Just watched this Hal Roach feature on the TCM site on the recommendation of Mark Evanier. In this one, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams plays a truck driver who inadvertently takes Patsy Kelly's car when it gets stuck on his bumper. That makes Ms. Kelly late for her job at Charlie Chase's drug store. I'll stop there and just say that a fight erupts during the beginning sequence which results in Williams in a new boxing career with Kelly and Chase putting all their hopes on him. Also appearing is Edward Brophy as Chase's eventual partner in the venture and Pert Kelton as his girlfriend who tries to drive a wedge between Kelly and Williams. There's also a cute cameo by "Our Gang" member Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer. Director Gus Meins, another "Our Gang" veteran, brings some energy to the proceedings though the movie is uneven at best. Still, there's a few funny visual gags like the "pop" noises whenever someone thinks shots are being fired or the reactions of Williams when he hears "The Irish Washerwoman" being played. I also liked a scene when he tries to eat something while he still has his gloves on! So on that note, Kelly the Second is worth a look. P.S. I recognized one of the boxing patrons as Max Davidson who had previously starred in his own silent series of Hal Roach comedies from the '20s.
13 Reviews
Finally I see Patsy's first Starring role
theowinthrop20 April 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Because he is associated with Laurel & Hardy, Harold Lloyd, and Charlie Chase, and later the Little Rascals, Hal Roach's work with Patsy Kelly (with or without Thelma Todd or Lyda Roberti or Zazu Pitts) is somehow ignored. Roach was pretty good at sizing up his comic talent and balancing it - and his Kelly / Todd films were supposed to be the match of his Laurel & Hardy pairings (in fact in one film they actually turn out to be the girls' boyfriends, but only as a final joke). Strangely it never seemed to occur to him to put Stan and Babe with Patsy and Thelma in a single short or feature from beginning to end. The girls were individually in features with the boys but only as support (Thelma in FRA DIAVALO; Patsy in PICK A STAR). It was like Roach saw a similarity in teams, but never thought of constructing a quartet film (which might have worked - Thelma with Babe and Patsy with Stan).
(In the late 1930s, when Roach was having contract problems with Stan Laurel, he announced a series with Babe, Patsy, and Spanky McFarlane called "The Hardys" which sounds promising. Only a still of Babe Hardy holding Spanky - each trying to stare down the other - with Patsy watching them survives).
Kelly had always been great assisting on the humor of the films she was in. Some have been critical of her "shouting" all her lines, but her personality is supposed to be hyper, and I really can't understand the nature of the criticism. She still emphasize the jokes in her lines.
In KELLY THE SECOND she is working as the breakfast-lunch-dinner counter girl in a drugstore owned by Charlie Chase. One day she is trying to get to her job in time, and her car is backed into by a truck driven by "Big Boy" Williams. Here (instead of his usual side-kick role for Errol Flynn) Big Boy is a good natured lug ever ready for a fight. In particular he fights well when he hears the old tune "The Irish Washer Woman". They are arguing about the car-truck problem when assorted passers-by get involved. Inevitably a donnybrook occurs. Before the police (who fully know Big Boy by reputation) arrive, he drives off with Patsy's car in his truck, and drops her off at her job. But the police come, and arrest him, Patsy, and Chase (the latter two lied about him being on their premises.
In court Big Boy is sentenced for creating a disturbance, but the judge is lenient to both Patsy and Chase. Unfortunately for Chase, he tries to get Big Boy out of jail - he succeeds only by putting up a $1,000.00 bond using his store for collateral. The judge he'll lose the bond if Big Boy fights again. But Patsy gets the idea that Big Boy can fight legally in the ring, and she and Chase act as his trainer and manager.
In the initial fight, Chase has the misfortune of sitting near Ed Brophy, a local crime kingpin, and his mistress (Pert Kelton) and his henchmen, led by Harold Huber. Brophy and Huber were in several films together (THE THIN MAN is the best recalled) but they have a comic pitch and catch between them that should also have been built on (it was once - in NAUGHTY MARRIETTA - but only as support for Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald). Brophy is clever, but easily flustered and Huber normally calms him down. Here, due to Chase building up Big Boy's abilities, Brophy puts down over #1,000.00 on him as a bet. But Big Boy loses the match, and Brophy wants blood. However, he sees proof that Big Boy can punch his opponents effectively. Confronting Chase (trying to calm his nerves with some patent medicine in the drug store), he offers a choice: make Brophy his partner (he means in Big Boy, not in the drug store!), or be taken care of by Huber. Chase sees no alternative.
