Uncle Joe

Uncle Joe is a bizarre little movie with barely a plot, sketched-in characters, and an abrupt ending that leaves one….wishing for more? Though there's no time for plot or character development in this 51-minute opus, the film does find time for tuneful, leisurely performances of three or four fun songs—including one featuring an accordion-playing girl jazzing up a string quartet and a couple more done by Marvin Hatley and his orchestra in a radio studio setting.

Along with the music, the film offers a steady stream of gags and jokes, old and new. (Mostly old.) Among the best: the cow posing for her portrait out in the pasture.

Gale Storm is fine as the girl sent to visit her country uncle to get away from the city (and that icky artist fellow). Zasu Pitts as Aunt Julia is as good as always, especially in scenes like the one in which a banker tries to explain banking to her. And Slim Summerville is Uncle Joe—farmer, host, music lover and inventor of household gadgets. (Watch out for that dishwasher!)

It's an oddball little film in every way. Why are all the production credits apparent pseudonyms? What are all the Hal Roach studio personnel doing here if it's a "Wilding Production"? It's a loosely tossed together production, that's for sure…the result is a slight but warm-hearted movie full of easy chuckles and sweet tunes. Why complain?

At 51 minutes running time, UNCLE JOE is a shorty, like the Hal Roach Streamliners of the era. With old pros like Slim Summerville and ZaSu Pitts, the enjoyment factor is high. This was one of Gale Storm's very first pictures, and she shares several scenes with ZaSu, who would be her co-star 15 years later in THE GALE STORM SHOW. There are several songs in the picture. The first, Woogie Hula, is competently sung by the Tanner Sisters, whom I recognize from ALL American CO-ED.The second, sung very nicely by a singer known as Honey Lamb, is The Land of Nod. This song has possibly the most bizarre lyrics ever heard in a picture. Gale Storm does not sing here, but she does play the accordion. In all, this pleasant little picture will give you a few chuckles in it's brief running time. If you like Gale Storm, ZaSu Pitts or Slim Summerville, this will appeal to you.

UNCLE JOE looks and feels like a Roach Streamliner, and there is music by Roach composer Marvin Hatley -- but the directors, writers and production company are complete novelties, with no other credits. Possibly these are pseudonyms and perhaps someone will do a little research.

But despite the uncertainties of what was going on behind the camera, what goes on in front of the camera is a delight. Slim Summerville and Zasu Pitts can steal the screen from anyone but each other, there are four gags that are surprisingly well done, and Slim, when he is not running his farm, is an inventor, a sure source of jokes.

The movie also features a very young Gale Storm, who plays the accordion. An exceeding pleasant way to spend an hour or so.

A good-looking teenage girl is driving her parents crazy, so they send her to the country to visit their uncle--a very sedate atmosphere, indeed. The uncle turns out to be a crazy inventor, though his work wasn't nearly as interesting as other films about scatter-brained inventors. During the visit, they learn that their aunt (who lives nearby) is about to lose her home, so they come up with great jingles to enter into a contest--hoping to get enough to help the old lady out of a jam. In the process, the local bachelors take their turns trying to woo the young lady.

This is a pretty bad movie--even with the usually capable acting of Slim Summerville (who is NOT at his best) and Zasu Pitts. The main problems are that the young star of this film cannot act and therefore had trouble delivering her lines as well as some bizarre musical numbers with her playing the accordion!! Perhaps this was because it was a second feature and its real purpose was to clear theater! In addition to the accordion (owch), there are a couple other performances by unnamed performers--including a surprisingly good trio that sang an Andrews Sisters-style song.

In addition to bad acting and an accordion, the film suffers from way too many songs, poor writing and an overall cheapness that shows it was hurried into production. In other words, it's a B-movie and a low-budget one at that. And, a rather limp and uninteresting one as well!