Item: Doubling in the Quickies
Rating: 6.6
Author: Archivist John

Is it worth it?

Honestly, only if you're the kind of person who gets a kick out of watching 1930s studio sets get torn apart by a guy who doesn't know where he is. If you're looking for a tight script or anything resembling logic, stay away. This is for the completists and people who like their comedy a little bit frantic and, frankly, kind of dumb.

Marge leaves her small town for Hollywood because, well, that's what you do in these things. She lands a job as a stunt double, which sounds cooler than it actually is here. It’s mostly just people falling over, and then Joe shows up.

Joe is the kind of character who makes you wonder how he managed to travel across the country without getting arrested. He stomps around the studio like he owns the place, disrupting everything. It reminded me a bit of the frantic energy in

The pacing is… weird. One minute we’re in a stunt rehearsal, the next Joe is somehow inside a scene he has no business being in. It doesn't really build to anything. It just stops.

Odd moments that stuck

There’s a bit with a ladder that goes on for way too long. I think the editor just fell asleep at the desk.
The background extras in the studio scenes look like they’re just waiting for their lunch break to start. You can see them checking their watches in the reflection of a prop mirror.
Jim Coleman plays Joe with such high-octane annoyance that I actually felt bad for the supporting cast. They’re just trying to do their jobs!

It’s not as slick as

If you've seen