That is the basis of the film. The actors go to town, with Brophy's hood showing tremendous stupidity mixed with cleverness (look at the sequence about Brophy giving a smart Kelton an "ermine mink"). Huber notes his boss is not always bright, and somewhat dryly (and effectively) he manages to tweak Brophy about how gullible he can become. Kelton is attracted to Big Boy, but really goes after him when Brophy seems to treat her less respectfully than she feels is her due. Chase is constantly trying to balance between his bouts of indignation and anger and his confusion and nervousness (I like him facing total destruction in a boxer's preparation room while wearing a paper hat and making paper dolls). Big Boy's fat headedness is matched by his friendly banter (sometimes close to coming to blows) with Patsy, who returns it as they slowly realize they really like each other a lot. Patsy does well in several scenes, one dealing with a crowded little car where the breaks are in a pair of difficult places for her to reach, and another where she finds she can't make friends with any animals on a farm Brophy has them training on.
It's an amusing film, and one wishes Roach might have tried a sequel or two.
(In the late 1930s, when Roach was having contract problems with Stan Laurel, he announced a series with Babe, Patsy, and Spanky McFarlane called "The Hardys" which sounds promising. Only a still of Babe Hardy holding Spanky - each trying to stare down the other - with Patsy watching them survives).
Kelly had always been great assisting on the humor of the films she was in. Some have been critical of her "shouting" all her lines, but her personality is supposed to be hyper, and I really can't understand the nature of the criticism. She still emphasize the jokes in her lines.
In KELLY THE SECOND she is working as the breakfast-lunch-dinner counter girl in a drugstore owned by Charlie Chase. One day she is trying to get to her job in time, and her car is backed into by a truck driven by "Big Boy" Williams. Here (instead of his usual side-kick role for Errol Flynn) Big Boy is a good natured lug ever ready for a fight. In particular he fights well when he hears the old tune "The Irish Washer Woman". They are arguing about the car-truck problem when assorted passers-by get involved. Inevitably a donnybrook occurs. Before the police (who fully know Big Boy by reputation) arrive, he drives off with Patsy's car in his truck, and drops her off at her job. But the police come, and arrest him, Patsy, and Chase (the latter two lied about him being on their premises.
In court Big Boy is sentenced for creating a disturbance, but the judge is lenient to both Patsy and Chase. Unfortunately for Chase, he tries to get Big Boy out of jail - he succeeds only by putting up a $1,000.00 bond using his store for collateral. The judge he'll lose the bond if Big Boy fights again. But Patsy gets the idea that Big Boy can fight legally in the ring, and she and Chase act as his trainer and manager.
In the initial fight, Chase has the misfortune of sitting near Ed Brophy, a local crime kingpin, and his mistress (Pert Kelton) and his henchmen, led by Harold Huber. Brophy and Huber were in several films together (THE THIN MAN is the best recalled) but they have a comic pitch and catch between them that should also have been built on (it was once - in NAUGHTY MARRIETTA - but only as support for Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald). Brophy is clever, but easily flustered and Huber normally calms him down. Here, due to Chase building up Big Boy's abilities, Brophy puts down over #1,000.00 on him as a bet. But Big Boy loses the match, and Brophy wants blood. However, he sees proof that Big Boy can punch his opponents effectively. Confronting Chase (trying to calm his nerves with some patent medicine in the drug store), he offers a choice: make Brophy his partner (he means in Big Boy, not in the drug store!), or be taken care of by Huber. Chase sees no alternative.
That is the basis of the film. The actors go to town, with Brophy's hood showing tremendous stupidity mixed with cleverness (look at the sequence about Brophy giving a smart Kelton an "ermine mink"). Huber notes his boss is not always bright, and somewhat dryly (and effectively) he manages to tweak Brophy about how gullible he can become. Kelton is attracted to Big Boy, but really goes after him when Brophy seems to treat her less respectfully than she feels is her due. Chase is constantly trying to balance between his bouts of indignation and anger and his confusion and nervousness (I like him facing total destruction in a boxer's preparation room while wearing a paper hat and making paper dolls). Big Boy's fat headedness is matched by his friendly banter (sometimes close to coming to blows) with Patsy, who returns it as they slowly realize they really like each other a lot. Patsy does well in several scenes, one dealing with a crowded little car where the breaks are in a pair of difficult places for her to reach, and another where she finds she can't make friends with any animals on a farm Brophy has them training on.
It's an amusing film, and one wishes Roach might have tried a sequel or two.
