All American Chump

Robert Armstrong (Bill), Edmund Gwenn (Jeffrey) and Betty Furness (Kitty) play three sharpies who work with the carnival. One day, Bill witnesses a local yokel doing some amazing addition--all in his head and faster than an adding machine. Bill thinks maybe he can put Elmer (Stu Irwin) into his traveling show as an attraction. However, no one seems to really care and they soon run out of money.

On a train trip, Elmer is convinced to play a game of bridge. Although he has no idea, he's apparently a fast learner and he and his partner win. One of the people he beat is considered the world's best player and now Bill and another agent decide to cash in on this by arranging a well-publicized rematch. But before the rematch, Elmer's miraculous mathematical skills vanish--and the answer to this didn't make any sense--have Kitty pretend to love him. Huh? Well, she does, his skills return and she marries him. The end. Huh?!

This plot is so paper-thin and silly, I wonder why they bothered making it in the first place. Most of it makes no sense and the ending is one of the most inexplicably ones I've seen--and it comes so quickly that you can't believe the movie is finished! A pretty poor film all around and one you could easily skip.

I thought this film was really enjoyable. This film isn't a message movie but rather just designed to provide some light entertainment to make people feel better in the midst of the Great Depression. I found the cast splendid with Stuart Erwin a delight to watch as the lead. He plays a country bumpkin who happens to excel at math so is used by corrupt carnival barkers (headed by Robert Armstrong) to make money by winning a bridge tournament. Yes, the story sounds a little far-fetched on paper, but the talented cast makes it work and I absolutely loved the ending which I won't give away. Edmund Gwenn is wonderful as the alcoholic associate of Robert Armstrong's character and Betty Furness is excellent as Edmund Gwenn's character's daughter. Edward Brophy and Dewey Robinson as a couple of gangsters are excellent as well! One area of improvement for the film would have been to have expanded the bridge-playing scenes with E.E. Clive as the opponent of Stuart Erwin. But otherwise this was a lot of fun!

Stuart Erwin has a gift for adding figures in his head. He is happily employed at the local bank, working as a human adding machine and daydreaming about his cows.

Erwin's trouble starts when he is talked into joining up with a traveling carnival managed by fast-talking Robert Armstrong, who envisions putting Erwin's mental math skills on display in his show.

Betty Furness is Armstrong's girlfriend and partner in the carnival business; Edmund Gwenn is Furness's devoted but often-tipsy father. This shady trio set out to manage Erwin's career.

Rather quickly, Erwin shows a talent for the game of bridge and gets into a match with bridge master E. E. Clive; small time gambler Edward Brophy thinks he sees a good thing and tries to sign on as Erwin's manager; and bigger time gambler Dewey Robinson attempts to take over Erwin's "contract." Meanwhile, Furness finds herself developing a soft spot for Erwin's guileless sincerity.

Eventually, of course, Erwin is being pulled in too many directions and just wishes he were back with his cows.

It's a good cast of character actors who are fun to watch even though the plot and dialog are never too surprising, despite the whimsical premise. Enjoyable enough but it's all over before we really get too interested.

When their carnival is busted up in the sticks, Robert Armstrong, Betty Furness, and her father, Edmund Gwenn come across Stu Erwin. He has a job in the local bank as an adding machine. At first they figure they can use him as a sideshow attraction, but when he defeats World Bridge champion E.E. Clive, they see a chance to capitalize on that. Small-time crook Eddie Brophy worms his way in, only to be devoured by bigger fish Dewey Robinson.

I didn't like it. I don't like Erwin's "star" personality of the era, as a countrified rube, limp as a dishrag, who invariably wins by being so pitiable. To compensate for an empty center to this blah comedy, everyone plays it big, not just Armstrong, but even Gwenn. the only one who is at all interesting in performance is Dewey Robinson. Usually he played a background actor, a beefy thug, just made a speakeasy bartender. He was part of Preston Sturges' stock company. He made his first movie in 1931, appeared in more than 250 features and died in 1950 at the age of 52.

This probably would have been a reasonably entertaining 1930's screwball comedy, if actors the quality of John Barrymore and Carole Lombard had played the leading roles. In the hands of this mediocre cast, however, there are few memorable moments. The lead character is a rube with a genius for mathematics, played by an actor with little to no charisma. He gets pulled in with a group of con men (and one con lady) to enter what turns out to be, in a series of highly improbable events, a highly-publicized and high-dollar bridge tournament. Enter a group of thugs who try to get him to throw the game. The acting is nothing spectacular -- the thick "deese" and "dem" accents of the gangsters is almost comic, and not in a good way. A drunk scene that should have been a comedy highlight was ruined by the ineptness of the cast, who seemed to feel that acting drunk means simply slurring your words and randomly wiggling your head once in a while. Not a bit of chemistry between the actors, who turn in garden-variety performances.

Also, the direction was surprisingly uninspired, which may have been part of the problem. For example: At about 52 minutes into the film, an actor blows one of his lines, and apparently no one bothered with a retake. If the production crew doesn't care, how can you expect the cast to care?

BOTTOM LINE: There are better ways to spend an hour.