A Blasted Event: Kidnapping as a Hobby

If you enjoy watching people make the absolute worst decisions possible in under twenty minutes, A Blasted Event is your kind of chaos. It is definitely for folks who appreciate old-school slapstick and don't mind a premise that would be a literal crime in any other genre. If you get stressed out by characters who never stop talking or lying, you will probably want to skip this one entirely.

The whole setup is just wildly irresponsible. Florence decides that instead of, you know, filling out paperwork, she’ll just snatch a baby from next door. The note she leaves for Edgar is barely readable, mostly because she's panicking the entire time. It gives the whole thing this frantic, sweaty energy that reminded me a bit of the manic pacing in The Mysteries of a Hairdresser's Shop.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of A Blasted Event (1934) through its definitive frames.

Edgar Kennedy is doing his usual thing, and honestly, watching him try to process a surprise baby while Florence is hovering in the background is a trip. There is this one reaction shot where he just stares at the kid like he’s an alien invader. It lingers about five seconds too long, which makes it way funnier than it probably had any right to be. 👶

The neighbors are surprisingly chill about the whole kidnapping ordeal, which I guess is just movie logic at work. They don't seem to notice their kid is missing until it's time for the punchline. It’s all very lighthearted for a film where the main plot is basically child abduction.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of A Blasted Event (1934) through its definitive frames.

It’s not trying to be a deep dive into adoption or ethics. It’s just a series of loud, clumsy movements and people running in and out of rooms. Sometimes, you just need that level of low-stakes stupidity to turn your brain off for a bit.

I caught myself looking at the wallpaper in the background. It’s peeling in the corner behind the couch. Such a weird detail to focus on, but in these older shorts, the sets always feel like they’re held together by tape and stubbornness.

Is it a masterpiece? Absolutely not. Does it make you wonder if Florence ever got the help she clearly needed? Definitely. It's a snapshot of a different era where kidnapping was apparently just a funny plot device for a Tuesday afternoon.

Definitely worth a look if you’re bored and want something that doesn't demand you think too hard about the morality of the leads. Just don't expect it to change your life.