So You Want to Keep Your Hair

Hilarious short film with laughs from all directions! There are sight-gags galore,ridiculous and absurd situations,the narration/narrator is hilarious,with wacky character names,double-entendres,silly puns and so forth. This is a great,sweet-natured comedy,I loved it !

GEORGE O'HANLON plays "everyman" Joe McDoakes, alarmed by the fact that when he showers he notices he's losing his hair. Right then and there, he decides he has to do something about his predicament and he seeks the help of professionals to correct what he thinks is a fate worse than death.

Naturally, nothing really works. And, of course, no mention is made of the fact that genetics has a lot to do with this particular defect. But the comedy goes from one funny incident to another without taking a breath, so it's breezy fun all the way and you have to wonder how it's all going to turn out.

Just one of many episodes in the series directed by Richard L. Bare about Joe McDoakes coping with everyday problems (and usually losing in comic fashion), an amusing series that accompanied the double bills of the '40s and generally provoked a few chuckles or downright laughter with varying degrees of success.

So You Want to Keep Your Hair (1946)

*** (out of 4)

The one and only Joe McDoakes (George O'Hanlon) finds himself losing his hair so he goes to every barber and expert he knows to try and find out how to keep it. Of course everyone gives him a different answer so he heads to the Mo-Hair Institute to try and learn more about why men lose their hair. This here is another winning entry in the series as we get some very big laughs as well as a pretty funny look back at the history of "cures" for hair loss. One of the funniest sequences in the film is when we see the various ways to make your hair grow back. We see men breaking eggs on their head, using dry shampoo, using various food products and of course none of them are working. As usual, O'Hanlon is perfect as McDoakes as he has that every man quality that made this series so much fun to watch. He does his usual slapstick but it's those priceless facial gestures that he's so perfect at. Art Gilmore stepped in to do the narration on this entry and he manages to be quite funny as well.

"So You Want to Keep Your Hair" finds our idiotic hero, Joe McDoakes (George O'Hanlon), worried about losing his hair. Being Joe and not some ordinary guy, he of course overreacts and begins doing all sorts of goofy things to prevent hair loss. This leads to the narrator explaining what medical science knows about hair loss and restoration...though McDoakes decides instead to try some quack remedies.

This short is good, but not great. There are a decent number of laughs though none are huge or all that memorable. Overall, a nice time- passer and a film that is pretty typical of the series. As usual, it's written and directed by Richard L. Bare, a man known for directing television shows, in particular "Green Acres" and "Petticoat Junction".