Dumb-Bell Letters No. 20 Review: 1935's Version of Funny Reddit Threads

Is this worth your time?

Honestly, you should watch this if you like weird history or if you’ve ever worked in customer service and wanted to scream. It is very short, so you won’t lose much of your life if you hate it. 😅

People who love big action movies or deep stories will probably think this is the most boring thing ever made. It’s just a lady talking about old mail, mostly.

I found this while looking for something else, and it’s basically the 1935 version of a 'You Had One Job' meme. It’s part of a series, and this is number twenty, which means people back then really liked reading about other people being dummies.

Juliet Jowell is the host, and she supposedly had hundreds of these letters. She calls them lollapaloozas. I love that word. We should bring it back. 🎩

The whole thing feels very home-made, even though it was a real production. The letters are 'genuine bonafide epistles,' which is just a fancy way of saying real letters from real idiots.

Some of the handwriting in the close-ups is so bad I could barely read it. It reminded me of my own notes after a long night of watching movies. ✍️

The actors reenact the letters while a narrator speaks. One guy is trying to explain why he can't pay his bill, and his excuse is so long it makes no sense. It’s like watching a slow-motion car crash made of paper.

There is this one scene where a woman is complaining about a stove. She looks so genuinely confused by how a door works. It’s actually funny because you know someone really felt that way in 1934.

The pacing is a bit jumpy. It’s like the editor was in a huge rush to get to lunch. One letter ends and then BAM, we are in a different office with a different guy looking confused.

It’s a bit like That Goes Double in terms of that quick, punchy short-film energy. But it feels more personal because these were real letters sent to real shops.

I wonder if the people who wrote the letters ever saw the movie. Imagine sitting in a theater and seeing your own dumb mistake being laughed at by everyone. That would be a nightmare. 😱

The sound quality is a little scratchy. It sounds like everyone is talking through a tin can filled with gravel. But that adds to the vibe, I guess. It feels old and dusty in a good way.

Some of the jokes are a bit dated. There’s a lot of 'oh, look at this silly person' energy that feels a little mean-spirited if you think about it too hard. But I didn't think about it too hard. I just wanted to see the funny hats.

I’ve seen a few of these now, and they are better than Rule 'Em and Weep because they don't try as hard to be 'slapstick.' They just let the weirdness of the writing do the work.

The narrator has this very specific 1930s voice. You know the one. It’s very fast and sounds like he’s selling you a used car while running a marathon.

I noticed a small mistake in one of the sets. There’s a calendar on the wall that doesn't match the year they are talking about. Or maybe I just can't see straight today. 🧐

It is interesting how little human nature has changed. We still send stupid emails today. We just don't use stamps as much.

The film ends very abruptly. Like, it just stops. No big goodbye. Just 'here is a joke, okay bye.'

I kind of respect that. It doesn't overstay its welcome. It knows it is just a bit of fluff for the morning mail.

If you enjoy seeing how people used to complain before the internet existed, give it a look. It’s a geniune little slice of weirdness.

It’s definitely better than some of the other shorts from that era like Chasing Husbands, which tries way too hard to be funny. This one just lets the 'dumb-bells' speak for themselves.

I think I might go write a confusing letter to my power company now. Maybe in eighty years, someone will make a movie about me. ✉️