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6.7/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6.7/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. In Walked Charley remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you have twenty minutes and a weird fondness for mid-century slapstick, sure. It’s for the folks who like their humor a bit frantic and their lead characters perpetually on the verge of a breakdown. If you hate watching people act awkward in small rooms, just skip it.
Charley is just trying to do his job. He’s a travel agent, probably thinking about lunch, and then this guy walks in. It’s the kind of premise that relies entirely on how much you enjoy seeing someone get pushed around by a total lunatic.
Billy Gilbert is in this, and he’s doing that thing he does where he sounds like he’s about to pop a blood vessel. It’s loud. It’s definitely a performance from another era, but there's a weird rhythm to it that kind of works if you don't think about it too hard. It’s almost exhausting just to watch him breathe.
There is a moment near the middle where the office layout seems to shift entirely to accommodate a bit of physical comedy, and nobody acknowledges it. The door is over there, then suddenly it’s over here. It’s not like They Go Boom! where the chaos feels earned. Here, it just feels like the set crew decided to rearrange the furniture during a coffee break.
It’s not as polished as Cameo Kirby, but it’s got this weird, frantic energy that keeps you watching even when the jokes stop landing. You can feel the director pushing for more, more, more. Sometimes, it just gets silly for the sake of being silly.
You can almost see the actors trying to suppress a grin during the shouting matches. It’s not high art. It’s barely a meal. But it’s a snack that leaves a funny aftertaste. 🤷♂️