Joe McDoakes endeavors to move his furniture with a 1906 car.Joe McDoakes endeavors to move his furniture with a 1906 car.Joe McDoakes endeavors to move his furniture with a 1906 car.
Photos
Rodney Bell
- Marv
- (uncredited)
Phyllis Coates
- Alice McDoakes
- (uncredited)
Edward Gargan
- Head Mover
- (uncredited)
Fred Kohler Jr.
- Army Sergeant
- (uncredited)
Charles Marsh
- City License Man
- (uncredited)
Jack Mower
- Charlie - a Mover
- (uncredited)
Ralph Sanford
- Policeman
- (uncredited)
Charles Sullivan
- Bicycle Man
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
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Storyline
Did you know
- ConnectionsFollowed by So You Want a Raise (1950)
- SoundtracksI Know That You Know
(1926) (uncredited)
Music by Vincent Youmans
Played during the opening credits and at the end
Featured review
Korean Conflict on the Horizon
FROM THE OPENING, there is an obvious unique spin about this entry in the MC DOAKES Series. The production team has managed to keep the on going saga of our favourite everyman fresh and appealing by having him placed into a litany of precocious situations. Here they test the waters in hitting the problems of moving in an equally funny, yet differently mounted manner.
ALTHOUGH THE FRUSTRATIONS that befall Joe in the short are not unlike previous adventures, there is a unique feel to this one. The unveiling of his amateur handling of the otherwise routine move of has a different look about it. This job of moving "only 4 rooms of furniture" a short distance turns into a modern day version of the Labors of Hercules.
EVENTUALLY THE END results are not so very different than any other, it is the chosen rendering of the situation which puts this short into a category apart from others. We see the signs of both imitation and the payment of the compliment to certain of the masters of screen comedy who proceeded and blazed the trail. In particular, it looks as if the one being honored is Buster Keaton.
WHILE THE PRODUCTION does not attempt to bring us any road show version of the Keaton style, there is nonetheless definite signs of reworking some of the gags and even the handling of the central theme in similar fashion. As evidence of these contentions, we invite any skeptics to screen the Buster Keaton classics of the silent screen, ONE WEEK (1920) and COPS (1920).
NOW PLEASE UNDERSTAND, we're not insinuating that this was done in any underhanded attempt to plagiarize; but rather as an homage to the work of "The Great Stone Face."
AS AN ADDED element, they've added the use of movie title overlays that are placed on the screen intermittently. As the story progresses (and the co$t$ grow), the totals are presented to the audience accompanied by a freeze frame and some appropriate musical queue.
THE EFFECT IS if we, the viewing audience, have a sort of tally sheet or scoreboard rendered in electronics and celluloid.
IN THE BEGINNING of the story, the reason for the move is shown to be the reactivation of Joe's wife, Alice (Phyllis Coates) in her commission of a Lieutenant in the WACS (Women's Army Corps) from World War II. The year was 1950, marking the start of The Korean War and it's our guess that this is why such an element was added.
WHAT WE MEAN is, who knew how long this "Police Action" would last?
ALTHOUGH THE FRUSTRATIONS that befall Joe in the short are not unlike previous adventures, there is a unique feel to this one. The unveiling of his amateur handling of the otherwise routine move of has a different look about it. This job of moving "only 4 rooms of furniture" a short distance turns into a modern day version of the Labors of Hercules.
EVENTUALLY THE END results are not so very different than any other, it is the chosen rendering of the situation which puts this short into a category apart from others. We see the signs of both imitation and the payment of the compliment to certain of the masters of screen comedy who proceeded and blazed the trail. In particular, it looks as if the one being honored is Buster Keaton.
WHILE THE PRODUCTION does not attempt to bring us any road show version of the Keaton style, there is nonetheless definite signs of reworking some of the gags and even the handling of the central theme in similar fashion. As evidence of these contentions, we invite any skeptics to screen the Buster Keaton classics of the silent screen, ONE WEEK (1920) and COPS (1920).
NOW PLEASE UNDERSTAND, we're not insinuating that this was done in any underhanded attempt to plagiarize; but rather as an homage to the work of "The Great Stone Face."
AS AN ADDED element, they've added the use of movie title overlays that are placed on the screen intermittently. As the story progresses (and the co$t$ grow), the totals are presented to the audience accompanied by a freeze frame and some appropriate musical queue.
THE EFFECT IS if we, the viewing audience, have a sort of tally sheet or scoreboard rendered in electronics and celluloid.
IN THE BEGINNING of the story, the reason for the move is shown to be the reactivation of Joe's wife, Alice (Phyllis Coates) in her commission of a Lieutenant in the WACS (Women's Army Corps) from World War II. The year was 1950, marking the start of The Korean War and it's our guess that this is why such an element was added.
WHAT WE MEAN is, who knew how long this "Police Action" would last?
Details
- Runtime10 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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