So You Won’t T-T-T-Talk

I recently bought a couple collections of comedy shorts from Vitaphone and am about halfway through them. Surprisingly, they are generally very unfunny films…painfully unfunny. It seems that the Vitaphone division of Warner Brothers had few decent comedy writers and you can also see why you never see these shorts on television. Heck, even TCM doesn’t show these shorts! As far as this one goes, I know before it even begins that I’ll hate it simply because it stars Roscoe Ates and features his incredibly annoying and unfunny stuttering gag. I am not the most politically correct guy in the world, but really DO appreciate that laughing at this sort of thing is no longer considered acceptable! The film begins in the home of Roscoe and his wife. Let’s cut to the chase here…she physically abuses him and lets her bratty younger brother do the same. If you think it’s funny watching a lady throwing stuff at her brow-beaten husband, you’ll think this is a riot! The neighbors aren’t much better, as the wife also is emotionally abusive to her husband (Shemp Howard), though you feel less sorry for him because he’s a jerk. The five of them go on a camping trip and nothing funny occurs except for the very final scene.So, if your idea of funny is a stutterer who gets slapped around by his wife, then by all means enjoy this terrible little film. As for me, I think you’d have to pay me a lot of money to try it once more!!