So You Want to Throw a Party

THANKS much to TCM for bringing these golden oldies out of retirement, short comedy films we haven't seen for decades. One of the super bunch.

It's party time! Joe McDoakes and Alice (Phyllis Coates) want to throw a dinner party, however there's the right way -- and the wrong way. As you watch this series, you'll see Joe in some Dagwood Bumstead-like situations, only without Blondie to help. Often thought producer Richard L. Bare took a few cues from Arthur Lake, unforgettable as Dagwood.

So what does Joe do? He messes everything up, inviting all his "bill collectors" instead of best buds to the party. How embarrassing, but timely for them -- because they want to get paid! Again, just like something Dagwood would do.

The supporting cast of characters is hilarious; famous dwarf actor Billy Curtis drops by, a brilliant idea. A scene stealer for surelies. Tough guy Ed Gargan (usually playing cops) is cast as Mr. Frisbee? Famous blonde femme fatale Cleo Moore (often seen in Hugo Haas' exploitation films) plays Mrs. Frisbee? Fred Kelsey, usually bugging the Three Stooges, is here to bug Joe and Alice. Willard Waterman, alias the GREAT GILDERSLEEVE, plays George.

PS; Listen closely for the characters' wacky names. Both Bare and George O'Hanlon were very creative.

A labor of goofy love. Again thanks to Richard L. Bare, later lead director for GREEN ACRES. Note, about a year later, Phyllis Coates would join the tv cast of SUPERMAN, playing the original Lois Lane.

Great trivia question.

Always on dvd, remastered via Warner Brothers in a box set featuring other episodes. A super gift for movie buffs.

Joe McDoakes (George O'Hanlon) and Alice McDoakes (Phyllis Coates) are throwing a party. She invited eight people. He's utterly hung over. She writes up a grocery list. He has two lists of names. One is the invited guests. The other is his creditors. He accidentally invites from both lists and it makes for quite a mix of characters.

This is a fun little short. I like the setup. There is a bit of racy humor. Of course, it's not that kind of a short. I've never heard a game called Post Office. I guess it's out of date by now. Still, it's a funny gag since Alice is so obliging. That's always the funniest bit. It's good light humor but no big laughs.

So You Want to Throw a Party (1950)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Decent entry in the series has Joe McDoakes (George O'Hanlon) and his wife Alice (Phyllis Coates) throwing a party but poor Joe accidentally takes some sleeping pills and ends up inviting the wrong people over. So who does he invite over? The creditors he owes money to. The series had a few low points, many high points and a few entries that were in the middle and this here is one of them. If you're not familiar with the series then you might find this one mildly entertaining but fans will probably find much of the writing to be somewhat lazy. There's a long-running gag with Joe's tie that's never funny yet it gets played out at least three times. We also have another gag about the party being dead that doesn't really work. The best parts of the film are the early minutes when we see Joe accidentally taking the sleeping pills and the aftermath from doing it. As usual both O'Hanlon and Coates fit in their roles just fine and they both end up doing a lot more than the screenplay offers.

HIGHLY ENERGETIC, REALLY well paced and constructed in a sort of comically logic manner, we have just screened this one for the very first time. It is the team of Mr.George O'Hanlon and Miss Phyllis Coates used at their very best. Each is used in the best way and are on the screen together for just the right amount of time.

THE WRITER/DIRECTOR, Mr. Richard L. Bare, makes good use of the proved top laugh getting element of the building and returning to gags that are introduced early on; only to be revisited in incrementally funnier stages 2 or 3 times. The unraveling bow tie gag and his mixing up two very different lists is a good example of this category.

IT WAS APPLYING this category of gag as their stock in trade by the production and star of THE JACK BENNY PROGRAM for so many years.

SO MUCH OF the storyline and the subsequent laughs generated are the result of what we like to refer to as "the Old Switcheroo." This is the proper classification or both Joe's mixing up sleeping pills for aspirin, as well as his giving his secretary the wrong list of people to contact (one being the list that Alice wrote, the others being his creditors-that's business people he owes monthly payments to you, Schultz).

THERE IS EVEN a certain balance and symmetry in the short's wind-up. During the party, these "adults" played "Post Office", with poor Alice being the favourite of the guys (showing good taste). So it was that the movie's ending was reached by the delivery of a special delivery letter by a Letter Carrier (Ralph J. Sanford), who unceremoniously kisses Joe on his cheek!

DO YOU GET it, Schultz? No, no! It's not "Sealed With A Kiss!"

Mrs. McDoakes (Phyllis Coates) insists that she and Joe throw a dinner party. The problem is Joe is exhausted and in no condition to invite anyone over for anything. Not surprisingly, he makes a mess of things and the party turns out to be a bust. It's a shame, as most of the folks are creditors and they are hoping to make friends with these people so they won't have their things repossessed. After a game of Post Office, where all the guys take turns mauling Mrs. McDoakes, Joe has had enough. What's next? See the film.

This is a decent installment in the long series. However, the silly ending really makes this one worth seeing. Very clever and a bit of a surprise!