Lightning Strikes Twice

What do you get with a cast that includes Thelma Todd, Pert Kelton, Chick Chandler, Walter Catlett, Jonathan Hale and Fred Kelsey as a dumb cop? Well, if it's it's this film, a not particularly funny "comedy" that makes Skeets Gallegher look like a decent dramatic actor. It's a thorough-going waste of everyone's time. Including lead Ben Lyon's, but particularly mine.

This is a fast-moving farce, the type of thing that Leon Errol would be doing at RKO a few years later. Ben Lyon and Skeets Gallagher, drunk after a stag party, cause a slight accident with Pert Kelton and hubby Walter Catlett. The latter pair wind up disguising themselves as Lyon's fiancé and her father. Laura Hope "Aunt Pittypat" Crews is Lyon's loony aunt who finds the bogus pair charming. All the while John Davidson is sneaking around as a supposed murderer. Great comedy cast topped off in the third act by the entrance of Fred Kelsey as the detective. Thelma Todd is lovely (of course) as Lyon's real fiancé and her role is limited in that respect. Skeets steals the show and, for once, Chick Chandler's excessive mugging is charming and whimsical. All in all, lots of smiles for this fluffy RKO quickie.

I wasn't super-motivated to write a review on this one, but after coming here and seeing the ridiculous negativity, I decided to voice my dissent.

Plot In a Nutshell: A man and his pal try to rid themselves of two scammers while dealing with a ditzy housemaid, a nosy aunt, bumbling cops, a dogged reporter and a crazed butler, and at the same, trying to create a semblance of normalcy for when his fiancée and her father arrive. Good luck!

That sounds screwball, doesn't it? And it sure delivers on that score. One reviewer wrote that the film was confusing. I wasn't confused in the least. I found it very easy to follow. Someone else wrote that it doesn't make sense. It made sense to me. The only part one might argue is why the butler stuck around. But it was established at the end that the butler was clearly unbalanced, so you can't really apply logic to his decisions, can you?

I only watched this film because I recently read a book about the mysterious circumstances of Thelma Todd's premature death in the 1930s. So I try to check out any of her films I come across. And this turned out to be a pleasant surprise. It's barely over an hour, so it doesn't wear out its welcome. The two male leads have an engaging chemistry that makes their friendship believable. The plot, although clearly a bit silly, is also clearly meant to be that way. And there were several scenes that made me laugh so hard I had to rewind and watch them again!

All in all, I enjoyed this film thoroughly and did not at all find it a waste of my time.

8/10. Would I watch again (Y/N)?: Yes, absolutely.

"Lightning Strikes Twice" is a dull murder mystery comedy...and, unfortunately, it's not especially funny due to the poorly written dialog. It begins with some apparent murders but a couple of the supposed dead guys are idiot cops who get stuck in the sewers. This bit wasn't funny...and was repeated throughout the film. The rest centers on some confidence men/women and a psychotic murderer...none of which really entertain.

So is the film worth seeing? No. But if you must watch it, there are two things you should look for in the movie. First, the two female stars are mildly interesting due to their life outside films. Thelma Todd is famous for her suicide which many think was actually a mob murder and Pert Kelton was the first Alice Kramden on "The Honeymooners" but her career was damaged due to her politics and the Red Scare. Additionally, although this is technically a Post-Code film, I was surprised that the picture showed folks in bed together- -something specifically forbidden by the code. Plus two of them were guys...a definite no-no for this tough code! You know it's bad when I am looking at these sort of things to provide SOME interest.

The story seems to revolve around an engaged couple who is about to get married...and it is the morning after the stag party in which a few odd leftovers have occurred. Two cops and a butler have gone missing after some gun fire and all three are presumed dead...with a newspaper reporter and a police detective hot on the case. Meanwhile the soon to be groom and his best man wake up in bed together with powerful hangovers...also waking up in their home are last night's fan dancer and her husband, two con artists desperate to get something out of this deal. They are claiming to be injured from a car accident right outside of the house.

Before our groom and best man can get them out of the house, the bride to be arrives with her sea captain father only to see the groom carrying the fan dancer into another room. Misunderstandings abound and are amplified when the groom's aunt plays a surprise visit and confuses the fan dancer for the bride.

Meanwhile, there is a mysterious man hiding in the house and two cops, who are decidedly undead and roaming around in the sewer.

I love the thirties looks and the costumes and sets were wonderful. My favorite scene may be the drunken fan dance...and the romance between Steve (Ben Lyon) and Judy (Thelma Todd). This is not the best film and probably a watch and delete for me...but there were some moments of comedy brilliance mainly on the part of Ben Lyon, who is paired well with Richard 'Skeets' Gallagher, who plays best man Wally.