I love a brassy dame!
JohnSeal3 September 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Embarrassing confession time: I have a serious crush on old time comedienne Patsy Kelly, so even if this Kelly vehicle were the worst film ever made I'd still be offering it a recommendation. Happily it's a bit better than terrible, and in addition to Patsy also features sassy blonde Pert Kelton, silent comedy veteran Charley Chase, and former boxer Slapsie Maxie Rosenbloom, rendering Kelly the Second absolutely irresistible. As for the story, it's a broadly told tale of lunch counter manager Molly (Kelly) who finds herself training aspiring pugilist Cecil (Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams). If you can overlook the ubiquitous, teeth-grinding hurdy-gurdy rendition of The Irish Washerwoman, you'll enjoy this filmthough probably not as much as I will.
Enjoyable little comedy
vandino120 July 2006
Hal Roach decided to try pushing Patsy Kelly up from short subjects to feature stardom and this is the first attempt. It's actually quite good, mostly because of the expert cast on hand. An odd title, although it refers to Patsy Kelly's character being Guinn Williams "second" in the ring, it's never said: she's referred to only as William's trainer. But the film is an odd duck overall, anyway. It has a loopy start with Williams as a two-fisted truck driver who gets into a donnybrook on the street after accidentally hijacking Kelly's car onto the rear bumper of his truck. When the cops arrive the two of them dash off to her place of employment: a pharmacy run by Charley Chase. Now the film becomes equal parts Kelly-Williams and Chase as Williams is given a 'no-fight-or-else' probation by the Judge and Chase inadvertently puts up his pharmacy as Williams' bond. Weirdly, Kelly and Chase decide that Williams SHOULD keep fighting... but in the boxing ring instead. This leads to a ringside get together with gangster Ed Brophy and his mob, featuring girlfriend Kelton and head bodyguard Harold Huber. From here on the film becomes equal parts Chase, Brophy and Kelly-Williams. When Chase gets in trouble with Brophy lots of complications ensue.
Quite a slapsticky film, with lots of frantic antics keeping the movie going at top speed. It rarely lets up for a quiet moment and that's to its advantage. Even with all the fights and gangsters and jealousy stuff between Kelton and Kelly over Williams, the film is still a good- natured romp from start to finish. Even the gangsters are fun, especially Huber who looks like he's having a blast as Brophy's slyly wisecracking strong arm. Charley Chase, even here late in his career, plays the nervous bumbler better than any other. And Williams may never have gotten a bigger or better role in his career, seeing as he was usually relegated to small supporting roles in most of his film appearances. Kelly is expert, as always, although she's directed to shout most of her lines, making her a tad too brassy and one-note after awhile (whereas in contrast Chase and Huber get laughs by almost muttering some of their lines). Only the expert comedian Pert Kelton is left without much of a part and almost nothing funny to say. Too bad. But this little comedy is still worth a look for its modest but goofy charm.
Quite a slapsticky film, with lots of frantic antics keeping the movie going at top speed. It rarely lets up for a quiet moment and that's to its advantage. Even with all the fights and gangsters and jealousy stuff between Kelton and Kelly over Williams, the film is still a good- natured romp from start to finish. Even the gangsters are fun, especially Huber who looks like he's having a blast as Brophy's slyly wisecracking strong arm. Charley Chase, even here late in his career, plays the nervous bumbler better than any other. And Williams may never have gotten a bigger or better role in his career, seeing as he was usually relegated to small supporting roles in most of his film appearances. Kelly is expert, as always, although she's directed to shout most of her lines, making her a tad too brassy and one-note after awhile (whereas in contrast Chase and Huber get laughs by almost muttering some of their lines). Only the expert comedian Pert Kelton is left without much of a part and almost nothing funny to say. Too bad. But this little comedy is still worth a look for its modest but goofy charm.
It Grows On You, Not Bad At All!
