The Installment Collector

In the early days of talking films, studios scrambled to find new talent--in particular, people who were good with the gift of gab. Vaudeville and Burlesque comedians suddenly were a hot commodity now that the old silent comics were seen as old fashioned. As a result, the studios (especially Paramount) tried out stage talent like Smith & Dale, Milton Berle, Jimmy Durante, Jack Benny and Fred Allen--hoping to discover the next talking picture star.

This film is an early experiment starring Fred Allen--who had a face for radio--where he eventually found his niche. Well, being a lot younger and inexperienced, I was very surprised to hear his routine, as it was markedly different from his more laid back radio persona. Here in the early talkie, Fred was talking non-stop--a mile a minute. And, unfortunately, he didn't sound all that much different from a typical vaudeville comedian. In other words, he didn't seem to have all that much to offer other than high speed prattle.

It's all about a newspaper man who seems to owe everyone in town. As he's going about his job, a bill collector keeps showing up and demanding either payment or the item be returned. As he's broke, in each case the item goes with the collector--who, oddly, is the same guy representing a variety of companies. Why he kept coming back again and again instead of collecting all at once is beyond me and the whole thing plays like a stage routine. Not especially enjoyable, but an interesting curio nonetheless.