Un grullo in bicicletta

Hysterical Joe E. Brown plays a nearsighted buffoon in a series of pratfalls, sight gags filled with goofy characters participating in improbable events that might leave you giggling at all the silliness.

Just a look at Joe E's silly mugging will make you smile.

This is the type of small-town/countrified fun we came to know and love with the "Ma and Pa Kettle" series of films and in the 60's with such fare as the "Beverly Hillbillies", "Green Acres" and "Petticoat Junction".

The difference here is that the humor is clean, innocent, charming...and old-fashioned. Which is just "hunky-dory" with me!

Joe E. Brown's type of humor here may appear dated to some, but is has a place in the history of film comedy in reflecting the sober type of fun which has sadly fallen completely by the wayside in recent years.

It's not a classic...but worth a look for all its screwball moments.

Vaudeville trick bicyclist Gordon Westcott steals small-town bike messenger Joe E. Brown's girl, Maxine Doyle. Brown pursues them to the city, where he hooks up with Frank McHugh, who will be taking part in a six-day bicycle race, in which Westcott will take part. So Brown joins as McHugh's partner.

Brown's vehicles had become pretty hidebound by this point, with him playing the over-confident hick who turns out to be right. The reason it works is that it flattered the rural audiences and amused the urban movie-goers. While this one hasn't aged well -- are there any working velodromes in the US besides the one in Rock Hill South Carolina? -- there is plenty of amusement throughout.

One annoying thing about the film: due to the layout of the Los Angeles Winter Garden track, where the race was filmed, it appears as if it was photographed through an anamorphic lens that was constantly being turned!

Nothing is going right for simple clerk Wilfred Simpson (Joe E. Brown). Harry St. Clair has his eyes on Wilfred's girlfriend Phyllis Jenkins (Maxine Doyle). Wilfred gets the town riled up and everybody blames him for the chaos. Phyllis is frustrated. Wilfred decides to enter a 6-day bike race to compete against Harry and impress Phyllis.

In the modern sense, Wilfred is not an appealing boyfriend. He's petty and jealous and rather angry. It's the olden days and allowances must be given. I do like some of his idiocy, not all of it. He's better as an innocent. In this, he's an annoying jerk and that doesn't make him funny.

This is a funny movie. It's good for kids too because it's all good natured fun. I usually don't watch movies this old, but it was on one afternoon and it had me laughing a lot. it's better than a lot of modern comedies. Give it a shot if you like silly movies. In a way it reminds me of Jim Carey movie. It's also fun to watch a movie like this from the 30's to see some of our country's history. Such as clothes worn, and cars, and just artifacts of everyday life. Some of the old fashioned slang is funny too. The star Joe E. Brown was more famous for his role in Some Like It Hot. I guess you'd say this film is filled with a lot of gags and silly situations.

"6 Day Bike Rider" stars Joe E. Brown. Interestingly enough, of the hundreds of movies I've watched from the early-30's, I'd never seen a Joe E. Brown movie, and he was pumping out films as early as 1927. I can't say I'm terribly impressed with him, but he's no worse a comedian than Jimmy Durante.

He plays Wilfred 'Mildew' Simpson, an avid bike rider who is a cross between the Absent-Minded Professor and Ernest from Ernest Goes to Camp. The entire premise of the movie is that Wilfred is trying to win a six-day bike race with his partner, Clinton Hemmings (Frank McHugh). They're up against a big time cheater named Harry St. Clair (Gordon Westcott). Before the race began there was bad blood between Harry and Wilfred because Harry almost took Wilfred's girl, Phyllis (Maxine Doyle).

The movie is pretty dumb, but harmlessly so. I'd say it's more for kids due to the wacky nature of it and the interesting choices of words Wilfred uses instead of more harsh language. I didn't love the movie and I didn't hate it.

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