User Reviews

I've always had a problem with Leon Errol as a comedian. Although he had a big reputation from his years with the Ziefeld Follies, the payoff somehow never lasted with him as it did with fellow Ziegfeld comics W.C.Fields, Ed Wynn, Fanny Brice, and Will Rogers. He did have an active performing career up until his death in 1951, but there was no single film performance of his that stands apart. Fields (who appeared with Errol in NEVER GIVE A SUCKER AN EVEN BREAK and another earlier film) had at least four film performances that were worth while. Rogers was in a slew of early films directed by John Ford. Wynn was able to switch, in his old age, to a series of fine dramatic performances such as THE GREAT MAN and THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK. Brice had less success in film, but she did appear as herself in THE GREAT ZIEGFELD, did a sketch with Hume Cronym and William Frawley in ZIEGFELD FOLLIES, and had stunning success as "Baby Snooks" on radio.

Errol did have talents - he had a "rubber leg" dance routine that he used in many films (to the point that it becomes somewhat tiresome after awhile). He also had a long series of shorts, similar to the ones done by Edgar Kennedy. But Kennedy somehow managed to vary the story lines in his shorts, sometimes fighting with his troublesome in-laws, sometimes with his neighbors, sometimes trying to reclaim valuable lost property, and sometimes trying to do some relatively simple chore that is complicated by all kinds of side issues. Errol's shorts constantly stuck to his trying to leave his wife and house to go out on a toot alone or with his friends (a theme occasionally - and I reiterate, "occasionally" - by Laurel and Hardy too). It was like he couldn't think of anything else. Later, when he was co-starred with Lupe Velez in the "Mexican Spitfire" comedies, he added his playing Lord Epping, which disguise makes up the confusions of the plots of those films. One can say that Epping is his star turn, but it is a feeble one for all that.

It is with some relief that Errol's appearance in this film is different. As Walter Webb, Errol plays a gas station owner with a sense of humor. He's constantly telling cornball jokes. He leaves his business with his mechanics, and goes home for the day. That night he happens to get a phone call and is told his gas station has burned down. He is desolate, but his wife (Marie Wells) reminds him that they bought a large insurance policy on the business. As a result Errol decides to put in a claim for serious losses that will enable him to build the gas station complex of his dreams.

It's quite a place, with dozens of chorus girls as mechanics, and assisting a dating service as well as an attached 19 hole golf course. They serve lunch to waiting customers (one complains at the cost of repairs and lunch - $1.65!). Jalopies are turned into fancy new cars by the staff. There is even a store that sells various gadgets to make car travel better (like a mallet to knock out back-seat driver). The film has a nice rhythm in it's humor and musical numbers, and it's color (this short was an early showing of the three color Technicolor method that was used in the 1930s). By the end of the film, it's all been quite enjoyable. The conclusion is a final, unexpected joke - one that Errol finds hard to laugh at.

For being one of the few Leon Errol shorts that was amusing, and for it's production values, I give this short an "8" out of "10".

I have to laugh. In a prior review of one of these Vitaphone film shorts, I mentioned how often director Roy Mack reached into the same bag of tricks to come up with a story that turned out to be a dream. A few I've seen right in a row include "Twenty Thousand Cheers for the Chain Gang", "Soft Drinks and Sweet Music" and "Good Morning, Eve". So with this one it seemed like he was about to break the routine, but at the very end, the impetus for the story turned out to be an April Fool's Joke! Maybe I'll run into a 'real' story yet!

Oh well, it's not so bad. With his Cross Roads Gas Station (presumably) burned to the ground, owner Walter Webb (Leon Errol) turns over the claim to his insurance company to cover a replacement. The tip off that this wasn't the real deal should have been the thoroughly modern enterprise that sprang up to replace the run down garage and filling station destroyed in the fire. Particularly appealing in this Technicolor romp are the snazzy uniforms of the singing female gas attendants, gloriously decked out in brilliant white shorts and the most gorgeous shade of purple you'll ever lay your eyes on. Seriously, I'm not prone to exaggeration.

The story then transitions over to a golf course with an equally colorful canvas, and for any antique auto buffs in the audience, feast your eyes on the vintage vehicles offered for your viewing pleasure. Fortunately, before this one's over, we learn with the arrival of one big spender at the filling station that he's willing to pony up for - get this - a half gallon of gas for nine cents! And I don't think that was an April Fool's joke!

Going between Columbia and RKO for most of his movie shorts in the mid 1930's, Leon Errol made a brief but exciting stop over at Warner Brothers for this two strip color musical that doesn't take long to set itself up for a few outstanding musical numbers that are delightfully campy.

Imagine finding out that your sweet old granny once was a chorus girl in the classic movie musicals, wearing very little and able to fan kick among the best of the Rockets. I'm sure that many of the young lovelies here were very busy as Hollywood made a ton of features and shorts that required dancers. The comedy is dated and the plot slight (Errol uses insurance money rewarded to open an elaborate gas station that utilizes these young ladies to serve customers), but that hardly matters. An absolute delight.