The Bargain of the Century

Another hilarious short with ZaSu Pitts and Thelma Todd.

I didn't know it till I watched these shorts, but ZaSu Pitts is the unrivaled mistress of physical comedy. See my review of Asleep in the Feet (1933) for more on this.

In Bargain of the Century, she falls over the back of a chair and ends up upside down against the wall! The funniest prat fall I've ever seen! As well as one of the most acrobatic.

Thelma Todd has more to do in this one than in the other shorts. She is a very talented comedian in her own right, but ZaSu is such a show-stealer that in the others I saw, she is relegated to basically being a straight man. She gets to be the center of quite a few laughs in this film.

The plot is a good one. Todd gets Burtis fired by claiming she is Gilbert's daughter and getting him to assist her at a bargain sale. Gilbert walks up and the jig is up. Todd and especially Pitts feel bad and say they will find Burtis another job. They let him stay at their apartment until then.

Burtis is an inventor and comes up with all kinds of wild contraptions to "improve" their lives, all of which make Pitts and Todd all the more anxious to see him leave.

In the central scene of the movie, Pitts lures Gilbert up to their apartment (you've got to see how!), hoping to get him to re-hire Burtis, and the fun begins. Or, rather, continues.

The ending is great, the best of these shorts I've seen so far. A one line zinger, and unexpected plot twist all rolled into one!

It's hard for me to think of a better way to spend just over nineteen minutes than watching this very funny short.