Glove Slingers

In 1939, Columbia had started a new series of two-reel comedies called The Glove Slingers that followed the adventures of aspiring boxer Terry Kelly, his uncle Pat Patrick, and trainer Chuck. The role of Terry was played by four different actors through the series' run and the shorts were mostly story-driven with the usual slapstick gags thrown in.

The first entry has Terry (played by a young Noah Beery Jr.) who has a fondness for boxing, something that his religious mother (Dorothy Vaughan) is strongly against. When Pat and Chuck arrive for a surprise visit, Terry is thrown into an upcoming match with his girlfriend's brother Charlie Benson (Cy Schindell). Though Mrs. Kelly does not approve fighting of any kind, she discovers that the local priest has two tickets to the match and she cannot pass that up.

This short is entertaining and features a lot of other Columbia contract players in small roles: Dick Curtis, Richard Fiske, Victor Travers, etc.

As a fan of Columbia's short-subjects, I find this to be one of the very best the studio offered. Jules White's direction is superb, allowing room for character development and entertaining story-telling. The short plays out like a mini-feature, and White handles the fairly straight plot without relying on the large doses of the slapstick humor Columbia is most notable for. Don't get me wrong, there are still plenty of gags to satisfy fans, but the change of pace is a welcomed one.

This two-reel comedy gave birth to a series of shorts that would become known as "The Glove Slingers". In future entries, the storyline would move to a college setting, which provided more fun, laughs, and boxing matches for another couple of years.

No joke intended--Director Jules White could and did occasionally make very entertaining and restrained films; you could almost call this one "breezy", due in no small part to White's usual quick pace.

The characters are all surprisingly appealing for a Columbia short, and the scene between Dorothy Grainger and Victor Travers as Father Donovan is downright whimsical. The young Noah Beery, Jr is at his charming best, supported by a host of Columbia's excellent supporting players. Our pal Shemp Howard--believe it or not--is not the real funnyman in the cast; that honor goes to Paul Hurst, filmed the same year he, as the Union deserter, was shot dead by Vivien Leigh on the staircase at Tara.

I'll hang onto my copy of this one.

LR