Joe E. Brown Comedy Collector’s Set (VCI)
Picture: C Sound: C Extras: D Films: C+
Joe E.
Brown is one of the great comic talents of the past who is being forgotten too
quickly. The voice of the sergeant on
the animated classic Hong Kong Phooey,
he was a big screen actor from back in the early days of sound film and VCI has
issued four of his films in their 2 DVD Joe
E. Brown Comedy Collector’s Set. You
get the following films:
The Gladiator (1938) has Brown as a dopey
weakling who becomes an ace athlete with the right serum. Has some fun moments, though no masterwork of
comedy, it is still amusing.
Wide Open Faces (1938) involves a stolen fortune
and one soda jerk (Brown) who might bring resolution to the situation. Jane Wyman and Sidney Toler also star in this
comedy where Brown eventually takes on gangsters.
Flirting With Fate (1938) has Vaudevillian Brown in South America with his actors, plotting a way
to get the money to get them back home so they are not stranded forever. Not very strong and the ethnic side has dated
the film further.
Earthworm Tractors (1936) has salesman Alexander
Botts (Brown as the famous Saturday
Evening Post character) tries to sell tractors, but lands up in more hot
water than expected.
So three
of the four hold up better than expected, but are still on the B-movie
side. Still, they are more competent
than many comedies we have seen issued lately.
The 1.33 X 1 image on all four films are at least a generation down, as
is the Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono, but all are watchable and fun when the humor
kicks in. There are no extras.
- Nicholas Sheffo