verbusen22 April 2009
Warning: Spoilers
If you are a Hal Roach, Patsy Kelly, Charlie Chase, Little Rascals Alfalfa or Irish 1930's exploitation movie fan, you can find a good reason to enjoy this film. Luckily for me I'm all of those! My mistake was reading some of the comments BEFORE viewing and I hate that but sometimes I cannot resist, but in this case they are mostly way off. One review even goes to say this is more of a DRAMA then a comedy, I don't know what that person was smoking but it wasn't tobacco (maybe a foreigner who does not understand American humor?)! If you like any of those characters/reasons I mentioned at the beginning this is definitely worth a viewing. I saw it on Turner Classic Movies, they were doing a women of comedy thing and Patsy Kelly's first feature film was the first film shown. Likewise with reading IMDb.com reviews before a viewing I also DVR these movies from TCM and SKIP the intro from Robert Osbourne, I mean the guy gives the whole plot away every time! I love the stories behind the story but please, let me enjoy the movie first! I watch Robert's comments after I finish the movie. Anyway another reviewer said he was turned on by Patsy and I have to admit if I was around with her and we were in the same time and age period in a bar I wouldn't mind her being my date, she looks like a whole lot of fun! I have not seen Patsy in too much stuff that I noticed her in, just Rosemary's Baby and Pick A Star, Pick A Star was also good so check that one out if you see it scheduled on TCM, the Hollywood Producer part had some very memorable risqué scenes! I'm giving this a 7 of 10, I laughed more than 3 times, its a 30's comedy, Hal Roach did it, it's short. and you get to see a really really young (and cute as a button) Alfalfa!
The People's Champion
bkoganbing20 April 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Patsy Kelly and Guinn Williams prove to be a funny and romantic team in their own way Kelly The Second. The title refers not to any order of birth, but the fact that Patsy acts as Big Boy Williams's second in his boxing career.
I liked Williams playing a lovable lunkhead of a truckdriver who will goodnaturedly brawl on a given occasion. One such brawl damages pharmacist Charley Chase's establishment so that Chase is owing money big time. It's Kelly who gets the idea to turn Williams's talent for brawling into his becoming a prizefighter.
Of course gamblers Harold Huber and Edward Brophy get involved as well as blond golddigger Pert Kelton. The heavyweight championship fight with Williams against Maxie Rosenbloom is something hilarious and pure Hal Roach.
The gimmick at the end is that Williams goes into the ring thoroughly soused to the gills. But another thing that audiences today can't appreciate is Maxie Rosenbloom who two years earlier lost the world light heavyweight title after a five year reign. Rosenbloom's nickname as a fighter was 'Slapsie Maxie' because of his tendency to almost paw at his opponent. He was a tough man in the ring, but he rarely knocked out any opponent because of that. Fight fans in 1936 would know that and realize that Williams in his condition might fare better against a Rosenbloom than say Joe Louis.
The final scene of course is Williams becoming the heavyweight champion, but the fight itself with a drunk Big Boy in the ring with Slapsie Maxie is hysterical. And of course the help he gets from Patsy and in fact the whole audience really make Big Boy, the People's Champion.
I liked Williams playing a lovable lunkhead of a truckdriver who will goodnaturedly brawl on a given occasion. One such brawl damages pharmacist Charley Chase's establishment so that Chase is owing money big time. It's Kelly who gets the idea to turn Williams's talent for brawling into his becoming a prizefighter.
Of course gamblers Harold Huber and Edward Brophy get involved as well as blond golddigger Pert Kelton. The heavyweight championship fight with Williams against Maxie Rosenbloom is something hilarious and pure Hal Roach.
The gimmick at the end is that Williams goes into the ring thoroughly soused to the gills. But another thing that audiences today can't appreciate is Maxie Rosenbloom who two years earlier lost the world light heavyweight title after a five year reign. Rosenbloom's nickname as a fighter was 'Slapsie Maxie' because of his tendency to almost paw at his opponent. He was a tough man in the ring, but he rarely knocked out any opponent because of that. Fight fans in 1936 would know that and realize that Williams in his condition might fare better against a Rosenbloom than say Joe Louis.
The final scene of course is Williams becoming the heavyweight champion, but the fight itself with a drunk Big Boy in the ring with Slapsie Maxie is hysterical. And of course the help he gets from Patsy and in fact the whole audience really make Big Boy, the People's Champion.
A fine Hal Roach film,....just don't expect it to be a comedy!
planktonrules20 July 2006
This is a very odd film in that I mildly enjoyed it but found almost no laughs whatsoever in this Hal Roach comedy! Despite having Patsy Kelly and Charlie Chase, the movie looked like a light drama--and putting the laughs in the script was just forgotten. It is a pleasant enough film--just not funny. And, I doubt if Roach would have been happy with me saying this if he were alive today because it WAS intended as a comedy.
Part of the reason I was not terribly impressed by the film is that I am really not a huge fan of Patsy Kelly, as she always seems to be screaming her lines--subtle she sure ain't. Interestingly enough, and this is NOT meant at all to be a criticism, but Rosie O'Donnell is almost the spitting image of her.
