Maid in Hollywood

Maid in Hollywood (1934)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Hal Roach comedy has Patsy Kelly and Thelma Todd playing best friends who are about to leave Hollywood when neither of them can catch a break. Kelly hears of an actress about to get to a screen test so she locks her in a closet so that Todd can go in her place. All is going well until Kelly shows up on the set and causes chaos. I've never really warmed up to this duo but this film here is certainly better than some that I've seen. The biggest problem I've had with the series is the screen persona of Kelly, which seems to be obnoxious and loud. As far as a performance goes I'd say she's good but perhaps she's too good because I really, really find her too obnoxious to the point where I just want her to go away. Todd on the other hand delivers a few nice laughs and the duo do work well together at least. The best scene is somewhat of a pre-code moment when Todd gets her dress caught in a suitcase and must take it off, revealing her in her slip.

This lovely series mentioned a couple of times that Todd hails from Joplin MO, and it just ain't so, boys and girls! Even I myself lived closer to Joplin once then Todd ever did, but I guess "Joplin" sounded more lyrical than "Lawrence" to the makers of this short. Who knows? Do you?

Kelly keeps getting in Todd's way. She wants to help, the poor little lamb, and we also want her to be there to lend a hand, but despite all the good intentions in her cute little houndstooth blazer, she's being a pest, and the assistant director (Foy the comic foil) keeps pushing her out of the shot and as far away from the set as possible, so she won't be a distraction.

Meanwhile, lemon jellybean Toddy, in petticoat and powdered wig, sneezes her way into our hearts, and then subsequently, all on the set do, and there's so much red pepper flying around one is almost tempted to sneeze along with them just by looking at it. Todd's rouge is smudged, but she lands the plum role, courtesy of a thumbs up from director Von Something-or-other. I could swear I saw Jack Barty around there somewhere with a wig of his own, too. Even in the 21st century, it still doesn't fail to draw a grin on someone's face.

"If they want you, they'll wait for you," cries the budding and hopeful starlet that loses out on the audition because cherry jellybean Kelly locked her in the broom closet. Oh, well. That's showbiz.

Smart-looking duds are worn by both leads, in fact by everybody, and attention should be paid as to how well they all dress in it. Hall, Barclay, etc. All perform in fine supporting roles as stagehands. We also get a morsel of Billy Gilbert here, too, doing his sneezing thing as well.

I'm not here to compare it to similar behind-the-scenes Hollywood hullaballoo, like "Show People" with Marion Davies or "Ella Cinders" with Colleen Moore or anything like that, because it would be like comparing oranges to tangerines, and that's a little unfair. But what a sweet, little tangerine this is!

In all honesty (and I speak of the rarest kind here) I do LOVE this short, from the tippety-top of its pretty little head, right down to the tippety-bottoms of its little red toenails, and I might even recommend it to someone I don't like as much as I do other people. One of the finest.

One of the best of the 'Girl Friends' series starring Todd and Kelly after Zasu Pitts dropped out of the series. On the brink of leaving Hollywood forever, Thelma Todd gets to do an important screen test, and the studio is full of comedy veterans doing their shticks, including the always-enjoyable Billy Gilbert doing his famous sneezing routine -- he would later be called on to do the voice of Sneezy in SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARVES.