Gente do Barulho

This picture was shown on TCM recently and it is strictly for hard-core Patsy Kelly fans. Apparently it was a vehicle for her in hopes it would lead to a series of films, according to Maltin.

But Patsy Kelly is an acquired taste and this film did her no favors. The humor is extremely broad and the storyline is vapid. The climax has to be seen to be believed and is far removed from true comedy. The one bright light is the inimitable Charley Chase who injects as much fun as he can into the proceedings and which sorely needs his expertise.

Can't really recommend this one except for the historical value via a glimpse of some of '30's Hollywood's great extras and character actors. A rainy day movie - but it is only 70 minutes long and doesn't kill enough bad weather time.

This is a very odd film in that I mildly enjoyed it but found almost no laughs whatsoever in this Hal Roach comedy! Despite having Patsy Kelly and Charlie Chase, the movie looked like a light drama--and putting the laughs in the script was just forgotten. It is a pleasant enough film--just not funny. And, I doubt if Roach would have been happy with me saying this if he were alive today because it WAS intended as a comedy.

Part of the reason I was not terribly impressed by the film is that I am really not a huge fan of Patsy Kelly, as she always seems to be screaming her lines--subtle she sure ain't. Interestingly enough, and this is NOT meant at all to be a criticism, but Rosie O'Donnell is almost the spitting image of her.

I was also disappointed because I LOVE Charlie Chase's silent films, but found at least in the case of this film, he doesn't make a good transition to sound--as the entire chemistry that made him famous is gone. He does play a fine supporting character--but he's nothing like the character he was in silent days, that's all.

As for the plot and the other actors, they were fine though not outstanding. It almost seemed like in every way, Roach was using his B or C-string unit to make this film--saving his better stuff and energy for Laurel and Hardy and Our Gang. Speaking of Our Gang, look carefully for a very young and cute scene with Alfalfa--in his pre-Our Gang days.

NOTE: Patsy Kelly's car at the beginning of the film appears to be the same one used for a comedy bit in the Laurel and Hardy short, OUR WIFE.

This was my first Patsy Kelly film. I am almost fifty and I've heard her name for years from my parents. But I've never seen her in anything before unless you want to count "Rosemary's Baby" which I didn't even care for.

So I watch the film and at first you're not sure what to make of her. But as someone else posted here, yes, she begins to grow on you.

As the movie progressed I could not help but keep watching. She made some funny facial expressions that can't hold a candle to Lucille Ball, yet I couldn't help but giggle at them.

I like old films from the 1930s. So this helped to keep my interest going. At the times the film/storyline was a bit lame, yet before I knew it I found myself chuckling out loud and I didn't know why. Like when Kelly, Guinn and the Charley Chase's car stopping right in the middle of the train tracks. How many times have we seen this train tracks gag before? Yet they managed to pull it off with Kelly's pant leg getting caught on the gear shifts and the car pulling out just in time, in front of film screen of a train whizzing by! I had a good laugh on that one.

This was also my first Big Boy Guinn film and he reminds a lot of Nat Pendleton, a favorite of mine. So I'll be keeping an eye out for more films of his on TCM.

I walked away from this film a Patsy Kelly fan and I am now on the hunt to see more of her. I may even rent "Rosemary's Baby" to appreciate her in that role.

A friend who saw this with me didn't laugh much except when I laughed. So a film like this might not appeal to all. But I am glad I watched it and hopefully this will get released on DVD sometime in the future.

My next goal is to check out Judy Canova and see what the big deal was about her. Stay tuned.

Patsy Kelly is in a comedy league all of her own. She has quick silver timing and excels at physical comedy which is pretty rare for a woman. I had never seen her in the lead before this film...usually being relegated to sidekick, and I think she carries the show wonderfully. She is paired nicely with Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams who plays Cecil Callahan a truck driver who accidentally gets his truck attached to Molly Kelly's car and drags her around New York making her late for her job at the lunch counter of pharmacist Dr. J. Willoughby Klum (silent star Charley Chase). Before Callahan can get Molly to her job a big brawl ensues, such that by the time they get to the pharmacy the cops are hot on their heels and arrest Klum, Callahan and Molly. They make bail by putting up the pharmacy, but the judge proclaims Callahan can't get into any more fights. Worried that the big Irish brawler is going to get them all in trouble, Molly comes up with the idea to make him a prize fighter...where he can fight for money and not get into trouble.

In the boxing business they encounter a mobster, including his dame and entourage. After Callahan's initial loss due to their naïveté, Molly and Klum set to training him properly...which involves more automotive shenanigans and puts them on a farm for Molly to ride and get chased by all sorts of animals.

I love Patsy Kelly. I really think she is delightful. I was amazed at how physically taxing this film must have been for her. I thought her and Williams made a nice romantic couple. I really enjoyed the use of the song "The Irish Washerwoman" throughout the film...as it stilled up Callahan's blood. The biggest revelation for me was Charley Chase. I couldn't believe how light on his feet he was for his and Kelly's big dance number, but also his comedic timing and acting. He was wonderful. I can't believe he didn't go on to be a bigger star after his silents. I will be seeking out more of his films to watch based on this performance.

Hal Roach decided to try pushing Patsy Kelly up from short subjects to feature stardom and this is the first attempt. It's actually quite good, mostly because of the expert cast on hand. An odd title, although it refers to Patsy Kelly's character being Guinn Williams "second" in the ring, it's never said: she's referred to only as William's trainer. But the film is an odd duck overall, anyway. It has a loopy start with Williams as a two-fisted truck driver who gets into a donnybrook on the street after accidentally hijacking Kelly's car onto the rear bumper of his truck. When the cops arrive the two of them dash off to her place of employment: a pharmacy run by Charley Chase. Now the film becomes equal parts Kelly-Williams and Chase as Williams is given a 'no-fight-or-else' probation by the Judge and Chase inadvertently puts up his pharmacy as Williams' bond. Weirdly, Kelly and Chase decide that Williams SHOULD keep fighting... but in the boxing ring instead. This leads to a ringside get together with gangster Ed Brophy and his mob, featuring girlfriend Kelton and head bodyguard Harold Huber. From here on the film becomes equal parts Chase, Brophy and Kelly-Williams. When Chase gets in trouble with Brophy lots of complications ensue.

Quite a slapsticky film, with lots of frantic antics keeping the movie going at top speed. It rarely lets up for a quiet moment and that's to its advantage. Even with all the fights and gangsters and jealousy stuff between Kelton and Kelly over Williams, the film is still a good- natured romp from start to finish. Even the gangsters are fun, especially Huber who looks like he's having a blast as Brophy's slyly wisecracking strong arm. Charley Chase, even here late in his career, plays the nervous bumbler better than any other. And Williams may never have gotten a bigger or better role in his career, seeing as he was usually relegated to small supporting roles in most of his film appearances. Kelly is expert, as always, although she's directed to shout most of her lines, making her a tad too brassy and one-note after awhile (whereas in contrast Chase and Huber get laughs by almost muttering some of their lines). Only the expert comedian Pert Kelton is left without much of a part and almost nothing funny to say. Too bad. But this little comedy is still worth a look for its modest but goofy charm.