Loops! My Dear: A frantic mess of old-school slapstick

Is it worth your time?

Look, if you have a soft spot for silent-era slapstick and don't mind a plot that feels like it was scribbled on a napkin five minutes before shooting, then Loops! My Dear might tickle your brain for an hour. If you get annoyed by people constantly bumping into each other or if you need your comedies to actually make logical sense, stay far away.

The whole thing starts with Harry Gribbon deciding that the military is basically a singles club. It’s a stupid, charmingly shallow motivation that feels very typical of these short, punchy comedies.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Loops! My Dear (1933) through its definitive frames.

The drill sergeant scenes are... well, they’re loud. There is a lot of frantic flailing here. You can practically see the sweat on the actors' brows as they try to keep the energy up, which is a bit exhausting to watch after the first ten minutes. It reminded me a little bit of the physical chaos in Big Business, though without the same level of precise, escalating destruction.

The disguise gimmick

Of course, Harry eventually puts on a uniform he didn't earn. The moment he starts acting like a Major, the movie pivots into this weird, fast-paced confusion. It’s not exactly high-brow satire, but there is something genuinely funny about how quickly everyone else just buys into the lie. Nobody asks for ID. They just see the suit and start saluting.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Loops! My Dear (1933) through its definitive frames.

There is this one shot where he’s trying to look like a pilot, and he’s holding his goggles like they’re a heavy prop he’s never seen before. It’s a tiny, blink-and-you-miss-it detail, but it’s the best part of the whole performance. He just looks lost.

• The drill sergeant’s hat seems to be held on by pure willpower.
• The mob scene at the beginning feels like it was staged in a broom closet.
• Harry Gribbon’s face does more work than the entire screenplay combined.

I wouldn't say this holds up as a masterpiece or anything. It’s a bit thin. The story basically runs out of gas halfway through and just starts throwing people through doors to fill the runtime. It’s not as tightly constructed as something like Hold 'Em Jail, but it has that frantic energy that makes these old shorts feel almost dangerous.

Is it a classic? Probably not. Did I smile when he finally gets caught in his own web of nonsense? Yeah, I did. Sometimes that’s enough. ✈️