Rough Necking

In this episode of RKO's THE BLONDES AND THE REDHEADS series, Spencer Charters drags Dorothy Granger out of a nightclub and away from Grady Sutton. He hires a woman detective to keep an eye on her, so Carol Tevis and Dorothy have Grady dress in drag to impersonate the detective. In come Texans Fred Kelsey and George Chandler, ready to marry young George to Dorothy, so the girls pass Grady off as Dorothy... and Mr. Charters likes the hefty detectress too.

This episode starts a little slow, but once Kelsey and Chandler enter, it picks up speed with a good final third and a funny finish under the direction of George Stevens, who would soon be graduating to features, in this series which, despite the Production Code, still made it clear it was talking about sex. It's good to see Fred Kelsey, who specialized in dumb cops, in a different role.

Many of the best directors during the heyday of Hollywood were originally directors of comedy shorts, believe it or not. Frank Capra ("Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" and "It's a Wonderful Life") directed many of Harry Langdon's best films. Leo McCarey ("Love Affair" and "The Awful Truth") directed Laurel & Hardy. And here, in "Rough Necking", George Stevens ("Shane" and "GIant") helms the picture! This is a comedy short from RKO featuring the comedy team of June Brewster and Carol Tevis...a couple funny ladies who are mostly forgotten today.

A rich old goat doesn't approve of her daughter's boyfriend (Grady Sutton). So he hires a lady detective to keep watch so that the man keeps out of their home when he's gone. However, his daughter and the boyfriend intercept the lady...and Grady takes her place and man does he make an unattractive lady! Will this crazy ruse actually work?! And, when Joe and his son, Junior, arrive...things heat up considerably. Why? Because now the sisters want to pass Grady off as June....in order to drive away this suitor! And, each time Grady insists "I won't do it! I won't!"....but does!

While none of this is exactly brilliant, the film does have a few laughs and made me smile. And, like other Tevis and Brewster films I've seen, the supporting actor Sutton was the best thing about the shorts.