Lonesome Trailer Review: A Goofy, Chaotic 1930s Short That Actually Made Me Laugh

If you have twenty minutes to spare and love old-school, chaotic physical comedy, Lonesome Trailer is absolutely worth your time. Anyone who enjoys silly vintage gadgets will get a kick out of this, but if you can't stand El Brendel's goofy Swedish accent, you should probably skip it. 🚗

The premise is incredibly simple. A family goes on a road trip with this ridiculous "collapsible" trailer that looks like a wooden box on wheels.

Naturally, everything goes wrong immediately.

There is this one great moment in the middle of heavy traffic where the trailer just... unhitches. The panic on the actors' faces feels real, probably because driving back in 1935 was already a nightmare.

I swear, the way the trailer wobbles down the road on its own is funnier than it has any right to be. It has that same accidental charm you find in old cartoon shorts like Pink Elephants.

El Brendel is the main draw here, or the main turn-off, depending on how you feel about his whole deal. He does his usual "yumpin' yiminy" routine, which is admittedly an acquired taste.

But the real star is the trailer itself.

The climax involves the trailer suddenly shrinking back to its original tiny size while people are still inside.

You can actually see the wooden walls visibly shaking as the actors try not to get crushed. One reaction shot of Donnie Lynn looking utterly confused is priceless.

It's not a masterpiece, obviously. It's just a silly, fast-paced short that doesn't overstay its welcome.

If you want something dark and serious like Night World, you won't find it here. This is pure, unadulterated nonsense.

Some of the jokes don't land at all, and the sound quality is a bit fuzzy. But that's part of the charm of these dusty old Vitaphone shorts.

I ended up laughing out loud at the stupidest gag involving a cop. Highly recommended for a lazy afternoon.