An Hour for Lunch

If the best laid plans of mice and men gang aft agley -- whatever that means -- then how can Robert Benchley expect to get anything done in a mere hour?

Robert Benchley's stage act had originally consisted of him lecturing his audience confusedly on some subject he did not understand. Now he was not talking so much -- although he does begin and end thuswise -- as demonstrating the inability the get anything done. Benchley urges his audience to make lists of what they wish to accomplish, and then demonstrates that if you want to make G*d or your audience laugh, be sure to tell them your plans.

Hour for Lunch, An (1939)

** (out of 4)

MGM short has Robert Benchley playing host and telling us the best way to get the most done during your hour lunch break. Benchley also plays Joe, the poor soul who makes out a list of things to do on lunch but things don't go as planned. I've often said that Benchley is rather hit and miss with me with this one here missing the boat and almost completely. I was pretty surprised to see that not too much is done here or even tried for that matter. We see Benchley schedule a hair cut but there are too many people waiting. We see him try to get something to eat but the cafe is crowded. We see him trying to get on an elevator but too many other people are using it. None of this is very funny but the film doesn't even appear to be trying for it to be funny. Director Rowland keeps the film moving along at a nice pace and it's never boring but when a comedy doesn't feature any laughs then you must consider it a failure.

I have seen several of Robert Benchley's shorts for MGM and although he won an Oscar for one of these ("How To Sleep", 1935), I never have particularly enjoyed the films and they fail on one minor account...they aren't really funny. This is a problem, as they are meant to be comedies!

In this film, Benchley does what he usually does in films--introduces himself and dispenses sage advice. Then, Benchley demonstrates how something is SUPPOSED to be done and it's a total mess. The formula is pretty standard and it has some very mildly amusing moments. None of it is laugh out loud funny, but it is a harmless time-passer and nothing more.

This is Robert Benchley at his best. In the film, he has an hour for lunch and a lot of errands to get done. At the beginning of the film, he lectures us as an expert on time management. Of course, the opposite is true. He is distracted by a huckster selling toys on the street and must stop to take his weight. His complete plan is thrown out of whack. When MGM got the Benchley shorts right, they are hilarious. This is one of those times. It's not just talking heads humor. There's a nice stretch of physical comedy in this film, too. Benchley is mostly forgotten these days, but these little shorts, frequently aired on Turner Classics, shows what a fine comedian he was.

Nice idea for a comedy short is offset by poor development of the script. ROBERT BENCHLEY, as usual, has some amusing moments but there are no big laughs here. He's a man instructing us to plan our time accordingly, demonstrating just how efficient he is by showing us how to get things done when one has an hour for lunch.

What could have been a very funny short is only mildly amusing. His intention to get a haircut is cut short when he sees the barbershop is too busy. His intention to avoid distractions is forgotten the moment he sees a toy salesman with a $2.50 toy animal he can't resist. And on it goes from one simple distraction to another.

Benchley was an amusing comedian but he seldom had top flight material and nowhere is this more evident than in some of the comedy shorts he made.