Practical Jokers

Practical Jokers (1938)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

The gang discovers that Butch has been playing all sorts of jokes on them for two weeks so at his birthday party they come up with a way to get even. PRACTICAL JOKERS certainly isn't a masterpiece but considering how weak some of the earlier episodes were in this series, it's actually a breathe of fresh air. The film starts off with a couple nice jokes being played on the gang but things really pick up at the birthday party when they put a small stick of dynamite in Butch's birthday cake. What works so well during this sequence isn't that it's funny but that the thing is actually pretty dramatic because Alfalfa is forced to sing a song while holding the cake and you're just waiting to see what happens. In a good change of pace, the entire supporting cast are actually given something good to do and they help keep the film moving at a nice pace. This includes Buckwheat and Porky who get a couple nice scenes. Even Darla comes off pretty good here as she walks her baby cat around. And yes, Butch is every bit the bully that we've come to expect and manages to get some laughs.