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The movie itself is really only about a 5, but for me, when Lupino Lane really gets going, he can do no wrong.

For several years now, I have found myself bored to death over movies that are directed to be more concerned with presenting their "story" than with what they DO with the narrative. Most movies are written by a bunch of hack writers anyway, and few stories have any depth or value to them that can keep me engaged. RATHER, I am interested in any movie that allows truly talented actors to show off their skills.

Now it turns out that Lupino Lane is as good an acrobat as Buster Keaton, and probably as good a pantomimist and dancer as Chaplin or Lloyd. So here I am delighted to find a featurette that really displays his talents—and in a talking picture while the actor is still at his prime, no less.

Not that it couldn't have been even better, but... you can't have everything (although I'll never know why).

Fortunately, there is enough innocent silliness, cartoonishness, pantomime, acrobatics and else at play here, and briskly moving along at a pace to keep my interest.

If you don't know Lupino Lane, you might want to start with a wonderful compilation of clips from his movies, with super music, on the DVD "SlapHappy: Vol 1 (3 Funnymen...)".

If you find those clips amazing, astounding and hilarious, then you should try out some complete silents. After that, if you, like I, cannot possibly get too much Lupino Lane, then you should check out this movie (you can buy it at Amazon UK).

That single kernel, that one diamond hidden in the dirt, is an excellent little dance routine by the three comedians. More about that later.

This is one of those movies constructed in a way I most loathe—the characters talk their way through an unpleasant story that bores me to death, and unsympathetic characters (Ann Southern doesn't get along with a child; how unsympathetic can you get????). In amongst all this are three highly-talented comedians, and a bunch of speciality song-and-dance numbers.

I hate specialty numbers. I don't want to see the Berry Brothers jump from a 20-foot high mezzanine into split position during a gratuitous dance. It would be so much better if they did these acrobatics as part of a story, like Buster Keaton or Harold Lloyd. But... no. I also hate being dragged away from the only real reason I am watching a movie—to see my favorite comedians. I hated it when Hal Roach did this to Laurel & Hardy and I hate it in this movie.

But one scene—ONE number is the sole reason to keep this DVD. About 31 minutes in, Red, Rags and Ben do a characterful little dance. Now I've been searching to find out if Red Skelton could really dance—he said once that he could dance, but I've never seen him do a good number in his TV shows nor in all the movies I've seen so far; and I've wanted to see Ben Blue do a nice number—because I wondered how someone so contrived could have been a successful performer (and it was obvious that he was a great dancer).

Well, here it is, for a very, very, MUCH TOO SHORT moment or two, the comedians get to do some real dancing. This is dancing with technique, but also infused with great personality and THAT is the dancing I like to see!

For the rest of the movie... meh. I don't see why people like Ann Southern—she has a voice like a kazoo and she doesn't do much with her dancing. Her character is unlikeable, she's not funny, and I do not find her attractive. She is very irritating. I also find Virginia O'Brien extremely boring. The comedy trio is good when they dance, but the rest of time...

...I would actually have preferred to see the Three Stooges doing their sketches!! Especially the one about being in the spooky spy house. Red, Rags and Ben are SO LAME here I couldn't believe it. The Stooges actually would have provided more energy, better pantomime, and better ensemble work.

The sets are gorgeous and magnificent. The 'special effects' are—VERY effective! The story is hallucinogenic and outrageous. The musical numbers are gratuitous and hilarious. The hairstyles, the clothes, the backdrops all may be nominally futuristic, but it's the future through a 1930's lens—my favorite decade in art and film. Everything is improbable and unbelievable—and it's all delightfully pre-code and 100% politically incorrect.

What's there not to like?

El Brendel is really quite engaging. He takes several deft falls and acquits himself as a decent visual comedian. He even gets to do a multi-personality skit, which I'm assuming came from his Vaudeville shtick, so there is some historical interest to this.

And if you like Marjorie White, this is the movie for you! She has a pretty large roll in this movie. She mugs, she sings, she performs eccentric dancing, she pantomimes. As her usual spunky self, the first time we see Ms. White is on a tele-TV screen: she's in her underwear. Immediately upon appearing in-person, she takes off her clothes. Toward the finale she also gets a nice comic monologue. My only disappointment is that she doesn't manage to stow away on the spaceship to Mars… (As a "guilty pleasure" I will to admit: I love the exotically-dressed Amazonian outer-space women of early "sci-fi" cinema. So the Martian Women are a plus here, not a minus!)

Admittedly, there are a few slow-ish shots. But even these work in the film's favor—as Ms. White suddenly grabs the rear-seat of a man walking too slowly through the set, and thrusts him forward with the admonition to "get moving!"

Well, folks, "Just Imagine" now joins the ranks of much maligned movies that I actually enjoy enough to watch more than once, and which I will show to my friends—and of which they will heartily approve. This list includes: "Meet the Baron", "Three's A Crowd"; "A Pest from the West"; "Cuckoo on a Choo Choo", "Outer Space Jitters", "Abbott and Costello Go to Mars", and Larry Semon's "Wizard of Oz".

All we need is a pristine print; and since one was recently projected at David Packard's "Stanford Theatre", I certainly hope a copy gets printed onto Blu-Ray sometime soon!