Willie Howard had been a success on the vaudeville and Broadway stage for many years with his bogus-French professor act when he made at least seven comedy shorts (distributed nationally by Fox) for Educational Pictures in the 37-38 waning days of that film-short studio in New York. Educational comedy shorts have the reputation of being cheap (true!), tacky (often true, but that's part of the charm), and unfunny. The latter is sometimes true, but as someone who has seen hundreds of these over the years, I think that anyone who likes lowbrow slapstick and filmed variations on vaudeville and burlesque routines will find the films enjoyable. Most of these have not been in TV circulation since the 60s, and most have never been available on video or DVD. They mostly circulate among collectors. Frankly, I'd rather take a chance on an unknown Educational short--which could be either brilliant or completely off-the-wall or horrible--than watch an assembly-line RKO comedy short. This entry, THE SMART WAY, was an Al Christie production, as were the other Howards (although there is no director credit on my copy, taken from an Official Films 16mm copy), and allows Howard to do his act relatively unencumbered by musical sequences or romantic subplots. His wife is addicted to nightclubs and big spending, and he asks his attorney how to get her over it. He suggests that Howard give her SO much partying and spending that she will get tired of it. That's the premise for the 18 minutes of this comedy short, and it works well. Aileen Cook (who also appeared in a Pinky Lee short at Educational) plays the spoiled, selfish, annoying wife well. Howard's ridiculous phony mustache and stiff, foot-long goatee and Pepe LePew accent probably seem familiar even to those who have never seen him before since his act has been borrowed and altered by many who came later. Pretty much any of the seven Howards I own are as good as the others, but THE SMART WAY has a good premise that keeps the action focused, while others such as THE AFFAIRS OF PIERRE go in too many directions. I find these shorts charming and recommend them if you can find them.
