Why Ethel Waters Makes Bubbling Over (1934) Worth a Look

If you have twenty minutes to spare today and want to see Ethel Waters command a screen like nobody else, yes, this is absolutely worth your time. But if you get annoyed by loud, stagey 1930s comedies with messy plots, you should probably skip it.

The whole thing take place in what feels like a tiny, cramped apartment set. Ethel plays a hardworking woman who is completely fed up with her lazy family members sleeping all over the place. 😴

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Bubbling Over (1934) through its definitive frames.

Her husband, played by Hamtree Harrington, is especially hilarious in how dedicated he is to doing absolutely nothing. He wears this floppy hat indoors and looks like he might fall asleep during his own lines.

Things get crazy when they hear a rich uncle is coming to visit. Suddenly, everyone starts pretending they actually have their lives together, which goes about as well as you think.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Bubbling Over (1934) through its definitive frames.

The Music is the Real Prize

Honestly, the plot is just an excuse to let people sing. The Southernaires Quartet shows up and they just harmonize in the middle of the kitchen.

It is a bit strange how they just stand there singing while Ethel is trying to clean. It reminded me a bit of the random setups in the comedy short Artist's Muddle where logic takes a backseat to the performance.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Bubbling Over (1934) through its definitive frames.

But when Ethel Waters starts singing, everything else just fades away. Her voice has this warm, easy quality that makes you forget how cheap the rest of the movie looks.

"She doesn't even look like she is trying, yet she completely owns the room."

There is this one oddly specific moment where a character drops a plate and the camera just stays on the floor for three seconds too long. The actors seems a bit lost during the pause.

The print of the film I watched was pretty scratchy, which honestly added to the charm. It feels like finding an old postcard in an attic.

Some things I noticed:

• The broom Ethel uses looks like it has seen better days. It's basically three twigs on a stick.
• The uncle's suit is so ridiculously oversized he looks like a kid playing dress-up.
• One of the cousins in the background keeps looking directly at the camera. He looks very nervous.

It is definitely a product of its time, and some of the humor feels a bit dusty now. Still, Ethel Waters is a force of nature and she makes this worth the watch.