So You're Having in-Law Trouble

So You're Having In-Law Trouble (1949)

*** (out of 4)

Joe McDoakes comedy has him throwing a fit when his wife's parents and brother decide to come for a visit because he knows they're going to want to stay a while. Things take a darker turn when his own parents and long-lost cousin show up. This is another extremely funny entry in the series as the entire run of shorts was really hitting a high point and delivering plenty of nice laughs. This one here doesn't have any masterpiece writing but it's simple enough to where anyone can release to Joe and feel sorry for the guy. One of the on-running jokes has Cleo Moore playing his cousin who isn't scared to plant a wet one on Joe. She's certainly extremely hot and adds some nice sex appeal to the film and I'm sure many will know her from upcoming film noir films including ON DANGEROUS GROUND. Billy Gray from THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL is in fine form as the annoying little brother and Clifton Young returns in his Homer role. The movie contains one big laugh after another making this one of the more entertaining entries in the series.

For the second straight episode, Willard Waterman appears in the short. While his name isn't familiar, his face certainly is to folks who love 50s and 60s TV and films. In this case, he plays Joe McDoakes' father- in-law, an obnoxious pest who brings his nasty wife and godawful child (Billy Gray) to live with the McDoakes family. To make things more tense, Joe's parents and a sexy cousin soon arrive and make life unbearable. And, for once, Joe stands up to his wife (Phyllis Coates)...for what good it did!

This is a pretty typical sort of Joe McDoakes film--enjoyable, short and one in which Joe ends up on the bad end of things. Clever and worth your time, though occasionally the film does overdo things just a bit...which keeps it from being among the best of the series.