Cheers of the Crowd: A B-Movie Snapshot

Is it worth the watch?

If you like movies that feel like they were made over a long weekend on a budget of three dollars and a ham sandwich, then sure. Anyone looking for prestige drama or tight writing should probably steer clear. It’s for the folks who get a kick out of old-school B-movie tropes and characters who make every wrong decision possible.

The whole thing moves at a frantic, almost desperate pace. The publicity guy is just so aggressively pushy, you almost want the carnival guy to just walk away and end the movie ten minutes in. But no, he stays. He’s running from the law, obviously, but he plays it so cool that it’s almost funny.

Oddly Specific Notes:

• There’s a scene in the midway that looks like it was filmed in a stiff breeze. Everyone’s hair is doing its own thing.
• The dialogue is basically just people shouting information at each other.
• I’m pretty sure I saw the same background extra twice in two different outfits. Or maybe they just changed hats?
• The lighting in the tent scenes is so murky you can barely tell who is winning the argument.

It reminds me a bit of the frantic energy in Any Old Port!, though without the genuine charm. It lacks that special spark. It’s just people yelling, running, and hiding.

The pacing is a disaster. It stops dead for these long, weird pauses where everyone just stares at each other. You can tell the director was trying to build tension, but it just feels like the actors forgot their next line. Classic.

Anyway, don't go into this expecting a masterpiece. It’s a curiosity. A scrap of film from a time when they just cranked these things out to fill a theater seat for an hour. It’s not great, but it’s certainly… something. 🎪