I was also disappointed because I LOVE Charlie Chase's silent films, but found at least in the case of this film, he doesn't make a good transition to sound--as the entire chemistry that made him famous is gone. He does play a fine supporting character--but he's nothing like the character he was in silent days, that's all.
As for the plot and the other actors, they were fine though not outstanding. It almost seemed like in every way, Roach was using his B or C-string unit to make this film--saving his better stuff and energy for Laurel and Hardy and Our Gang. Speaking of Our Gang, look carefully for a very young and cute scene with Alfalfa--in his pre-Our Gang days.
NOTE: Patsy Kelly's car at the beginning of the film appears to be the same one used for a comedy bit in the Laurel and Hardy short, OUR WIFE.
Part of the reason I was not terribly impressed by the film is that I am really not a huge fan of Patsy Kelly, as she always seems to be screaming her lines--subtle she sure ain't. Interestingly enough, and this is NOT meant at all to be a criticism, but Rosie O'Donnell is almost the spitting image of her.
I was also disappointed because I LOVE Charlie Chase's silent films, but found at least in the case of this film, he doesn't make a good transition to sound--as the entire chemistry that made him famous is gone. He does play a fine supporting character--but he's nothing like the character he was in silent days, that's all.
As for the plot and the other actors, they were fine though not outstanding. It almost seemed like in every way, Roach was using his B or C-string unit to make this film--saving his better stuff and energy for Laurel and Hardy and Our Gang. Speaking of Our Gang, look carefully for a very young and cute scene with Alfalfa--in his pre-Our Gang days.
NOTE: Patsy Kelly's car at the beginning of the film appears to be the same one used for a comedy bit in the Laurel and Hardy short, OUR WIFE.
There's nothing secondary about Patsy Kelly! She's tops in my book!
mark.waltz9 July 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Certain performers are not for all tastes, and the rambunctious Patsy Kelly is someone who will definitely fall in that category for those expecting sophisticated comedy. This raucous Irish comic could sing and dance and mug and act with the best of them, and here, she gets to do everything in her very first feature lead. She meets prizefighter Guinn "Big Boy" Williams quite by accident and ask her a rather tempestuous meeting oh, she becomes his manager and his gal. but romance is the furthest thing from her mind as she tries to get him ready for the big fight with the help of what's a Charley Chase, and they end up on a farm where she goes head to toe with various farm animals, then ends up back in Manhattan where she goes had to tell with monster Edward Brophy and moll Pert Kelton. Getting Williams to fight his best by playing an Irish jig, she definitely breaks a few price fighting rules, but who cares? It's an entertaining Hal Roach comedy made through MGM where even Alfalfa makes an appearance!
Patsy Kelly came from the Broadway stage via vaudeville and burlesque, and works very late into her life, returning to Broadway with great success after several decades in obscurity. of course, fans of the horror classic "Rosemary's Baby" will remember her as Ruth Gordon's friend, basically stealing the few moments that she was on screen with the same trick she had been playing 30 years before as an entertainer. She can't help but bark every line, yet there is something extremely lovable about her. Pert Kelton tries to match her in toughness and does steal one moment when Kelly shows up at the big match in a huge fake beard. This is a very likable film that moves at a very speedy pace, stolen by a perky Irish lass who had a very unorthodox career but is fondly remembered today.
Patsy Kelly came from the Broadway stage via vaudeville and burlesque, and works very late into her life, returning to Broadway with great success after several decades in obscurity. of course, fans of the horror classic "Rosemary's Baby" will remember her as Ruth Gordon's friend, basically stealing the few moments that she was on screen with the same trick she had been playing 30 years before as an entertainer. She can't help but bark every line, yet there is something extremely lovable about her. Pert Kelton tries to match her in toughness and does steal one moment when Kelly shows up at the big match in a huge fake beard. This is a very likable film that moves at a very speedy pace, stolen by a perky Irish lass who had a very unorthodox career but is fondly remembered today.
Kelly is smelly, just like an old welly
F Gwynplaine MacIntyre23 January 2004
In 'Kelly the Second', Patsy Kelly meets an Irish lorry-driver who rejoices in the name Cecil Callahan, and she trains him to become a prizefighter. This is a Hal Roach feature, so its production budget is at the bottom of the barrel. You might expect all parties concerned to set their sights on appropriately modest goals. Hell, no! Patsy trains Cecil to be the heavyweight champion of the *world*, and before the end of the film he gets a crack at the championship. But we know in advance that we're not going to see a realistic depiction of a heavyweight title bout on screen, because this movie's budget won't stretch that far.
