The Tin Man

Fun short starring Patsy Kelly and Thelma Todd has the two girls wandering into a spooky house and meeting a goofy-looking robot created by a mad scientist. Oh and there's an escaped convict thrown in for good measure. I can't say I laughed much at the star duo's antics but I did laugh at the robot and the wacky scientist. I enjoyed the old dark house and classic old sci-fi elements; the mechanical gizmos and whatnots. I also liked all the stuff with the car because, well, I just like those little slices of history I guess. The overall production is nice for the period. This is my first Patsy & Thelma short, although I'm familiar with the both of them from their other work. I enjoyed it for what it is but I won't be rushing out to find some more of their shorts. Still, there are worse ways to spend fifteen minutes.

Thelma and Patsy wind up in a spooky house, where Clarence Wilson has built a radio-controlled mechanical man who speaks with the voice of Billy Bletcher. Matthew Betz, a specialist in hoboes, tough guys and guys named 'Blackie' -- plays an escaped prisoner with a gun who winds up in the mix.

Although the Roach series had declined since Miss Kelly had taken the place of Zasu Pitts, Misses Todd and Kelly were excellent farceurs and physical comedians. You would expect a funnier short in a movie directed by James Parrott, one of the studios better directors. However, Parrott had become erratic and he would direct only a couple more shorts; he would be relegated to gag writer and die five years later, aged 41, of a drug addiction.

Tin Man, The (1935)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

MGM short has Thelma Todd and Patsy Kelly stopping at an old dark house where they run into a mad scientist and his robot. This is one of the better Todd and Kelly shorts I've seen but the real star here is the robot. Both the girls are in fine form but the screenplay really doesn't allow for them to do too much. You get a few of their typical falling down scenes but most of the jokes are written around the robot. The robot, clearly played by a man with a mask on, adds some really good laughs including the ending where the electrical equipment goes nuts and sends him into a rage. Another good joke involves the girls trying to open a window only to find several more.

This short is another in the endless variations of the "wandering into the house of a mad scientist" comedy set up. This time the innocent victims are Thelma Todd and Patsy Kelly in a Hal Roach production directed by Charley Chase's brother, James Parrott. There is nothing here that hasn't been done better by Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello, and the Three Stooges. James Parrott keeps the action fast and furious, but the short is completely forgettable. Character actor Clarence Wilson plays the mad scientist; he is completely over the top and is neither funny nor scary. Wilson creates a robot that adds nothing to the comedy. Matthew Betz is thrown into the mix as an escaped convict to put some twists into this whole mess, but his presence leads to nothing. There is some typical slapstick, which is competently executed. It could have been helped by the inclusion of that famous LeRoy Shield background music which kept many Roach shorts moving. However, there is no music at all. What a shame!

I don't know why but I always enjoyed robot science fiction through history like Robby the robot even the Lost in space robot but this short the Tin Man , I watch probably once a month at least because it's just so funny because of its stupidity and , such a simply idiotic robot along with its voice.