Miss Polly

The antics fly fast and furious in the first part, from a wacko machine that mows down hedges, smokes through houses, and even shoots out crawl ropes to hang from. Then it's on to wacky crowds, all humorously rushing, pushing, and mugging it up. All in all, it's a comical barrage of goofy wild antics.

But what's Miss. Polly to do. Nasty old Mrs. Snodgrass and her blue-nose Purity League forbid young love. So youthful Eddie and Barbara have to sneak around while sympathetic Polly helps them out. Now, if only goofy inventor Slim could control his machines, maybe young love might succeed after all.

For me, that first part was a load of chuckles. However, the last part where Polly imbibes a hidden love potion and gets suddenly aggressive does spread it on pretty thick, especially when Polly challenges Snodgrass and the League in her royal-like gown and exposes the amorous skeletons lurking in the members' well hidden closet.

Thus, I can see why moral consevatives might object since the burlesque is so unrelenting and totalizing. But I take it not so much as an attack on moral conservatism, but instead as a warning against possible extremist tendencies, especially in small towns like Polly's.

All in all, give the brief 44-minutes a try, especially the first part. You don't have to be an advocate of free love to get some chuckles.

(In Passing, I suspect there's an interesting backstory here, coming as the flick does on the verge of WWII. So see what you think.)