Cecil is played by Guinn Williams, a fine character actor whose immense size typecast him as hulking thugs of less intellect than the hero. I'll admit that my interest in Guinn (real name Gwynn) Williams isn't entirely objective: my own name, Gwynplaine, is occasionally mistaken (usually by Americans) for a female name: I wish that Guinn Williams - a huge, macho actor - were better known, so that the gender of my own name would be a bit less cryptic to some people. Personal motives aside, Guinn Williams was a talented and versatile actor (within his physical range) who never got the lead roles he deserved. Williams spent most of his career playing the roles turned down by Nat Pendleton.
There are funny performances in 'Kelly the Second' by Edward Brophy and Billy Gilbert. Pert Kelton is vulgar (as usual), but brunette Rosina Lawrence is winsome and pleasant. Slapsie Maxie Rosenbloom (whose acting talents were underrated) is effective and funny as a rival pugilist. Charley Chase was already well into his dipso decline at this point; Hal Roach seems to have stuck him into this film simply because Chase was available and under contract. I'll rate 'Kelly the Second' 3 points out of 10.
Cecil is played by Guinn Williams, a fine character actor whose immense size typecast him as hulking thugs of less intellect than the hero. I'll admit that my interest in Guinn (real name Gwynn) Williams isn't entirely objective: my own name, Gwynplaine, is occasionally mistaken (usually by Americans) for a female name: I wish that Guinn Williams - a huge, macho actor - were better known, so that the gender of my own name would be a bit less cryptic to some people. Personal motives aside, Guinn Williams was a talented and versatile actor (within his physical range) who never got the lead roles he deserved. Williams spent most of his career playing the roles turned down by Nat Pendleton.
There are funny performances in 'Kelly the Second' by Edward Brophy and Billy Gilbert. Pert Kelton is vulgar (as usual), but brunette Rosina Lawrence is winsome and pleasant. Slapsie Maxie Rosenbloom (whose acting talents were underrated) is effective and funny as a rival pugilist. Charley Chase was already well into his dipso decline at this point; Hal Roach seems to have stuck him into this film simply because Chase was available and under contract. I'll rate 'Kelly the Second' 3 points out of 10.
Worth Watching If Just For Chase in a Feature Film
NellsFlickers4 March 2021
I have watched this film twice and liked it better the second time. I love Charley Chase, even when he wasn't at his best (or healthiest). His actual gray hair helps make him a more natural character. His (too) short solo scenes made me chuckle, especially when he is alone in his drug store after Cecil's disastrous first fight. He is also funny when Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer needs to "get back" his swollen coins. But alas, he wasn't the best choice for the role. His comedy wasn't loud and overly frantic, and Patsy Kelly was way too loud to be mated with Chase. We DO, though, get to see him dance!
Guinn Williams was mediocre. Patsy Kelly did a fine job IF you like her style of comedy. Edward Brophy and his "thugs" are good. There are way too many back-projection scenes and use of doubles that give the movie a low-budget feeling, THOUGHT they did use a lot of real people in the fight audiences. OH, and a lot of farm animals...
Patsy's last CAR, on the other hand, I absolutely LOVED: A Duesenberg.
So while not the best film of 1936, it is decent and you need to watch it if you are a Chase fan, even if he simply wasn't in enough feature films.
Guinn Williams was mediocre. Patsy Kelly did a fine job IF you like her style of comedy. Edward Brophy and his "thugs" are good. There are way too many back-projection scenes and use of doubles that give the movie a low-budget feeling, THOUGHT they did use a lot of real people in the fight audiences. OH, and a lot of farm animals...
Patsy's last CAR, on the other hand, I absolutely LOVED: A Duesenberg.
So while not the best film of 1936, it is decent and you need to watch it if you are a Chase fan, even if he simply wasn't in enough feature films.
Prepare for some surprise chuckles
superstar4922 April 2009
This was my first Patsy Kelly film. I am almost fifty and I've heard her name for years from my parents. But I've never seen her in anything before unless you want to count "Rosemary's Baby" which I didn't even care for.
So I watch the film and at first you're not sure what to make of her. But as someone else posted here, yes, she begins to grow on you.
As the movie progressed I could not help but keep watching. She made some funny facial expressions that can't hold a candle to Lucille Ball, yet I couldn't help but giggle at them.
