Is this worth your ten minutes?
If you like old movies where people talk like they have marbles in their mouths, then yes.
Golfers will probably find it funny to see what a 'Brassie' even is.
If you hate slow, black-and-white shorts where nothing much happens, you should probably skip this one.
It’s basically a
time capsule of how people used to think sports instruction should look.
The 'Plot'
So, Loretta Young is in this.
She is way too famous to be in a golf short, but here she is.
She and Allan Lane want to elope because her dad is a total grouch.
Claude Gillingwater plays the dad, and he is
perfectly grumpy.
He has this face that looks like he just smelled something sour.
They decide the only way to escape is to get Bobby Jones to distract the old man.
Because apparently, the dad loves golf more than he loves monitoring his daughter’s love life. 🏌️♂️
Bobby Jones: The Actor?
Bobby Jones is not a great actor.
He’s a great golfer, obviously.
But when he talks, it feels like he’s reading a grocery list.
He has this very stiff way of standing when he isn't swinging a club.
It’s actually kind of charming in a weird way.
You can tell he just wants to get back to hitting the ball.
Specific Weird Moments
There is a moment where the dad is complaining about his game.
The way he holds his club makes it look like he's trying to kill a snake.
Bobby Jones comes in and starts talking about the
Brassie.
For those who don't know, a Brassie is basically a 2-wood.
Nobody calls it that anymore.
The sound of the club hitting the ball is really satisfying though.
It has that old-school
thwack that you don't hear with modern titanium drivers. 🔊
The Visuals
The film quality is a bit grainy, which I actually like.
It makes the grass look like a fuzzy carpet.
Everyone is wearing these incredibly high-waisted pants.
I don't know how they swung a golf club with their belts up near their armpits.
It looks very uncomfortable.
Loretta Young spends most of the time looking nervous in the background.
She has these huge eyes that do all the work.
It reminds me a bit of the style in
The Face in the Fog where the expressions are everything.
Does the lesson actually work?
Bobby Jones explains the swing in a way that’s actually pretty simple.
He talks about the arc and the grip.
But then the movie cuts back to the 'plot' and you forget you were learning anything.
The transition between 'we are running away' and 'look at my follow-through' is very clunky.
It feels like two different movies were stitched together with tape.
It’s not as smooth as something like
West of Broadway.
But it doesn't really matter.
The Ending
The elopement part is resolved so fast you might blink and miss it.
The movie is more interested in the golf than the marriage.
I guess that’s the point since it's a series of golf shorts.
It’s a bit like watching a YouTube tutorial from 1931.
Except the production value is slightly higher and there are movie stars. 🌟
Final Random Thoughts
Claude Gillingwater’s mustache deserves its own credit.
The way the sunlight hits the fairway makes me want to go outside.
It’s a very
polite movie.
Even when the dad is mad, he’s still wearing a tie.
People were so formal back then.
If you’ve seen
New York Luck, you know this kind of light comedy vibe.
It’s harmless.
It’s short.
And you might actually learn how to hit a wood better.
Probably not, but maybe.
I enjoyed the
awkward silences between the lines of dialogue.
They feel very human.
Like they were waiting for the director to yell 'action' and it took a second too long.
Anyway, it’s a neat little piece of history. ⛳️
