The Big Beef

During the 1930s and 40s, Edgar Kennedy made a string of short comedies for RKO. What they shared in common was that Edgar had in-laws living with him who were not only freeloaders but selfish jerks who made his life miserable. And, in each, Mrs. Kennedy insists that Edgar not do anything in return...when Edgar SHOULD have been contemplating homicide!

In "The Big Beef", Edgar has invited his boss over for dinner and he's sprung for steaks. However, when a door-to-door salesman shows up, the family assumes it's the boss and invite him to sit down and eat with them. Because Edgar is stuck in the garage, he isn't there to let everyone know that the man is NOT his boss. In the meantime, the salesman is enjoying the boss' dinner! And, when Edgar calls on the phone for help, the dopey dispatcher at the police department misunderstands and has police dispatched to 'arrest a burglar stuck in the garage'! What's next...especially when Edgar gets out of the garage?!

As usual, Edgar is a grouch....and his family not particularly likable, though they have been worse...much worse...in other shorts. So is all this any good? Yes. While I'd never consider it a great film, it is enjoyable and well written.....with some nice twists.

When an encyclopedia salesman eats the steak that Edgar planned for his boss, Edgar orders a thousand pounds of beef for the next day and decides to build a refrigerator to store it in this fine entry in his RKO two-reeler series. His Average Man short subjects ran from 1932 until his death in 1948, and in this one, Florence Lake as his ditzy wife and Jack Rice as his obnoxious brother-in-law get good bits.

This sort of series would have migrated naturally to television in another ten years and have been a real winner. Cast and crew had their roots in fast-paced silent comedy -- Kennedy had worked for Mack Sennett and Hal Roach -- and the gags, as well as Kennedy's patented "slow burn" are a delight.