Just Plain Folks

Tim Ryan goes to visit new girlfriend Irene Ryan (credited as Irene Noblette) at her home,where her family is crazy.

Mrs. Ryan plays a Gracie Allen sort of character. The rest of her family may seem odd beyond belief to a modern viewer. That's because this short subject is a burlesque of ONE MAN'S FAMILY, a radio soap opera that ran from 1932 through 1959; more than 3200 episodes were aired. It had two goes at television, and was often satirized in the media, including two Tex Avery cartoons, and as part of Bob & Ray's radio show on CBS as "One Fella's Family".

The short is very funny once you understand that. Otherwise, it may just seem bizarre.

Tim and Irene Ryan were a stage comedy act very similar to that of George Burns and Gracie Allen, though they were not nearly as successful. I think much of this is because Irene's character made Gracie Allen seem like a Nobel prize winner by comparison. This is because both characters were dopey, Irene also had a bizarreness which, frankly, hasn't aged well.

In this short, Irene is introducing Tim (Tim Ryan, Irene's real life husband) to her family. They seem less like people and more like cartoon characters....and none of their antics make much sense. But fortunately, they aren't as nonsensical and unfunny as they were in their other 1936 short, "The Wacky Family".

So is the film funny? Well, to me...not especially. Too much of the family's behaviors just seem random versus being actually funny. In many ways, they remind me of the film "The Stupids" or the book "The Dumb Bunnies"...but not as clever.