I like old films from the 1930s. So this helped to keep my interest going. At the times the film/storyline was a bit lame, yet before I knew it I found myself chuckling out loud and I didn't know why. Like when Kelly, Guinn and the Charley Chase's car stopping right in the middle of the train tracks. How many times have we seen this train tracks gag before? Yet they managed to pull it off with Kelly's pant leg getting caught on the gear shifts and the car pulling out just in time, in front of film screen of a train whizzing by! I had a good laugh on that one.
This was also my first Big Boy Guinn film and he reminds a lot of Nat Pendleton, a favorite of mine. So I'll be keeping an eye out for more films of his on TCM.
I walked away from this film a Patsy Kelly fan and I am now on the hunt to see more of her. I may even rent "Rosemary's Baby" to appreciate her in that role.
A friend who saw this with me didn't laugh much except when I laughed. So a film like this might not appeal to all. But I am glad I watched it and hopefully this will get released on DVD sometime in the future.
My next goal is to check out Judy Canova and see what the big deal was about her. Stay tuned.
So I watch the film and at first you're not sure what to make of her. But as someone else posted here, yes, she begins to grow on you.
As the movie progressed I could not help but keep watching. She made some funny facial expressions that can't hold a candle to Lucille Ball, yet I couldn't help but giggle at them.
I like old films from the 1930s. So this helped to keep my interest going. At the times the film/storyline was a bit lame, yet before I knew it I found myself chuckling out loud and I didn't know why. Like when Kelly, Guinn and the Charley Chase's car stopping right in the middle of the train tracks. How many times have we seen this train tracks gag before? Yet they managed to pull it off with Kelly's pant leg getting caught on the gear shifts and the car pulling out just in time, in front of film screen of a train whizzing by! I had a good laugh on that one.
This was also my first Big Boy Guinn film and he reminds a lot of Nat Pendleton, a favorite of mine. So I'll be keeping an eye out for more films of his on TCM.
I walked away from this film a Patsy Kelly fan and I am now on the hunt to see more of her. I may even rent "Rosemary's Baby" to appreciate her in that role.
A friend who saw this with me didn't laugh much except when I laughed. So a film like this might not appeal to all. But I am glad I watched it and hopefully this will get released on DVD sometime in the future.
My next goal is to check out Judy Canova and see what the big deal was about her. Stay tuned.
The quality of humor is not strained....
GManfred20 April 2009
This picture was shown on TCM recently and it is strictly for hard-core Patsy Kelly fans. Apparently it was a vehicle for her in hopes it would lead to a series of films, according to Maltin.
But Patsy Kelly is an acquired taste and this film did her no favors. The humor is extremely broad and the storyline is vapid. The climax has to be seen to be believed and is far removed from true comedy. The one bright light is the inimitable Charley Chase who injects as much fun as he can into the proceedings and which sorely needs his expertise.
Can't really recommend this one except for the historical value via a glimpse of some of '30's Hollywood's great extras and character actors. A rainy day movie - but it is only 70 minutes long and doesn't kill enough bad weather time.
But Patsy Kelly is an acquired taste and this film did her no favors. The humor is extremely broad and the storyline is vapid. The climax has to be seen to be believed and is far removed from true comedy. The one bright light is the inimitable Charley Chase who injects as much fun as he can into the proceedings and which sorely needs his expertise.
Can't really recommend this one except for the historical value via a glimpse of some of '30's Hollywood's great extras and character actors. A rainy day movie - but it is only 70 minutes long and doesn't kill enough bad weather time.
Good Goofy Boxing Comedy
zardoz-1311 June 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Patsy Kelly and Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams incite both charisma and comedy in director Guy Meins' laffer "Kelly the Second," a riotous farce about a roughneck truck driver who is turned into a prize-winning boxer. This lively, black & white, 1936 comedy starts out with Molly (Patsy Kelly) getting carjacked in the wrong direction when a dim-witted truck driver accidentally rear ends her coupe and inadvertently careens around town with her in tow. When he finally pulls up near a pool hall, Cecil Callahan is surprised and amused that he has dragged this scrappy, irate dame across town. Mind you, Molly gives him 'the dickens' until a well-meaning, innocent bystander intervenes in patronizing fashion and tries to help her out. Immediately, our heroine tells him off, but not before the gentleman slugs Callahan in the snout. All hell breaks loose on the sidewalk. Fists fly as Callahan plunges into a knuckle-busting Brannigan. Knocked backward out of the fight, Molly triggers a photograph and it plays the venerable tune 'The Irish Washerwoman.' This music revitalizes Callahan and his fists into veritable tornados. He flattens virtually everybody in sight, and the ensuing fracas galvanizes the local flatfoots into action. They summon the paddy wagon.
