Summary
In a delightful subversion of domestic tranquility, 'Shot in the Dumbwaiter' orchestrates a meticulously chaotic evening, beginning with Mr. Ups, a devotee of metropolitan diversions, returning to his apartment building in the company of the married Mrs. Downs. Concurrently, Mr. Downs, the quintessential homebody, rests oblivious in his bed. The initial catalyst for pandemonium, however, emerges from an entirely unrelated quarter: Mrs. Ups, ensconced within her own abode, misinterprets the nocturnal depredations of a feline marauder upon kitchen milk cans as the ominous presence of a burglar. This domestic misapprehension ignites a frantic pursuit. As Mr. Ups and Mrs. Downs make their clandestine entrance, the stage is set for an escalating comedy of errors. The subsequent chase, a masterclass in physical farce, sees the bewildered Mr. Downs, roused from slumber and clad only in his bathrobe, and the equally frantic Mrs. Ups, adorned in her pajamas, embarking upon a dizzying vertical odyssey within the apartment building's dumbwaiter shaft. Their desperate, crisscrossing search for the phantom intruder propels them into a series of near-misses and ludicrous encounters, each ascent and descent amplifying the comedic tension. Ultimately, the intricate web of mistaken identities and frantic searching unravels, revealing the innocuous truth. The resolution, far from the expected marital or social recrimination, culminates in an unexpected forging of bonds, transforming two disparate couples, initially entangled in a farcical misunderstanding, into the most improbable of friends, a testament to the unifying power of shared, albeit absurd, experience.
Mr. Ups likes the gay life and Mr. Downs is a "stay-at-home." One night when Ups is out sporting and Downs is home in bed, Ups arrives at the entrance of the apartment house at the same time with Downs' wife. Ups' wife, who is at home, hears the cat ransacking the milk cans in the kitchen and thinks a burglar is in the house. Then Mr. Ups and Mrs. Downs arrive and the chase starts. Up and down the dumbwaiter goes Downs and Mrs. Ups, looking for the burglar, one in his bathrobe the other in her pajamas. The mystery is solved and the two couples become the best of friends.
Review Excerpt
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There's a particular charm to early cinema, a raw, unvarnished energy that often feels both quaint and astonishingly modern. 'Shot in the Dumbwaiter' is one such relic, a boisterous farce from an era when physical comedy reigned supreme and narrative complexity often took a backseat to sheer, unadulterated hilarity. Directed with a keen eye for slapstick by Leslie T. Peacocke, this film isn't just a period piece; it's a vibrant, kinetic snapshot of domestic chaos, a testament to the endurin..."
