Sing Sister Sing

This is one of the better scripted comedy shorts pairing THELMA TODD, blonde and elegant, with short-tempered PATSY KELLY, who is eager to share an apartment suite with her good friend.

Unfortunately, the idea turns sour when Patsy discovers that although she's supposed to share the space equally, it's impossible when Todd's belongings fill up all the allotted space. Furthermore, Todd lets out a panicky scream when Patsy turns the night-table light off when they prepare to sleep.

"I always keep the light on!" declares Todd, much to Kelly's dismay. It turns out that Todd is also a sleepwalker who walks out onto the windowsill in a trance, with Kelly following her to prevent an accident. Naturally, the laughs come as the two struggle with various dangerous predicaments.

It passes the brief time in amusing ways and certainly points up the different acting technique of the two actresses.

Todd invites Kelly to become her room mate at a resident hotel. The thing is, Todd has a long list of rules, like having to sing when one is mad. Although Todd has told Kelly that they will equally share all the space, she has filled up all the closet and drawer space with her own clothes. To Kelly's increase chagrin, Todd has a number of other annoying habits such as insisting a table light be on all during the night. Add to that is Todd's sleepwalking and Kelly's frantic efforts to keep her safe. There are some funny bits, particularly the ones with the Murphy bed and a drunk's mistaking a fire hose for a snake. It's a fun entry in the series in great part because of the change up in the respective roles of Todd and Kelly. In this case it's Todd that causes all the trouble.

They say a friend is those what help you move, but a real friend is one who'll help you move bodies, and that's kind of what I'm here to discuss.

When poor little pixie Patsy is put out in the cold, her friend, Toots, (that is, Thelma, not Thielemans) she gives her a place to stay providing she adheres to her simple set of rules. Simple, huh? Judging by Kelly's scowl at all this, I'm not sure HOW simple.

Thelma insists that when one is near the boiling point, song is encouraged, such as singing "I Wake Up With A Song," or some such other memorable melody. I would've suggested "I Dreamt I Dwelt In Marble Halls" by Balfe myself, a song she was not unfamiliar with.

Share and share alike, bear and forbear. We see some cute sequences in this short, some involving a mess of hats Patsy tries on, and them trying to use the bathroom at the same time.

That's just for starters, however. Then there's the part involving the radiator. And the part with the fire hose. Cuteness abounds here.

The action continues further on atop the window ledge, and we have the girls performing some hair-raising nonsense up there. (See "County Hospital" for comparison)

It's as if they're both blowing two totally different horns while splitting a place of residence: Thelma's wailing on a trumpet, Patsy's tooting a saxophone, and neither of them can quite play in total harmony when sharing an apartment together.

One of the better Kelly-Todd entries, this one had no plot at all, just a series of gags dominated by Patsy Kelly. Thelma has little to do but be somewhat annoying, but Jimmy Parrott's direction and the above average gags make this a winner. A good running gag leaves Patsy with nowhere to put her clothes because Thelma's crowd every closet and drawer, to the point of crawling out when they're opened. Charlie Hall and Arthur Houseman get in in the fun, too, and LeRoy Shields' wonderful background themes run throughout the short.

This late entry in the 'Girl Friends' series is arguably the best one since Zasu Pitts left the series. I attribute this largely to two factors: a script in which the two ladies' personalities are more clearly differentiated than in other efforts -- Thelma is anal retentive and gets on the nerves of the short-tempered Patsy to highly amusing effect -- and to the superior comedy direction of Paul Parrott, Charley Chase's brother, who directed several of Laurel & Hardy's better shorts and who knew how to use the Roach studio's comedy staff to advantage. It is a pity that he did not stay on, but drug problems that led to his early death meant that he was on the downward slope, and Roach's closing of short subjects production the following year and Thelma Todd's murder put paid to any future.

In the meantime, this fine example of comedy remains. If you have a chance to see it, do so.