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5.7/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 5.7/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Bridal Bail remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you have twenty minutes to spare and love old-school, noisy slapstick where everyone screams instead of talking, then Bridal Bail is a fun little time-waster. But if you can't stand loud, chaotic misunderstandings where people act like total idiots, this is going to give you a major headache. 🤦♂️
The whole plot is basically a giant mess started by a movie theater offering a free wedding. Yes, a free wedding on stage, because that is apparently what passed for great marketing back in the thirties.
Grady Sutton is here doing his usual nervous, sweaty guy thing. I always feel a bit sorry for his characters, honestly. He just looks like he wants to go home and lie down.
And then there is Arthur Housman. Nobody, and I mean nobody, played a funny drunk quite like him.
He shows up and immediately derails the whole thing. There is this one bit where he stumbles into a doorframe and just sort of... stays there for a second, staring at nothing. It feels completely unscripted, like the director just let the camera roll.
The comedy is very much of its time, similar to stuff like Marching to Georgie. It is all about people running into rooms, screaming about marriage certificates, and falling over chairs.
Some of the jokes don't really land today. Like, there is a gag with a dog that just sort of sits there, looking confused by the actors yelling at each other. I kind of related to the dog.
Also, the sound design is incredibly loud. Every time someone slams a door, it sounds like a gunshot. My ears were actually ringing by the end.
Its definitely not as clever as some other marriage comedies from this era, like Meet the Wife. But it has a weird, frantic energy that keeps you watching anyway.
The ending comes out of nowhere. It just sort of stops once they run out of things to break. 🤷♀️
Still, if you want a quick laugh at some vintage chaos, it is worth a look. Just turn your volume down a bit first.