The Bargain of the Century

Another hilarious short with ZaSu Pitts and Thelma Todd.

I didn't know it till I watched these shorts, but ZaSu Pitts is the unrivaled mistress of physical comedy. See my review of Asleep in the Feet (1933) for more on this.

In Bargain of the Century, she falls over the back of a chair and ends up upside down against the wall! The funniest prat fall I've ever seen! As well as one of the most acrobatic.

Thelma Todd has more to do in this one than in the other shorts. She is a very talented comedian in her own right, but ZaSu is such a show-stealer that in the others I saw, she is relegated to basically being a straight man. She gets to be the center of quite a few laughs in this film.

The plot is a good one. Todd gets Burtis fired by claiming she is Gilbert's daughter and getting him to assist her at a bargain sale. Gilbert walks up and the jig is up. Todd and especially Pitts feel bad and say they will find Burtis another job. They let him stay at their apartment until then.

Burtis is an inventor and comes up with all kinds of wild contraptions to "improve" their lives, all of which make Pitts and Todd all the more anxious to see him leave.

In the central scene of the movie, Pitts lures Gilbert up to their apartment (you've got to see how!), hoping to get him to re-hire Burtis, and the fun begins. Or, rather, continues.

The ending is great, the best of these shorts I've seen so far. A one line zinger, and unexpected plot twist all rolled into one!

It's hard for me to think of a better way to spend just over nineteen minutes than watching this very funny short.

The comedy is quaint at best, but Thelma Todd and ZaSu Pitts have a certain charm to them which makes it palatable. Gotta love that extendo-boxing-glove coming out of the closet too.

When Thelma Todd and Zasu Pitts get their new pal James Burtis fired from the police force, they have to let him move into their apartment. He turns out to be an inventor of anti-theft. devices that render their apartment a death trap. Things grow complicated when Zasu slips on a banana peel and stage-Dutch police captain Billy Gilbert carries her to the apartment.

Charley Chase directs this episode of THE GIRL FRIENDS. He reaches into his bag of gags, including his 1927 FLUTTERING HEARTS, the failed watch trick, and mechanical gadgets. Mostly, it relies on the top comic talents of the four players. Even Burtis gives a fine performance. He entered films in 1930 and by the time he died in 1939 at age 46. he had appeared on more than 120 shorts and features.

Having achieved success with Laurel and Hardy's shorts, producer Hal Roach decided to create a female comedy team in 1931. He paired sultry Thelma Todd with plain-jane ZaSu Pitts. The comediennes immediately clicked with moviegoers and continued making two-reelers until Pitts was replaced by Patsy Kelly in 1933.

BARGAIN OF THE CENTURY was one of the last Todd-Pitts shorts. As in their other films, the stars' charming personalities boost this one. Thelma Todd's glamour and levelheadedness effectively counterpoints ZaSu Pitts's drabness and dizziness. Despite their contrasts, one perceives a companionable bond between them.

The scenario isn't much. The girls accidentally get a policeman friend, Butterworth(James Burtis,) fired. Mistaking someone (Billy Gilbert) for the police captain, they try to play up to him so Butterworth can get his job back. What makes BARGAIN OF THE CENTURY move along are the comedic set ups and gags. Particularly hilarious are a series of booby traps for crooks that Butterworth sets up when he temporarily moves into the girls' apartment. These traps not only provide funny inconveniences for Todd and Pitts, but they also help humorously resolve the plot.

The supporting cast is fine with Billy Gilbert standing out as the "captain." His German accent is funny in itself. And he is ferociously hilarious when he rages over a prized watch ZaSu accidentally broke, assaulting every clock he can find in the girls' apartment.

This two-reeler was the only one in the Todd-Pitts series directed by comedy legend Charley Chase. He handles the comedy with flair and energy, making sure that the gags supplement but never overwhelm the stars. It's a pity Chase never directed any other Todd-Pitts shorts or any Todd-Kelly shorts for that matter.

BARGAIN OF THE CENTURY not only exemplifies a prime showcase for Thelma Todd and ZaSu Pitts but also a prime showcase for Hal Roach comedies as well. This two-reeler easily measures up to the best of fellow Roach stars Laurel and Hardy, Our Gang, and Charley Chase.

As this film began, I was surprised to see comedian Charley Chase billed as the director. Now it did NOT surprise me that he directed this comedy short, but I was surprised because he did so using his stage name and not his given name (Charles Parrott)--like he did in many other films.

The girls head to a department store where they are having a big sale. As the shop opens, an army of crazed customers storm the place and the place is in chaos. In a rare change from the norm for a Pitts-Todd film, there are actually quite a few laughs during this scene. Perhaps Chase at the helm was the difference, as there were more laughs in that scene than in four or five of their other films--put together! After causing an innocent cop to get fired, the ladies let him move in and set up house (remember, this is a Pre-Code film, so such goings on were allowed). When Zasu meets the police Captain by chance, she and Thelma contrive to get him to give their new friend his old job. However, ex-Officer Butterworth and the ladies manages to make more a nuisance of themselves than anything else. Can they somehow, in spite of this, manage to impress the Captain and get Butterworth his job? Well, tune in and see for yourself.

Aside from the department store scene, it was also fun seeing Gilbert go crazy towards the end. While there were a few flat moments, however, they were few and the film managed to do something few of the team's other films did---made me laugh and was entertaining! Well worth seeing.