So You Want to Be on a Jury

So You Want to Be on a Jury (1955)

*** (out of 4)

Funny short has Joe McDoakes (George O'Hanlon) and buddy Homer (Jackson Wheeler) skipping work so that they can sit in on a jury but it turns out their boss is on trial against a gangster. The duo must either go against their boss and face getting fired or go against the gangster and end up dead. If you're new to the Joe McDoakes series then this entry wouldn't be a bad place to start even if it's not one of the better ones in the series. It does have enough good laughs to make it worth sitting through and the back-and-forth situation makes for a few decent laughs especially one where the boss dresses as a woman in order to get into the jury room. Another funny gag happens early on as Homer is able to convince the boss that Joe would be able to work 26-hours a day and wouldn't have to be paid any extra money. Both O'Hanlon and Wheeler are in top-form and have a nice comic timing together. We even get Arthur Q. Bryan, voice of Elmer Fudd, playing the Judge in a couple scenes. Most of the jokes are rather simple as the jury goes one way only to have to change sides and this goes swinging back every few minutes. There's certainly nothing ground breaking here but there are enough laughs to make this an entertaining nine-minutes.

The Joe McDoakes shorts were all pretty silly and the situations ridiculous. However, in the case it's all this AND makes absolutely no sense at all.

Homer and Joe somehow end up on the jury...though it's very confusing what got them there. Regardless, the defendant ends up being their boss and he threatens the two to shut up and make sure he's found not guilty. Later, the other side threatens to kill them....and then the boss does the same. This happens again and again while the jury is deliberating and seeing the one guy show up on the window sill with a machine gun simply made my head hurt...as did the final altercation when the judge came in and threatened the jury. It really looks like they ran out of ideas here...or that the writer was on drugs.

Other than seeing Arthur Q. Bryant as the judge (since he was known more as the voice of Elmer Fudd in cartoons), I found nothing about this confusing mess of a short to enjoy or recommend. Sorry...I normally DO enjoy these films.

IT WAS BOUIND to happen. We knew that the premise of just what fun can be poked at the judicial system would be on the MC DOAKESIAN agenda.

OH SURE, BRUSHES with the law abound in so many other episodes of this series; as well as about every other that one can imagine. That would include, but not limited to Chaplin Keaton Lloyd, Laurel & Hardy, the Stooges, Abbott & Costello en ad infinitum.

BUT THEN THESE above mentioned forays into the topic were, for the most part, variations on the Citizen vs. Beat Cop. With a few exceptions to the premise, for whatever reason courtroom anti-drama is a rare occurrence.

THE ACTION THAT we will see in this installment becomes crystal clear once we see that Ben Welden is on trial. He is the guy who made a living out portraying hi best character for probably 40+ years.

DURING THE COURSE of this short's unfolding, probably every one of the oldest, corniest and most obvious of related gags were paraded out before the cameras. In rapid fire succession we were given a primer on the basic sight gag, the obvious pun and what man would consider low brow,. vulgar humor.

AND THE RESULT is..........??

THE FINAL PRODUCT(ion) turns out to be at least one of the better laugh getters in the series history!

LET'S HEAR IT for the Cast & Crew!! (Roll the Credits, Schultz!)

SO YOU WANT TO BE ON A JURY: Writer/Director Richard L. Bare, writer(uncredited) & star George O'Hanlon, Jackson Wheeler co-starring status, Phil Arnold, Al Bain, Arthur Q. Bryan, Eddie Foster, James Gonzalez, Jack Gordon, Creighton Hale, Shep Houghton, Jack Mower, Emory Parnell, Phil Van Zandt, Ben Weldon, Harry Wilson, Tom Wilson.

Photography: Ellsworth Frdericks A.S.C., Editor: Rex Steele, Art Director: John Beckman, Sound tech: Francis J. Scheid, Music: William Lava. (Cast & Crew believed to be complete.)

"Th-th-th-th-th-th-that's All Folks!"