This short comedy from the Hal Roach "All Stars" series stars Jeanette Loff and Eddie Foy Jr, and speculation has it that Roach was considering solidifying the pair as a comedy team, and based on the strength of this, I wouldn't have minded seeing more at all. It's an extremely funny, joyful short, and, in the spirit of the films of many of Roach's bigger stars (from which, incidentally, Our Gang's Spanky makes a nice little cameo), is a great example of a comedy of of frustration and escalation.
Jeanette and Eddie have just been married -- and everybody knows what they ought to be up to on their wedding night, but when they're continually interrupted by ever more absurd problems it makes for a very relatable but still humorously unlikely comedy. There's a lot of great comic creativity to the interruptions too, with the titular Benny arriving from Panama trailing a gaggle of hungry singing sailors, unearthly mosquitoes (represented in some cute animation that doesn't take us out of the reality of it), a flooding bathroom leaking to the other hotel guests, and more.
Eddie Foy isn't personally too memorable here, but he plays the comedy well and has a charming screen presence. Jeanette Loff is a great leading lady, and she's especially wonderful in her subtle, sultry rendition of a song about how she and Eddie can finally be alone -- that's what makes it doubly hilarious in my favorite gag here when this cuts away to a shot where the apartment is suddenly filled with noisy guests.
A great laugh-getting comedy from the Roach Studios, showing the big comic value in adding creative and surprising material to a foolproof formula for comedy.
Jeanette and Eddie have just been married -- and everybody knows what they ought to be up to on their wedding night, but when they're continually interrupted by ever more absurd problems it makes for a very relatable but still humorously unlikely comedy. There's a lot of great comic creativity to the interruptions too, with the titular Benny arriving from Panama trailing a gaggle of hungry singing sailors, unearthly mosquitoes (represented in some cute animation that doesn't take us out of the reality of it), a flooding bathroom leaking to the other hotel guests, and more.
Eddie Foy isn't personally too memorable here, but he plays the comedy well and has a charming screen presence. Jeanette Loff is a great leading lady, and she's especially wonderful in her subtle, sultry rendition of a song about how she and Eddie can finally be alone -- that's what makes it doubly hilarious in my favorite gag here when this cuts away to a shot where the apartment is suddenly filled with noisy guests.
A great laugh-getting comedy from the Roach Studios, showing the big comic value in adding creative and surprising material to a foolproof formula for comedy.