User Reviews

I hope it wasn't "Bridge Over Troubled Water" or "Singin' in the Bathtub", but seeing the first film in the series of this wacky family, I wouldn't be surprised. Pop James Gleason is a hardworking advertising man, bringing client Paul Harvey home for dinner, just in time to hear his wife Lucille Gleason scream. No, she's not in jeopardy. She's just in the middle of one of her drama club meetings. Son Russell Gleason is tinkering with the broken telephone which is now connected to the doorbell, and complaining sister Lynne Roberts and grandfather Harry Davenport are rather aggravated. No Judge Hardy or the pie making ma to keep siblings Andy and Marian in line (although Robert's here is named Marian), but grandpa is a dilly, unseen sneaking the steak off of guest Harvey's plate. William Bakewell plays Roberts' love interest, overwrought by her acting ambitions. Unlike other battling on screen siblings, Gleason and Roberts argue a bit more realistically, truly being there when real problems arise.

Pretty much every studio had a series about a particular family, with the Jones family at 20th Century Fox second to the Hardy's, and Charlie Ruggles and Mary Boland playing parents dealing with wacky relatives in a series of cute Paramount comedies. At RKO, the Mexicans Spitfire series focused on a dysfunctional family with Lupe Velez and Leon Errol a terrific wacky team defying their individual spouses with their zany antics. The Blondie and Dagwood series at Columbia focused on a younger family.

This came from Republic, and for some reason, the series isn't easy to find. I've been searching for them for years, and only just found the first entry. The comedy here comes at the viewer a mile a minute, with gag after gag making it often difficult to catch everything. The second half of the film becomes a bit more serious when Papa walks out after Mama humiliates him and causes him to possibly lose his job. But it's obvious when they end up in divorce court what will occur as the film reaches its conclusion. The real life Gleason family work well together, and fortunately the films are under an hour, pretty much a two-part sitcom episode and easy to get through, the mix of comedy and drama a bit more realistic then the cliched antics of the Hardys.

The Higgins Family movies were produced at Republic from 1938 to 1941. They were the studio's answer to MGM's successful Hardy Family series. Paramount would follow suit with the Aldrich Family, and 20th Century Fox had the Jones Family. Moviegoing audiences enjoyed watching the foibles of the middle class,. Along with radio comedies of the era, these productions were forerunners of the modern sitcom.

In the case of the Higgins movies, Republic cast real-life couple James Gleason and his wife Lucile to play the lead roles. The Gleasons had appeared in other films and on Broadway before that. They were wed in 1905. When the first picture in the series was made they had been married for over 30 years- in the movie their characters Joe and Lil Higgins are said to be nearing a 27th anniversary.

The Gleasons appeared in the initial seven installments, which were quite popular. They were joined by their actor son Russell Gleason, who plays the Higgins' son Sidney. Rounding out the cast is Harry Davenport as scene stealing Grandpa, as well as Lynne Roberts as the lovestruck daughter with plans to be a star.

In the eighth and ninth movies the Gleasons were replaced by Roscoe Karns, Ruth Donnelly and George Ernest. Davenport was replaced by Spencer Charters. And the daughter was played by Lois Ranson. All nine movies are quite funny, though the seven with the Gleasons and Davenport are best...especially since they're all helmed by Gus Meins who had honed his comedy directing skills under Hal Roach with the OUR GANG series.

There is just something so cheerful and silly about these movies that cause the viewer to feel a sense of warmth and happiness. There are running gags like Grandpa speaking his mind, son Sidney adjusting the wiring and making things short-circuit, daughter Marian dreaming of Hollywood stardom, mom Lil getting involved in community affairs where she is in over her head, and pop Joe struggling to hold on to his job at an ad agency while dealing with his eccentric family.

In the first movie Grandpa is upset when Lil's new job on a radio program threatens Joe's employment at the agency. Considerable bickering has occurred, and the couple ends up in divorce court. During the hearing Grandpa isn't afraid to let the judge know what he thinks on the witness stand, and he even attacks the lawyers whom he blames for all their problems.

Meanwhile Lil has to swallow her pride and admit she doesn't want to end her marriage. As the judge and lawyers haggle over details, Lil and Joe learn that their daughter has run off to Hollywood with some man, and they need to stop her. They hurry out of the courtroom, "borrow" a truck and speed off after a departing train. The film ends after they realize they cannot interfere with their daughter's future plans, and they reconcile because they cannot envision their own future without each other.

Yes, things at the Higgins home will go back to normal, whatever that is for this crazy clan. And Lil will ponder her next move to bring more respectability to the family.