El primer curso de amor

Joe Penner stars as Joe Zany...a ridiculously named and strange character who has a weird affliction. Whenever he's around pretty young ladies, he begins hiccuping uncontrollably. It's so bad his rich father offers $5000 to cure him...and Bob Norman tries to cure Joe by taking him to a lodge filled with young ladies. Bob tells Joe that these women are all in their 60s...the result of plastic surgery and the like. And, because the women are all supposedly old, Joe seems at ease around them.

While you can easy see that the film's plot is ridiculous and contrived, it might have somehow worked had the film been funny and Penner more likable. As it is, it all seems very forced and unfunny--especially at the start where you see Penner dressed as a baby and then a small child. Although I found Penner mostly unfunny, it is sad he died so young (of an apparent heart attack at 36). Interestingly, IMDB actually says about this "Had he not died so young (of a heart attack at age 36), Penner probably would have suffered an early decline anyway simply due to the repetitive nature of his schtick and faded into supporting character roles". I can easily see their point.

So is this worth seeing? Not especially...as Penner is so unlikable and brash. Additionally, the writing was sometimes awfully broad. It's a shame, as the concept is much like Harold Lloyd's "Girl Shy'...which was a great film. Also, the supporting cast is terrific--with the likes to Tom Kennedy and Mantan Moreland to provide some REAL laughs. You really wonder if the film, with a slight re-write and different leading actors (such as Abbott & Costello), might have worked. All I know is that I didn't enjoy this picture very much and plan on avoiding Penner's films. Perhaps he was beloved on radio, but as a leading man in films, he was just more annoying than funny.

After seeing the movie, I didn't kiss the wife for a week; call it Fear of the Hiccups and her good luck. Poor Zany, every time a girl kisses him, his throat goes wild. So now, to cure him, Dad sends the goofus to a remote lodge filled with young women who Zany believes are in their 60's but benefitting from youthful face-lifts. Obviously, hiccups aren't his only problem! Then too, Dad's got secret designs on forcing the owners to sell the lodge to him at a cut-rate price. One thing for sure, this ain't your typical plot-line, even for a goofy knock-about.

Too bad Penner and the script don't pull off the wacky potential, particularly the hiccups and the many cute girls. Instead, Penner comes across as a repetitious, third-rate cross between Jerry Lewis and Lou Costello, with a schtick that soon gets one-note and tiresome. Then too, the script lets him dominate events, while the main chuckles come from supporting players, like Feld and Kennedy. Also, the attempt at sight gags, like the poorly edited run-away boat, fail to raise the laugh level.

Anyway, whatever Penner's earlier comedic accomplishments, it's not surprising that this entry has been assigned to movie oblivion, and that's despite TMC's worthy effort of giving even the most obscure one more try. So, thanks TCM, even for the losers.

Joe Penner at one time was a top comedian and his main performing medium was radio. He was on radio every bit the zany type you see here. His main catchphrase was "Wanna buy a duck?" A year after this film was done he would die quite suddenly and young.

His brand of humor doesn't wear well in this type of film. His kind of frenetic pace was best in short subject films.

In this one Penner is a rich idiot who can't get anything going with young and attractive females. Instead of being grateful he won't be propagating, dad hires Russ Brown an expert in these matters to teach Penner to not be so shy and learn some social graces.

Penner's not shy any more when things are over, but social graces is a hopeless cause with him.

Joe Penner for these times is an acquired taste.

this is a very good slapstick comedy feature from RKO, with a fine supporting cast including Tom Kennedy playing one of his patented dimwits, Fritz Feld, Arthur Q. Bryan and the underrated Mantan Moreland. Russ Brown, now principally remembered as a leading support in the stage cast of DAMN YANKEES is a fine second banana. It's directed by old hand slapstick pro Leslie Goodwins. And it's all wrecked by Joe Penner.

During the 1930s a lot of radio comedy was predicated on people with funny voices -- Fanny Brice, a talented performer, led the way with Baby Snooks. There were others and Joe Penner was among their ranks: an adenoidal toddler's voice, a catch phrase ("wanna buy a duck") and that was it. Think of Lou Costello without Bud Abbott to play against and only a portion of one routine ("I'm a baaaaad boy!") and done. That's Joe Penner: a third banana from a burlesque show somehow shoved into the top spot of a movie without preparation.

Show business has always thrown up these sports and for the most part they star in one show, then it's on to whatever B or C list celebrities do -- "Comedy Central Celebrity Roasts" these days, where they can be safely ignored. Well, in those days, this is what happened to them: B comedies from RKO where skilled supporting casts and Leslie Goodwins tried to make bricks without straw.

So long as Joe Penner is not on the screen, this is a pretty good comedy: millionaire sportsman is afraid of young women, so his father hires a psychiatrist to cure him. The psychiatrist take him to a failing resort populated by millionaire-hunting pretty girls who are all, he informs the millionaire, actually old ladies. Complications, in the manner of all the best comedies, ensue, including a local mass murderer. Unfortunately, Joe is there to be annoying to other characters (which is fine) and audience alike (which is not). Others could certainly play this part very well, even, perhaps, people in this movie. Unfortunately, they chose Joe.

Joe Zany (Joe Penner) has always reacted strangely to girls even as a baby. He gets a case of the hiccups whenever a girl kisses him. His tycoon father hires escort manager Bob Norman to fix him but it's not that type of escort. Bob takes the big money job anyways and accompanies Joe to a resort filled with young women. Bob tricks Joe by claiming that these are old ladies after their facelifts. Resort owner Lois Marlow convinces the gold-digging girls to stay with promise of a rich bachelor. Joe doesn't know that his father had sent two aggressive agents to buy the resort.

It's silly non-sense. There is some funny moments and wacky situations. I just never cared that much about Joe. He's basically the 40 year old virgin but Penner is trying too hard. The bevy of greedy babes is not a good look. It provides a minor laugh but it's also kinda sad. The story is so convoluted that I lost track of everybody. Nevertheless, the zany adventures are pretty zany and there are some fun gags although Penner's zaniness wears thin by the end.