I Dood It

Red Skelton plays Joe Reynolds--a guy who is absolutely obsessed with the stage actress Connie Shaw (Eleanor Powell). He's so obsessed that he sees every performance of her latest play and knows it by heart. When he meets her finally, he doesn't realize that when she proposes marriage it isn't because she cares about him but because she is doing it to spite another man.

"I Dood It" is one of the weakest films that Red Skelton made for MGM and there are two huge strikes against it--and one smaller one. First, it's a remake and the original (starring Buster Keaton) is a better film--though for Keaton standards it's also a weak effort. Second, like too many of MGM's films, the studio insisted on inserting a lot of music into the film, as they really didn't seem to trust comedy. Because of this, Skelton, who could be very funny, seems like an afterthought at times. As for the smaller strike against the film, because it was made during WWII, they inserted a completely unnecessary subplot near the end about some evil-doer trying to blow things up to somehow aid the Axis. It really made no sense and was obviously tossed in at the last minute.

Note: To show how poor this movie is, the final musical number is recycled--taken from a Powell film ("Born to Dance") made seven years earlier.

You have to be a die-hard RED SKELTON fan to approve of his slapstick performance in I DOOD IT, but some of his routines just fall flat. He and ELEANOR POWELL have to deal with a less than spectacular script in which he's mistaken for a wealthy man when he's actually a pants presser. The gags that follow are weak, for the most part, but occasionally some bright bits of humor do crop up along the way.

For comic timing, nothing beats the scene where Powell takes the sleep medicine by mistake and Skelton is unable to wake her up to either put her in a chair or on a bed. Her limber body provides a lot of chuckles as he struggles to get her off the floor. The timing by both is impeccable and it's one of the film's best routines.

Too bad her dance numbers aren't staged as well as that sequence which runs a little too long. They're serviceable, but that's about all.

Jimmy Dorsey and his orchestra play some nice tunes, best of which is "Star Eyes" sung by Bob Eberly and Helen O'Connell. An "audition" scene featuring Hazel Scott at the piano and Lena Horne as vocalist on "Jericho" is a lively routine that gives the film a much needed musical highlight.

But for both Skelton and Powell, this is one of their lesser efforts. Sam Levene, Thurston Hall, John Hodiak and Richard Ainley offer good support.

No one seems to point out that his film is a remake of an earlier film Buster Keaton made for MGM titled "Spite Marriage", with many of the visual gags pulled directly from that earlier film with almost no changes. So as well as Red Skelton did in this, an earlier genius had done it first. Many of the best sight gags were lifted note-for-note from Keaton. The two films differ greatly in their sub-plots, but the core premise is the same. If you liked this movie, you should seek out the earlier film; a lot of it is genuinely funny. Although not Keaton at his peak (he was hampered by the MGM-imposed studio system), any Keaton is worth seeing.

Here is a perfect little film. It's full of laughs, music and Red Skelton. I've never been a Red Skelton fan but when I saw this film on TCM I was hooked. I couldn't stop watching. Between the music, the dancing, and slapstick I can't say which one was better. The other thing is the direction. It didn't seem like it was made almost 60 years ago. The camera moment is on par with correct Hollywood. To that end, it was better than current directors do. No MTV editing but good clean shots that flow from one shot to the next without as many edits. Now that's something I would love current Hollywood try. This is a gem of a movie.

Bumbling regular guy Joseph Rivington Renolds (Red Skelton) has a crush on Broadway star Connie Shaw (Eleanor Powell) from afar. She has her wandering-eye co-star boyfriend Larry West, and rival Suretta Brenton. Out of spite and due to a misunderstanding, she marries Joe.

The kissing rivalry is a great meet-cute. The gold mine misunderstanding is less cute. The musical within the movie slows everything down with some exceptions. It is amazing to see Lena Horne perform. The comedy is a bit uneven with Red Skelton working hard to keep it going. It has some fun moments but not all the moments work.