The Family Next Door

Hugh Herbert who was usually a second banana in so many films gets a chance to do a film I have to believe W.C. Fields passed on. In The Family Next Door Herbert is the henpecked husband of Ruth Donnelly who rules the roost over at their place. He's only good for paying the bills. Kind of like a 30s Al Bundy.

Ruth Donnelly gives over the family fortune as it were to their half smart son Eddie Quillan who makes a bad investment. But the family has the distinct possibility of turning the lemon into lemonade.

One of the best WC Fields vehicles without the man himself, Oh yes.

Neatly directed by Joseph Santley, this six-reel support provides more than passable entertainment. Not only is Hugh Herbert in top comic form, but he receives solid backing from Ruth Donnelly, Joy Hodges, Juanita Quigley and Cecil Cunningham. Even Eddie Quillan and Thomas Beck contribute something. And all the players are most attractively lensed by Milton Krasner's camera. The use of standing sets gives the film's production values an "A" look. What's more, the script doesn't strain for effects, but finds plenty of humor in credible and familiar domestic incidents. Some may be a bit dated, but they still carry a ring of truth which adds to the movie's appeal.

During the 1930s and 40s, W.C. Fields, Guy Kibbee and Hugh Herbert, among others, made quite a few domestic comedies where the husband was a decent sort and the family pushed him to make his fortune. And, by the end of the film, miraculously, they manage to strike it rich despite themselves.

In "The Family Next Door", Hugh Herbert plays a plumber. However, his wife (Ruth Donnelly) has ambitions of mingling with the rich and famous and insists that the family better itself. So, she tries a variety of stunts to try to impress her high brow neighbors...all to no avail. So how is this nice but occasionally annoying family going to manage to move up in status?

This family and film is not nearly as good as the best of these films ("It's A Gift" with W.C. Fields is the ultimate version of these sorts of films). The kids and wife are a bit more annoying than I would have preferred. Still, it's an amiable little time killer and Herbert, fortunately, only does his trademark laugh once!