Gobs of Fun

I'm a huge fan of silent actress Olive Borden. She was one of the most beautiful stars of the 1920s but her career never made it into the talkies and she died penniless in 1947. Gobs Of Fun is one of her last film appearances from 1933. It's a delightful and funny comedy short and she gives a terrific comedic performance. Olive has a lovely speaking voice which makes it a shame she didn't make more talkies.

Olive plays Lulu, a very flirtatious married woman who has several sailor boyfriends on the side. One day three of boyfriends, including a french sailor played by Charles Judels and a Greek sailor played by George Givot, land in New York and decide to visit her. Poor Olive has to keep them from finding each other in her small apartment and things get even worse when her jealous husband comes home. There are a lot of laughs and the entire cast is excellent. One of the funniest bits involves Lulu's boyfriends having her picture tattooed on them! Shemp Howard, from the Three Stooges, makes a brief appearance in a scene at a nightclub.

Gobs of Fun is one of my favorite vita phone comedy shorts. If you like silly screwball comedies or are a fan of the wonderful Olive Borden you will enjoy it.

This is about the fourth or fifth Vitaphone short I've seen starring Charles Judels and George Givot. And, for the life of me, I have no idea why Warner Brothers signed these two very unfunny men to contracts. Their shtick involved their 'funny' accents--with Judels' Dutch accent (oddly, he's called French in many of the films) and Givot (who was born in Nebraska!) doing a Greek accent. It is better than their other films but I think Judels and Givot have little to do with that!

The duo are in the Navy--just like in "How'd Ya Like That?". In this case, they are having a hard time with their Petty Officer--a nasty guy who delights in slapping them around. But the Captain spots him battering the two idiots and warns him to stop that...or else. And, you pretty much figure that the trio will end up meeting up during shore leave...and the Captain won't be there to save them. What follows are some mildly funny situations...particularly when all three end up in Lulu's house...and her husband is about to return home. The other involves Shemp Howard and the line "Would you two like to be alone?"...something that CLEARLY makes this a Pre-Code offering!

So is it any good? Well, despite Judels and Givot, yes. It's not a must-see by any stretch but it is amusing and kept my attention.