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6/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Clear All Wires! remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you have any patience for pre-Code era chaos, absolutely. If you want a movie that makes sense from start to finish, maybe skip it. It’s perfect for people who like their protagonists to be total disasters. People who prefer their heroes heroic will probably find Buckley's lack of a moral compass pretty irritating.
Lee Tracy is just electric here. He moves like he’s powered by high-octane coffee and bad decisions. Watching him try to talk his way out of a Soviet execution is the kind of frantic energy you just don't see anymore.
The whole premise is about how news is made up, which feels strangely timely despite being nearly a century old. Buckley treats the truth like a suggestion, not a fact. It reminded me a bit of the frantic pacing in She Done Him Wrong, though this one feels a lot more cynical about the press.
The middle act gets a little bogged down in the Moscow stuff. There are scenes where everyone is shouting over each other, and it starts to feel a bit like a stage play that forgot to let the audience breathe. Still, the chemistry between the leads keeps it moving.
It’s not a masterpiece, and it doesn't try to be. Sometimes it feels like the writers were just throwing ideas at a wall to see what stuck. But honestly? It’s fun. It’s a movie that knows exactly what it is: a fast-talking romp about a guy who really needs to get fired.
I wouldn't compare it to the emotional weight of The Last Laugh, obviously. This is much lighter, much meaner, and much faster. Just don't ask me to explain how he managed to pull off half those stunts without getting killed in the first ten minutes.