an unpretentious little programmer from the early, patriotic '40s.

With a running time of one hour and two minutes, it seems more like a back to back half-hour TV situation comedy in style with the running joke being Gildersleeve's attempt to remain the bachelor guardian of two children and suspected of having marriage plans with the plain spinster mistakenly assumed to be his intended.

Nice support from JANE DARWELL as his efficient Aunt Emma, willing to help Gildersleeve with his household responsibilities and NANCY GATES as one of his charges. Much of the humor springs from Peary's comic skill with slapstick material as he mismanages everything.

CHARLES ARNT as a befuddled and irate Judge Hooker is effective in a supporting role, as is MARY FIELD as his sister, the unattractive spinster.

Anyone familiar with the Gildersleeve of radio fame is sure to enjoy this situation comedy from the Golden Age of B-film programmers.

The first of four RKO movies about Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve, a popular radio character voiced by Harold Peary. I'm far too young to have listened to the original Gildersleeve radio broadcasts but I have heard many of them thanks to Old Time Radio. It was a very funny sitcom with enjoyable characters and great voicework. The most distinct voice belonged to that of star Harold Peary, who continues the role in this film series. Gildersleeve is a friendly blowhard who takes in his niece and nephew after their parents die. In this first film in the series, a judge threatens to take the kids away from Gildersleeve if he doesn't marry the judge's spinster sister.

Harold Peary is fun but I think the phrase "a face made for radio" applies here. He has a very unique voice but his screen presence is lacking. Try closing your eyes during his scenes and you'll get an idea how much better he plays on radio. Jane Darwell plays Aunt Emma, who moves in to help Gildersleeve with the kids. She was such a fine dramatic actress and here she proves she can do comedy quite well, too. Lillian Randolph plays Birdie the maid. Nancy Gates and Freddie Mercer play the two kids. Mercer is a little weird and nowhere near as funny as Walter Tetley was in the role on radio. Gates is pretty and likable. Thurston Hall, Charles Arnt, and Mary Field round out the cast.

Probably my favorite scene in the movie is an early one where Gildersleeve takes his nephew's scooter to pick up Aunt Emma from the train station. In addition to being a hilarious scene, there's some cute rear projection effects. There are funny moments throughout even if it never manages to match the level of the radio show. As with all old movies about small-town America, there is a certain charm and innocence about it that I can't help but enjoy watching. For a lack of a better word to describe the feeling, it's a 'peaceful' viewing experience.

Harold Peary's title character is a delight. The guy is id personified: Everything that comes into his mind, he comments on. He says what he thinks. Or he makes sounds that seem to him appropriate. Kind of like a suave caveman.

His family is very appealing. Freddie Mercer, as his nephew LeRoy, is a likable child actor. In addition, he has a beautiful boy soprano voice. O for the days when children were given voice and music lessons in their homes! (Rich or extraordinarily gifted children still are but this is a precursor to Mayberry, RFD.) Gildersleeve is pursued here by a truly man-crazy woman. We are distracted from this initially because she is the homely, bespectacled spinster daughter of the town judge. But she really likes men.

It's a charming bit of nostalgia.

An offshoot of the Fibber McGee and Molly radio show, Harold Peary is "Gildersleeve", a sad sack who gets into trouble now and then. In this adventure, his neighbors want to get him married off, and after the usual mis-understandings, he gets in deeper and deeper. Nancy Gates and Jane Darwell co-star, and can't seem to mind their own business. "None so Rare", sung by little tyke Freddie Mercer, first as an aria, then in jazz. he made a bunch of films in the first half of the 1940s, then seems to have disappeared; died young at age 48, but that doesn't seem to be discussed anywhere. It's ok. Gildersleeve always has a weird, creepy laugh, and spends the whole film oddly moaning and running in circles. the strange laugh really got annoying. SO much slapstick comedy...( the three stooges must have been busy that week.) it really got annoying. maybe comedy has just changed since this was made. Just a silly, quickie from RKO. Directed by Gordon Douglas; he worked with Elvis (follow that dream), Sinatra (five films!) and did the Falcon in Hollywood, an pretty good chapter in the the Falcon murders.

"The Great Gildersleeve" was a very popular radio show from 1941-1958. It was a spinoff from another radio show, "Fibber McGee and Molly". Not surprisingly, the show was so popular that it led to several movies. The first string of Gildersleeve films were based on the character from "Fibber McGee and Molly" and were made by Paramount. This film, "The Great Gildersleeve" sounds as if it's the first Gildersleeve film but it's actually the sixth...but the first made by RKO studio.

In this story, Throckmorton Gildersleeve (Harold Peary) is the guardian of his niece and nephew. He thinks his kids need the influence of a woman and he asks his aunt (Jane Darwell) to move in with them. Unfortunately, Judge Hooker's matronly sister is smitten with Gildersleeve and thinks he wants to marry her...something he definitely does NOT want to do! But with the Judge overseeing the guardianship, Gildersleeve is worried that the Judge will take away his guardianship if he doesn't marry the sister. How does he avoid this and what's next? See the film and find out for yourself...though it, surprisingly, includes a visit from the Governor.

While the film isn't perfect (Peary's laugh is tough to handle and the rear projection is a bit annoying), the story is entertaining and ends well. Worth seeing.