Earthworm Tractors

Rating:
Summary: Poorly Paced Slapstick
Review: Although Warner Brothers studio was famous for many film genres in the 1930s and 1940s, comedy was not one of them. They didn't have any great comedy actors on their roster, so Joe E. Brown was their comedy "star" in a series of B-films. If you like your comedy played very broadly, you might find him funny. Personally, I don't see the appeal. In this film, he stars as a "natural born salesman" trying to sell earthworm tractors to lumberyard owner Guy Kibbee, who does not want any new-fangled machinery. At first, he does so to try and impress his old girlfriend, but in the end he is trying to impress his new girlfriend, Kibbee's daughter June Travis. There's much slapstick with his misadventures with the tractors, and most of it goes on for far too long. Director Ray Enright poorly paces the film, letting jokes drag on and on well past the point of being funny. The acting is weak and obvious, although Travis does display some talent. Mercifully, the film is short, and there are a couple of moments that made me grin (such as when he is repeatedly tossed out the door), but a couple of moments is hardly enough for a whole film.

Rating:
Summary: Poor Transfer to DVD
Review: My copy of Alpha Video's DVD of Joe E. Brown's Earthworm Tractors is marred. The soundtrack is oversaturated. It is very distorted during the opening fanfare. I find I must turn down the volume drastically to make this DVD listenable. The visual quality of this DVD is no better than the VHS version I have borrowed from my local library. I recommend instead the VHS version distributed by Nostalgia Family Video - until a better transfer is offered on DVD

Rating:
Summary: the ancestor of slapstick comedy
Review: This old movie is the one of the ancestors of modern slapstick comedy. I don't normally like slapstick - in fact, I diligently avoid it - but I really enjoyed this movie. The stunts are overdone, the expressions and mannerisms exaggerated, the style is absurd, but it's funny. Funny enough to watch repeatedly. Like most of the movies of the era, there's no reason not to let the kids watch it. It's cute and light, and everybody's happy in the end.