A Successful Failure

"A Successful Failure (1934) is a gentle and enjoyable smaller-budget film from the middle of the Great Depression that peels back the curtains for a view into a household of a middle-aged mom and dad with three children from about 11 or 12 years of age to just above 20, give or take. The two older kids are somewhat in the doldrums over how their immediate prospects for substantially increased spending money is unlikely, what with the father having a modestly-paying job and no one else working, not to mention the constraints imposed by the Depression-era times they are in. They are both also wrestling with burgeoning temptations and youthful naive idealism. Twelve-year old (or thereabouts) Tommy is still young enough to admire the down-to-earth gentle-natured wisdom of his Dad, having not yet been stirred by the need to be contrary and restless on the world stage like his older siblings. The homemaker mother would like a little more income flow, too, and lets her wishes for Dad to bring home a higher paycheck be known daily. But she keeps her best-face forward and serves as the glue that holds the family together. She is proudly content in her role of mother to all of them, Dad included. The question that needs to be answered by movie's end is if wisdom-based family values will prevail or at least color the future direction of this family, or if the temptations and idealism of youth will win out and the family move along on a path of possibly being irrevocably splintered. The acting in this film is relaxed and the dialog delivered naturally. The time spent with the characters zips on by. If one is reading these reviews because one has an interest in films about family during the Great Depression, or in any era, I say by all means dive in, as it likely will be worth your while!

This pleasant, low-key B-comedy is a bit trite at times, but worth watching. William Collier plays a character full of homespun wisdom who is nevertheless under-appreciated by his family, who care only about his salary, and by his boss, who sees only that he is growing older. The story that follows is quite simple, and sometimes moves too slowly, but it has its moments and is mostly upbeat, so it is worth seeing how things play out. The Monogram production is strictly routine, so there isn't anything especially impressive about it, but it is probably worth a look for fans of old low-budget comedies.

Ellery Cushing is a middle aged man who is modestly successful. He owns a home and his family has plenty of food and all the comforts of home. Despite this, his worthless wife and awful kids treat him like he's a failure. None of them work (although the two oldest are clearly old enough to get jobs) and yet they hound the guy to ask his boss for a raise. While all this seems pretty awful, you must remember that this is during the Depression--a time when many, many people were out of work and jobs were very hard to come by. 1934, for example, had an unemployment rate of almost 22%. Because of this, the audience can't help but hate the guy's family...I know I sure did.

When Cushing goes to work (after his family harasses him about the raise yet again), he finds his nasty boss has fired him. His friend, a reporter who is also dating Cushing's daughter, Ruth, is so angry that he quits as well. As to what to tell the family, Ellery is convinced not to say anything as he might just be able to get another job and his family won't have to be the wiser. Surprisingly, he helps re-invent Cushing into a radio show host, Uncle Dudley--a nice old man with homespun wisdom a lot like Will Rogers. Yet despite the new job and more money, the family still seems totally focused on money...his money. And, they don't realize that the man they like and respect on the radio is Dad...the man they totally disregard.

This film does have some significant plot problems. Why does Cushing allow his family to treat him like dirt? Why does his reporter friend love Ruth when she is just awful? And, why does Ruth seem interested in Franklin--a man who is even worse than any one of the Cushings? Additionally, the family is so bad that throughout the film you keep wanting something terrible to happen to them...something violent and which hopefully leaves them dead!! I think they went too far and presented most of the family in too much of a one-dimensional way. Why Ellery cared about them, I have no idea--and that really hurt the film.

So am I saying the film is bad? No...but it's got problems that keep it from being much better than it was. A case of a film with a good idea but which was undone a bit by pedestrian writing. Worth seeing but not altogether satisfying. A rewrite making the family less hateful would have improved it tremendously. Also, the ending was just too pat to be believable after seeing such a hateful family.

Edgar Kennedy made a total later career playing a P-whipped character like this. A guy whose family treats him like dirt. The big difference is Kennedy was actually funny.

This is a very slow moving film that is nothing special. It's OK, but if you can find ANY Edgar Kennedy film, you'd be better served. In fact, in the 40s Kennedy lifted this entire plot for a two reeler. It was WAY funnier.

The plot of this

Ellery Cushing is full of catchy sayings and old-fashioned wisdom. But all that his family cares about is how much money he makes, and all that his boss at the newspaper sees is that Cushing is getting too old to keep up with his work. So his loyal co-worker Phil decides to see what he can do to help everyone see what his friend has to offer.

Charming suburban comedy with a social and moral message for 'depression era' audiences who would have related to this family feature well. Solid well decorated sets and a friendly wink to the audience via the humorous script allow this lovely little Monogram feature from 1934 to be undemanding and effective without being preachy. Some pre Andy Hardy type family situations and ideas add to the familiar family drama. The casting of the parents seems a generation to wide for later audiences, they actually look the kids grandparents, but the actors of Mom and Pop: William Collier Sr and Lucile Gleason are excellent characters with charming easy delivery of whimsical dialog. There is a few real laughs and some good looking night time suburban street scenes. It is almost a Blondie and Dagwood script before either that series or the Hardy Family turned up. These pre 1935 Monogram pix are really interesting productions to me, as the studio was successfully gaining a good reputation and their developing image is evident especially by 1934..... A SUCCESSFUL FAILURE is typical of their solid small film style with good cast roles and interesting sets and design. You can see how other studios copied this formula and suburban style about tired Dad and his teenage family dramas. The young teen actor in this one is George Breakston and he is particularly effective, both in modern look and easy realistic style.