Sirens howling as the police rush to the scene of the fight, our heroine and hero hightail it, after Callahan puts Molly's car into the back of his truck. They flee the scene of the donnybrook and take refuge in Dr. J. Willoughby Klum's (classic silent movie comedian Charley Chase of "Public Ghost # 1") drug store where Molly serves food at the counter. The disgruntled police officers show up not long afterward, and they haul Callahan off to court for creating a public disturbance. They haul in Dr. Klum and Molly on a charge of harboring a fugitive. The judge convinces the top cop to drop the charges against Dr. Klum and Molly. Dr. Klum goes to bat for Callahan, and the judge releases the truck driver into Klum's custody to the tune of $1000 dollars. The judge warns Callahan that if he creates another public disturbance that he will land in jail. Klum pledges his drugstore on Callahan's behalf and worries about his future. Outside the courthouse, Molly sees the number one prizefighter, Butch Flynn (Maxie Rosenbloom of "Gangs of New York"), and decides that Callahan can fight, but in the ring for the big bucks. Callahan's first fight doesn't last long because he tried to fight on a full stomach after he made the weight to qualify for the boxing match. Initially, Dr. Klum thought that he had a surefire winner, and another guy, a gangster named Ike Arnold (Edward Brophy of "The Invisible Woman"), listens to Klum's chatter and drops a grand on Callahan to win. Although he doesn't win the fight, Callahan makes a believer out of Ike when he decks the champ and sends him backwards, smashing through a wall, with one punishing pile-driver of a punch.
Ike strongarms Klum into a partnership with Callahan, and Molly serves as the trainer. The secret of Callahan's success is his ability to thrash anybody in sight once the "The Irish Washerwoman" tune is played. Molly trains Callahan, and they surge to the top of the fight racket. Of course, it is basically a lowest common denominator comedy, but the timing and the physical action succeed in generating laughs if you're willing to chuckle. Look for Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer in a cameo as a kid with a stomach ache who swallowed two dimes and a nickel. There is another cameo by Harry Myers who co-starred with Charlie Chapin in his immortal comedy "City Lights" (1931) as a millionaire drunken who befriended the Tramp. Of course, "Kelly the Second" contains a cheerful happy ending.
Sirens howling as the police rush to the scene of the fight, our heroine and hero hightail it, after Callahan puts Molly's car into the back of his truck. They flee the scene of the donnybrook and take refuge in Dr. J. Willoughby Klum's (classic silent movie comedian Charley Chase of "Public Ghost # 1") drug store where Molly serves food at the counter. The disgruntled police officers show up not long afterward, and they haul Callahan off to court for creating a public disturbance. They haul in Dr. Klum and Molly on a charge of harboring a fugitive. The judge convinces the top cop to drop the charges against Dr. Klum and Molly. Dr. Klum goes to bat for Callahan, and the judge releases the truck driver into Klum's custody to the tune of $1000 dollars. The judge warns Callahan that if he creates another public disturbance that he will land in jail. Klum pledges his drugstore on Callahan's behalf and worries about his future. Outside the courthouse, Molly sees the number one prizefighter, Butch Flynn (Maxie Rosenbloom of "Gangs of New York"), and decides that Callahan can fight, but in the ring for the big bucks. Callahan's first fight doesn't last long because he tried to fight on a full stomach after he made the weight to qualify for the boxing match. Initially, Dr. Klum thought that he had a surefire winner, and another guy, a gangster named Ike Arnold (Edward Brophy of "The Invisible Woman"), listens to Klum's chatter and drops a grand on Callahan to win. Although he doesn't win the fight, Callahan makes a believer out of Ike when he decks the champ and sends him backwards, smashing through a wall, with one punishing pile-driver of a punch.
Ike strongarms Klum into a partnership with Callahan, and Molly serves as the trainer. The secret of Callahan's success is his ability to thrash anybody in sight once the "The Irish Washerwoman" tune is played. Molly trains Callahan, and they surge to the top of the fight racket. Of course, it is basically a lowest common denominator comedy, but the timing and the physical action succeed in generating laughs if you're willing to chuckle. Look for Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer in a cameo as a kid with a stomach ache who swallowed two dimes and a nickel. There is another cameo by Harry Myers who co-starred with Charlie Chapin in his immortal comedy "City Lights" (1931) as a millionaire drunken who befriended the Tramp. Of course, "Kelly the Second" contains a cheerful happy ending.
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