The Hot Spot

Before Frank McHugh became a familiar character actor with Warner Brothers in the 1930s and 40s, McHugh starred in several shorts for RKO-Pathé. Of these, apparently only "The Hot Spot" remains....and the copy is far from stellar. It's a bit scratchy and ragged....and the sound quite poor. So, if you watch it, be aware that the sound volume varies considerably.

Pete (McHugh) is a reporter who has been threatened with getting fired if he cannot solve the Shaw murder. Pete's very obnoxious brother-in-law comes up with an insane and ridiculous idea....to confess to the crime to help Pete and then Pete will try to solve the murder while the brother-in-law languishes on death row.

Does this make ANY sense? Nope. Is it funny....not often. The short is more of a curio for film buffs than anything else. Harmless fun....but also inconsequential.

Obnoxious William Eugene moves in on his brother-in-law, perpetually drunk reporter Frank McHugh. They cook up a scheme to get Frank a story and Eugene publicity by having him confess to a murder, While he's waiting to be hanged, McHugh investigates by getting drunk.

It's a good set-up and fine first five minutes to this RKO short, in what was supposed to be a long series for McHugh based on his character in THE FRONT PAGE. It's pretty good throughout too, if you ignore the rather haphazard way McHugh investigates --- which looks like it was supposed to be a running gag in the series. However, McHugh soon wound up at Warner Brothers, a member of their "Irish Mafia" ringled by Jimmy Cagney and Pat O'Brien, and did very well for himself.