Let Me Explain, Dear: A messy little insurance caper

Is it worth the watch?

If you like those old, twitchy British comedies where people just run in and out of rooms shouting, you’ll probably get a kick out of Let Me Explain, Dear. It’s not high art, but it has a specific, nervous energy that keeps you watching even when the logic starts to fray at the edges.

If you need your movies to make sense or have a serious tone, you’re going to hate this. It’s basically 80 minutes of people making the worst possible choices in every single room they enter.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Let Me Explain, Dear (1933) through its definitive frames.

The whole premise is classic: man needs money, man fakes accident, man realizes faking an accident is actually really hard. It reminded me a bit of the chaotic energy in Bachelors' Babies, though this one feels a bit more claustrophobic.

Claude Hulbert is constantly on the verge of a breakdown here. You can see it in his eyes. Every time a door opens, he looks like he’s hoping it’s the end of the world just so he doesn’t have to keep lying to his insurance agent. It’s almost painful, but in a funny way.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Let Me Explain, Dear (1933) through its definitive frames.

Odd little details

• There’s a specific bit with a chair in the second act that goes on way too long. It’s not even a joke, just a guy struggling with furniture for an eternity.
• The background extras in the street scenes look like they have absolutely no idea why they are standing there. One guy in the back left just stares at his shoes the entire time.
• The lighting in the living room changes intensity every time someone walks past a lamp. It’s distracting, but I kind of liked it.

The dialogue is so fast that you’ll definitely miss half of it if you look away for a second. It doesn't really matter though. The plot is just a thin wire holding up a bunch of screaming people.

I wouldn't compare this to something like The Case of Lady Camber, which actually has some stakes. This is just pure, unadulterated nonsense. Sometimes that’s exactly what you need on a rainy Tuesday.

Don't look for a moral. There isn't one. The guy is a bit of an idiot, he stays an idiot, and the insurance company is just a backdrop for the shouting. Simple stuff.

Anyway, I think I’ve seen this guy in three other movies this month and he always plays the same panicky character. It works for him, I guess. 🤷‍♂️