So You Want an Apartment

Thank you Richard L. Bare (GREEN ACRES) for this slice of madness, relatable to this day.

Historically (or hysterically) speaking, the story takes place during the notorious housing bust, following WWII. Both apartments and houses were difficult to find. Enter GREEEDY landlords who raised rents or evicted tenants (such is the case with McDoakes and his wife) to CASH IN.

George O'Hanlon and Jane Harker versus miserable landlord McNasty (Ted Stanhope at his meanest), and yes, some of the madness may have inspired the famous HONEYMOONERS episode. Ralph battled his landlord who raised the rent too. No power, no heat, no nothing!

Best Part; Within 11 minutes of outrageouness... They get scammed into getting back their old apartment, now remodeled? Joe's wallpaper had to have come from the THREE STOOGES school of art???

Good cast featuring hard-boiled Fred Kelsey, who appeared many times with Laurel & Hardy and the Stooges. TV buffs will recognized Stanhope, who guested on PERRY MASON, several westerns.

Indeed, to this day, landlords and paying rent could be a trip. Beware!

Episode #12. Remastered Warner Brothers dvd box set. Thanks TCM for the memories.

A hilarious comedy short involving a landlord scheming to evict his tenants and rent his apartments for more money. How would you like to lose a one hundred dollar bet on purpose to a landlord so you can get a vacant apartment only to find out the building is going to be knocked down the next day. This short is a gem!!!

The swingy version of that song starts off this episode of the Warner Brothers' long-running short comedy series.... but it starts off every one of them, as George O'Hanlon and wife Jane Harker are evicted by their landlord and search desperately for a new apartment in rental-tight, post-war America.

It's a standard entry in the series, which means it is silly, absurd, and in an exaggerated way, concerns itself with the issues that confronted America in a changing time. That's probably why it lasted so long, closing down only in 1956, when television put an end to this sort of short subject by making them something you could see at home.

So You Want an Apartment (1948)

*** (out of 4)

Joe McDoakes short takes a look at the troubles in finding a good apartment. I'm not sure how many of these "So You Want" films but this one here is about middle of the ground. There are plenty of laughs throughout with the best one coming in the form of a $40 a month apartment. Some of the comedy is too over the top but this film works for the most part.

If you want to view this or any of the Joe McDoakes shorts then your best bet is Turner Classic Movies. They usually play at least one a month.

Joe and his wife are in a bind. Their awful landlord, Mr. McNasty, wants to evict them and put in tenants who are willing to pay his ridiculous prices. This is because during and just after WWII, there was a severe housing shortage and folks were stuck in a seller's market. The Joe McDoakes short is all about the many hoops Joe needs to jump through in order to get a new apartment...and at the end, he's paying $500 a month...a princely sum back in the 1940s!

This one has a lot of good gags. While all the McDoakes films were enjoyable and fun, this one is a standout because of the many excellent laughs as well as the silly ending. I don't want to say more...but this is among the best of the series.